1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda with 1966 Mercury 65HP 4 cyl

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Deleted member 340796

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I bought a 1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda in May 2012 and started restoring it. On the Barracuda was a 1966 Mercury 65 HP 4 cyl that ran. :cool: It sounded good, seemed to power up and move the boat well. The only problem with it that I noticed was when it was in neutral you had to increase the power or the motor would stop running. I don't know a great deal about motors and less about marine motors but I am thinking that is not a real big deal (labor and time needed - yes).

Currently the boat is being restored. I have completed demo and have the new transom tabbed in. I am ready to start the stringers and ribs next. I moved had a relative in town so I took the opportunity to set the cap back on the boat, but have NOT secured it. I will still need to prop it up in the front when doing the stringers, ribs and deck in that area. We also moved the motor to a much smaller storage unit to save on the cost of storage. During this move the motor when hoisting the motor the top of the motor went to the left, with the prop going to the right and we noticed oil starting to drip from it. :eek: It only dripped maybe 4-6 ccs but I want to make sure that we did not do any damage by allowing it to tip a little. :facepalm: It did NOT tip all the way to a 10 - 4 o' clock position and really was closer to an 11 - 5 position. Please excuse my terms descriptions. Just want to be sure I have not done major damage to it with this move.

Also, I ordered on Ebay the shop manual for this make and model and expect to have it in the next week. I am hoping with the manual and some guidance from you wonderful people, I can get it drained and prepped for winter as I am going to be moving to Ohio in Jan or Feb. I will also want to make sure to check it all out along the way (whether now or after the move) and replace anything that needs replacing.

I am not your average woman. My grandfather was a mechanic that took me under the car for the first time when I was 8yrs old. I helped my other grandfather build an addition (bathroom) on to his house. I have changed out radiators, thermostats, water pumps and done other work on vehicles that I have owned. I am currently doing all my own restoration now with the help of Woodonglass, Trooper82, jbcurt00, decker83 and others. So rest assured, with you assistance I can do this. I just lack the confidence in doing it without some wise ones like you guiding me.

So, from the sounds of the slight tipping and oil dripping out, does it sound to any of you that I did any major damage or just experienced what you would expect with the motor tipping? I have read the link about winterizing your motor but am still waiting on the manual to guide me on the process. Are there things that are always needed when doing work on marine motors (certain tools, oils, lubes, etc) that I could start gathering to prepare for winterizing or doing an overhaul on it; or would you recommend I wait until the book arrives?

I am really looking forward to working on this motor, but I am also nervous because I don't have my grandfather any longer to bounce my questions off. If I were to start over in life, I would have been a mechanic. I like tearing things apart and putting them back together right. Looking forward to hearing what you all have to say.

Thanks so much,
AJ

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Maxz695

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Re: 1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda with 1966 Mercury 65HP 4 cyl

It sounds like you need to do a link and sinc. Carb adjustments timing etc. Did you smell the oil coming from the prop? Did it smell like rear end oil? (Stinky) or did it smell like fuel oil mixture? There is a posibility that water fuel oi mixture was settled in the engine and when lifted it drained out the prop. I would think, but not totally sure that if the seal went on the LU the oil would leak between the prop and the LU before coming out of the prop. Depending on the engine position. Is the LU full of lube? Did you check the level inside? Chances are if the seal was bad all of the oil would eventually work it,s way through the seal not just a couple CCs. I,m just giving you some thoughts and info that might help you diagnose the issue if there even is one. It would be a waist of time and money trying to repair the lU that isn,t bad by the assumption that the seal is bad. You can also have a pressure test done to find out if the LU is leaking somewhere as well. Presurize the lu with a say Bike pump with a gauge and let set overnight and see if the pressure remains the same in the morning. Just my opinion.
 
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Deleted member 340796

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Re: 1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda with 1966 Mercury 65HP 4 cyl

Max, thanks for dropping in with feedback. I am guessing from your response that it might help if I wait til I get the book on the motor before looking into the issue of the leaking oil during the move; as well as any other rehab on the motor. I say that because a lot of the terms you are using do not ring a bell with me.

