Help with '54 Sea King 3HP 45GG-9004A (Gale #3D11)

JohnTRN

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Aug 22, 2017
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Good Afternoon,

Brand new to the Forum and tearing into vintage outboards. I have a 1954 Montgomery Ward Sea King 3 HP 45GG-9004A (Gale Model #3D11). Bought this almost 20 years ago in a garage sale and used if for a while on a 12' John Boat. My son was afraid of the water at the time and I got rid of the boat. Now, I'm getting interested in putzing around with engines and this has been sitting in the garage.






Upper end is in pretty good shape. Have the 'clam shell' housing off and cleaned up. The carb is apart and I need to replace/repair the cork float. Found a NOS 170336 Float Assembly at a local Marine Dealer . . . $40! Looking at coating it with polyurethane and re-using it. Compression is 75 after several pulls. A little on the low end? Maybe a shot at some ATF in the spark plug hole and let it sit for a few days, then see what happens with compressions?

The lower end is problematic. Starting with the Bushing and Grease Driveshaft seal that the driveshaft comes down through, the bushing in the front of the Gear Housing, the bushing and the Bushing and Seal in the Gear Housing Cover probably all need to be replaced. There's wobble in the shaft and evidence of water in the gear case.



Parts are the problem. The dealer I visited did not have a Parts List specific to this engine, but may have parts. Hopefully, not priced like the Float Assembly. I've found a "Gale Products1951-1963 Service Manual" so I have a good idea of schematics and parts. What I've not been able to find is anything with parts numbers or cross-reference to OMC/Johson-Evinrude parts.

With that said, I'm trying to decide how much money I want to put into this project vs. parting it out on eBay. :(

Any help will be appreciated.

John
 

brim_buster

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Jul 9, 2013
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1,203
WOW 40 bills for a float...that hurts. Hope it aint cork. You could of got the kit on line with everything cheaper than that, FR is the expert on these motors and Im surprised he hasnt gave you any info. He might be on vacation or something. But I think any year model 54 OMC parts should interchange. Check ebay they have boat loads of parts CHEAP
 

JohnTRN

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Aug 22, 2017
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Evening brim_buster!

Thanks for the reply. Yup, $40 for NOS cork. Who's to say that it's not dried out and going to sink?! I'm in the process of coating my old cork with MinWax Floor Polyurethane to fuel proof it. There is a Sierra foam float that may work as a backup plan; it probably needs to be cut down.

The only problem with finding parts on the Internet is getting the part numbers to search for and not knowing WHICH OMC parts will cross to this 3HP engine or what part numbers are for any of the Gale parts.

John
 

JohnTRN

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Aug 22, 2017
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Say brim_buster, who is 'FR' and how do I get in touch with him? Searched the members for "FR" and only came up with "fr", a cadet with no posts.

Thanks!

John
 

F_R

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I am the F_R guy, and yes I have a small collection of those 3hp Gales. I use the 18-7208 (for Mercury) float from iboats. Sand the dome off the top and drill the center 3/32" for the float pin to go through. It is a Nitrophyl float and will last longer than any of us.
 

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F_R

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As you sand the dome off, don't make it too short. Because it is smaller diameter than the original, it has to be taller to equal the same buoyancy. Make it so it fits between the upper and lower clips, no shorter.
 

JohnTRN

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Aug 22, 2017
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Good Evening F_R!

Thanks for the reply. Any chance you have part numbers for the bushings and oil seal in the lower unit? I'm wondering about availability/cost to rebuild it. I've got some play in the the drive and propeller shaft and pretty sure the oil seal is not tight.

John
 

F_R

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Here is the parts book for the lower unit. Actually, they are usually in pretty miserable shape and the seals won't help much if the shafts and bushings are worn. The other option is to re-grease it every few times out. I do make a mod to the prop shaft seal, which I don't have time to explain right now. Later....
 

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F_R

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OK, here's the thing about those seals. If you look at the prop shaft seal, you will see that it is pressed into the prop shaft bushing. It is an Oilite bushing, meaning it is porous, like a sponge. So, grease can seep right past the outside of the seal, through that porosity. Then it comes in contact with the water pump impeller (rotor), which makes the rotor swell up in size, making it useless.

So what to do?? I use a part number 624639 seal from an Evinrude dealer. It is larger in outside diameter, meaning remove the Oilite bushing and cut 1/4" off the end of it. That resulting 1/4" cavity allows the larger seal to be pressed directly into the pump housing, instead of into the porous bushing. Now the grease cannot bypass the seal like before.

Of course, this depends on the prop shaft being in decent shape where it spins within the seal.

The drive shaft seal is a PITA to remove, if not impossible. Unless it is a special motor to me, I just leave it alone and regrease frequently.
 

JohnTRN

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Aug 22, 2017
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Thanks F_R. You've provided what I spent hours searching the Internet for! :)

The outboard holds no special significance to me. Bought it for $20 in a yard sale almost 20 years ago and after some use, it got parked. I'm developing an interest in wrenching small engines and there this was sitting in the garage. May grease it, put it all back together, see how it runs and go from there.

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and resources with a small engine noob!

John
 
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