1977 OMC won't start

[jtrew77]

I had my boat(1977 120hp Reinell sterndrive) out a couple weeks ago and couldn't get it up to top speed. Before putting it away for the winter I was getting close to 25mph according to my fish finder. This year I could barely crack 12mph, then I hit a small wave and heard a noise. Can't remember if it was a pop or crack or electrical noise. Anyways, the boat died and wouldn't start. The starter would just click and click. After getting towed to shore I charged the battery over night, rehooked it up and the motor will now turn over once and then nothing. Any ideas? I replaced the battery connections and charged my battery fully and tried it tonight and all it did once turn the motor once. Is this a bad battery? starter? Any ideas. Not wanting to spend a whole bunch of money trying one thing after another.

 

[southkogs]

I guess I would start by having the battery tested, but because it died on the water if the battery is bad the alternator and voltage regulator would become suspects too.

If you disconnect the stern drive, will it run?

 

[jtrew77]

When I looked at the battery, it was purchased in the summer of 08, most likely a bad battery...The previous owner had a stereo hardwired to the battery so it was constantly draining it. I am going to pull my truck battery out and see if that does it.

 

[jtrew77]

Well boosting from my truck didn't work...I replaced the battery posts and managed to get the engine to crank once before just clicking. I'm going to clean up all the connections and see if that's the issue. My battery was reading below 12 volts when I tested it, so it's bad, but being boosted should have solved the issue if it was just the battery. Are there any fuses or anything by the motor that I should check as well? Any ideas? If the neutral safety switch is gone or stuck would the starter engage? I can turn the engine about a half inch both ways by hand using the alternator belt so it's not stuck. If the lower end is stuck, would that stop the motor from cranking? If so, can I just remove the lower unit and attempt to start the motor without a lower on?

 

[southkogs]

Remove your entire stern drive ... the upper unit is what'll gum ya' up, and yes it can stop the engine. I dunno' how easy yours is to remove (I think yours should be hydro-electric), but mine comes off pretty fast.

Have you ruled out a bad starter or solenoid?

 

[jtrew77]

I have done the voltage test on the starter and solenoid's and they passed. When you say remove the entire sterndrive, does that mean up to the rubber boot? I replaced the lower leg before and taking it all off was quite easy, If I remember correctly, it was 4 bolts and the shift wire. What would cause that to gum up and how do you un gum it?

 

[southkogs]

When you say remove the entire sterndrive, does that mean up to the rubber boot?

Up to the pivot caps at the intermediate ... just behind the boot, correct.

What would cause that to gum up and how do you un gum it?

On a Stringer the upper gear case is ALWAYS turning when the motor is running. If it's not in decent health, the lube is a mess or the gears are locking up, it can shut the engine down.

If the engine runs free and fine apart from the drive, the upper becomes a suspect. If it does the same thing without the drive that it did with the drive, then you can localize to an issue in the engine itself.

 

[jtrew77]

Not sure what this means, but I went out to look at the boat tonight and the battery tested very weak, but there was rain water in the bilge, so I ran the pump and killed the battery even more. Once the water was pumped out and the battery even deader, I tried to turn the alternator belt and it turned quite easily and made a click sound. I then put the battery charger on and tried to start the motor and nothing. When I went to hand turn the alternator belt it wouldn't turn again. I then unhooked the charger and could manually turn the alternator belt again, and heard a click. Any ideas?

 

[southkogs]

I'm not sure I'm following exactly what's going on, but nothing is coming to mind for me there ... turning the alternator belt easily shouldn't be a good thing as far as I'm aware.

How do the ball gears between the intermediate and the stern drive look?

 

[jtrew77]

They are about 1/4 worn down. I am going to clean all the connections in the next few days and try a new battery. If that doesn't work I will pull of the sterndrive and try again.

 

[jtrew77]

I removed the whole sterndrive and tried to start the motor and it now turns over...my battery was so dead it didn't have enough juice to start, but it was turning over. I guess that means my upper or lower is seized...how do I check this or where do I start?

 

[jtrew77]

Well I have the upper and lower apart...the lower unit spins freely by the propeller shaft or the drive shaft, how do I tell if the upper part is seized? I can't turn the ball gears by hand, or should I be able to? Also, my manual said to drain the upper of oil...when I took the oil plug out only a little oil actually came out...was I missing something???Where do I put oil into the upper anyway?

 

[southkogs]

I'm thinking this sounds like your upper is locked up. Oil goes into the upper through the hole in the top (where the dipstick actually is if you have one), and it drains out of the screw hole on the starboard side about half way down. And it should hold 13.5OZ of gear oil.

You should be able to turn the upper unit by hand or using a wrench. It may be tough to move if the impeller is in, but you should be able to move it. With the impeller out, it should move pretty easily.

For me ... since I'm no good with transmissions, I hunted down a used upper and replaced the entire upper gear case. That was cheapest and easiest for me.

 

[jtrew77]

that sucks...I will take the impeller out and see if I can turn it...How much did the upper cost?

 

[jtrew77]

it turns about a quarter inch, but then I hear a loud click...going to try to let some oil soak in and hopefully loosen up over the next week or so, while I look for a replacement upper gearcase or research how to rebuild it myself

 

[southkogs]

The search for an upper is somewhere between creative purchasing and hunting an albino pygmy rhino in Manhattan. My two most successful routes have been finding a donor boat on Craigslist, or marine salvage yards. Wound up buying from the salvage yard.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Pull it apart. If your upper is seized, the roller bearings melted and welded itself together. No amount of "oil soak" will fix a seized bearing. Hope the races didn't spin or you are looking at a new to you housing as well

 

[jtrew77]

I'm having trouble unscrewing the 5 screws on the top to open it up...Do I take off the ball gear and go in through the side, or do I have to undo the 5 screws on the top and work from there down? Thinking they might have locktight on them and I will need to heat them...If that's the case, since I don't have a hot air gun, would a hair dryer work or could I use a blowtorch on them?

 

[southkogs]

You don't need to remove the ball gear. They should come off ... but it can be a real fight. I've not had to heat them off, so I'm not sure how much heat it would take.

 

[VE8EV]

You don't really need to take the top off the gearcase but it makes it easier to see what's going on. Take out the four screws that hold the ball gear assembly in place and pry it out. If the gears are totally smeared it might not fit through the hole. The bottom bearing assembly is held in by the four long bolts through the water pump on the bottom.

Stringer drives are terribly unforgiving of inattention. I check the oil levels in mine EVERY time I put it in the water and again when I pull it out (looking for water in the oil). Thanks to the internet I find parts are easier to get now than when it was new but used upper gearcase parts are hard to find and new parts are VERY expensive (but readily available).

You can rebuild an upper gearcase but a proper service manual and attention to detail is absolutely essential. It's almost impossible to find people who will work on them (or know how) so owning one is an advanced DIY project.

The bottom line will always remain that unless your boat is VERY special for some reason you're better off parting it out on ebay and buying another used boat with a Mercruiser (or Volvo-Penta) on it.

John