When you say link and sinc I am not sure if that is an actual procedure you can do here in the forums, or if I just go to those other links and look there for certain answers. I did not see where the oil came from, but it did NOT smell stinky. I will continue reading in the different links here and hopefully gain more basic knowledge until I get the book and can put 2 and 2 together. At this point I do not know what LU is although I would guess lower unit. I do not know anything about the motor so I have not even taken the cowling off, let alone check any oil levels or know where to begin. I am hoping that manual I ordered helps me a lot with this. So until I get the manual and can read though it, I will just keep reading these threads. Thanks. AJ
 
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Maxz695

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Re: 1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda with 1966 Mercury 65HP 4 cyl

Yes the LU Is the lower unit. You should check compression in all cylinders and should be no more than 15 lbs difference from your best cylinder. Check to see that all cylinders have a good spark that will jump 1/4 inch to the ground and has a bright blue color. Check all hosses for cracks loose fit and pin holes. Being the engine hasn,t run in some time after doing the preliminary checks the fuel pump may need rebuilding the impellor in the water pump would need changing. (Check the stainless cup for grooves and replace if worn) Check all grounds to the engine and look for rotted corroded wires that may ground out against any metal of the block. Better to look now than to find out later and ruin electrical componants. The carbs are probably in need of cleaning or rebuild. I wouldn,t remove any covers of the engine until after doing a test run and see what you have. The gear oil 90 weight in the lower unit would smell like the rear end oil of a car. Draining and changing the LU OIL will need to be done paying attention to a milky white substance indicating there is water intrusion.The engine may have had fuel in the carbs and got into the engine when moving it and found it,s way down through the exaust pipe and leaked out the prop. Just some things you can start to look at until the manual shows up. A link and sinc is generally a set up of the carb linkage and the timing set up for the engine.
 
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Deleted member 340796

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Re: 1970 Caravelle CX176 Barracuda with 1966 Mercury 65HP 4 cyl

carholme said:
AJ;

Here is some reading until you get your manual. This is the condensed version of the Clymer manual and you should download it to your computer soonest as the link is short lived.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center Home

Here is the parts list for your engine which is a model 1650106:

Mercury Parts, MERC 650

Gerry
Click to expand...

Gerry, thanks for stopping in and for the info. I actually ordered the download a while back so I will review that manual and see what all I can learn until the new one gets here. Well it is not really a new manual, it is the old - but real manual vs the download. I am excited and scared to get into the motor and learn some more. The first link for the small engine repair appeared as the EBSCO main page wanting me to sign up to gain access. Does that sound right? The parts link came in fine. Thank you again for the info. I also found some very helpful videos on you tube that I am excited to try.

Maxz695 said:
Yes the LU Is the lower unit. You should check compression in all cylinders and should be no more than 15 lbs difference from your best cylinder. Check to see that all cylinders have a good spark that will jump 1/4 inch to the ground and has a bright blue color. Check all hosses for cracks loose fit and pin holes. Being the engine hasn,t run in some time after doing the preliminary checks the fuel pump may need rebuilding the impellor in the water pump would need changing. (Check the stainless cup for grooves and replace if worn) Check all grounds to the engine and look for rotted corroded wires that may ground out against any metal of the block. Better to look now than to find out later and ruin electrical componants. The carbs are probably in need of cleaning or rebuild. I wouldn,t remove any covers of the engine until after doing a test run and see what you have. The gear oil 90 weight in the lower unit would smell like the rear end oil of a car. Draining and changing the LU OIL will need to be done paying attention to a milky white substance indicating there is water intrusion.The engine may have had fuel in the carbs and got into the engine when moving it and found it,s way down through the exaust pipe and leaked out the prop. Just some things you can start to look at until the manual shows up. A link and sinc is generally a set up of the carb linkage and the timing set up for the engine.
Click to expand...

Max, thanks again for dropping in. As I mentioned above I saw videos on you tube so I do know what the milky substance you spoke of looks like. I totally expect some issues with the motor, but I am also hoping for a little luck when it comes to finding parts I need to make the repairs. I have read about people doing the compression test alot but I have not read yet on how to do them. I am looking forward to finding that info and reading it today. I will do a general inspection of all the hoses, wires and inspect for the other issues you mentioned. Thanks for getting me going in the right direction. I will also look up how to correctly link and sinc.

Thanks guys.
AJ
 
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