'85 50hp kingpin seized

CreekCruiser

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Jul 13, 2014
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Hi guys, just got a new to me boat and the motor fires right up and purrs, however it does not turn very easily. I have disconnected the steering and the problem is in the motor itself unfortunately. I have tried heating the housing around the kingpin and adding grease and while that has improved the situation it is still way to tight. I am sure I am going to have to repair the kingpin and have searched the forums on how to do this but I have questions about how to disassemble. Do I have to pull the power head,lower unit, transom bracket? Does the pin drive up or drive down? Do I have to pull the motor off the transom? Thanks, CC
 

jerryjerry05

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Before you do that, keep up the heat and add grease.
I installed a couple more zerts.
One on the top and one on the bottom.
There is a bushing, I think made from plastic so be careful with the heat.
The regular thick marine grease can be substituted with a white lithium.

You unhook the steering and try to turn it?
Sometimes the steering is the problem and not the kingpin.
 

CreekCruiser

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I'm definitely going to give the heat and grease trick another shot today because it has improved the situation somewhat. Hopefully that will work but I am preparing for the worst, seems to be a common theme in my limited boating experience. Haha And yes JJ the steering has been disconnected so this is definitely a motor issue.
 

CreekCruiser

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Ok so I tried the heat/ grease trick again with my propane torch, trying not to get it to hot and melt the bushings. No improvement. Grease flows freely but only out the bottom of the tube. Don't know if this is typical or not. Thinking I am going to have to repair the kingpin, anybody have any answers to the questions in my original post? Thanks, CC
 

Frank Acampora

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The kingpin is knurled into the lower cowling AND has a big nut. Unfortunately, this nut is under the front motor mount so yes to do the job correctly you will need to remove the powerhead. Typically, the aluminum casting of the swivel yoke corrodes, squeezing the plastic bushings onto the kingpin. The kingpin will have some rust so the situation MAY be improved some by greasing and heating. However, the only sure cure is to remove the yoke and kingpin, drive out the kingpin, and remove the bushings. Then, clean all corrosion out of the yoke and grease it well. Finally, ream out the plastic bushings to their correct size.. And yes, it is necessary to remove the engine from the boat.
 

jerryjerry05

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I added 2 zerts and it really helped a lot.
The top one is what you need if the grease is coming out there.
I drilled the hole in the boss around the top and through the bushing.
Heated it and hit it with compressed air.
Be very CAREFUL as the grease coming out can be very hot and could spray on you.
Then sprayed it with PB Blaster or WD-40
Installed the fitting and added grease.
 

CreekCruiser

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And yes, it is necessary to remove the engine from the boat.
I am in the process of building an engine stand just in case it comes to this. I am hoping I can get the swivel loose enough to make it through the rest of the season then start the project during the winter. Thanks for responding Frank, I have read through some of your other posts on this issue but I haven't done a ton of engine work so most of it will be learning on the fly. Thanks again
 

CreekCruiser

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I added 2 zerts and it really helped a lot. The top one is what you need if the grease is coming out there. I drilled the hole in the boss around the top and through the bushing. Heated it and hit it with compressed air. Be very CAREFUL as the grease coming out can be very hot and could spray on you. Then sprayed it with PB Blaster or WD-40 Installed the fitting and added grease.
I have one grease fitting in the center of the yoke. Did you add one above this and one below this? I would like to give this a shot but I just want to make sure I don't put the zerks in a bad spot. Do you happen to have any pictures of your install? Specifically I wanted some more info on the boss and bushing you mention. I don't have a concept of exactly what you mean. Like I mentioned above, I haven't done a lot of work on outboard engines. Thanks JJ
 

jerryjerry05

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Will try to post a couple later.
The post should have read. "the top one is the one you need if the grease is coming from the bottom.
 

CreekCruiser

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Here is a pic of my setup. Just want to make sure I add the fitting in a spot that is not going to cause problems with the clearance of the kingpin. Any suggestions?
19610f22a73212a9250a945c53d68614_zps4599fe6e.jpg
 

NYBo

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Oct 23, 2008
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I would try cleaning up the crud at the top and bottom where the nmotor swivels. That looks kind of crusty to me.
 

CreekCruiser

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I would try cleaning up the crud at the top and bottom where the nmotor swivels. That looks kind of crusty to me.
That's actually the new grease that has been pushed out the bottom. Just a bad angle.
 

CreekCruiser

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I was thinking more of the congealed glob at the top.
Gotcha. I tried scraping that and it was hard as a rock. I thought it was part of the casting. That can't be hardened grease, can it? I will put some heat to it tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks for looking
 

Jiggz

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What kind of grease are you using to shoot the kingpin? The color reminds me of triple guard which should not be. In your situation, the best grease is actually light bearing grease or even removing the zerk fitting and shooting it with PB blaster or penetrating oil to clear the old grease while at the same time heating it up. Follow it up with LP air to push it out while swiveling the motor. As soon as the old grease clears and the kingpin is free, then use regular marine grease to grease it up.
 

jerryjerry05

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No Title

Yea scrape the crap away.
Then drill a hole away from the travel of the motor.
I use a thinner grease, a white lithium.
First pic is the bottom zert.
Second is the top.
Just put em in the thicker(boss) area.
 

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CreekCruiser

Seaman Apprentice
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Jul 13, 2014
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What kind of grease are you using to shoot the kingpin? The color reminds me of triple guard which should not be. In your situation, the best grease is actually light bearing grease or even removing the zerk fitting and shooting it with PB blaster or penetrating oil to clear the old grease while at the same time heating it up. Follow it up with LP air to push it out while swiveling the motor. As soon as the old grease clears and the kingpin is free, then use regular marine grease to grease it up.
It is Lucas marine grease I picked up from Home Depot. I'm gonna take your advice and see what happens. Hopefully I can make some progress.
 

CreekCruiser

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Yea scrape the crap away. Then drill a hole away from the travel of the motor. I use a thinner grease, a white lithium. First pic is the bottom zert. Second is the top. Just put em in the thicker(boss) area.
Thanks for the pictures JJ, that's exactly what I was looking for. I'll post the progress.
 

pnwboat

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That crusty stuff at the top looks like it might be the result of corrosion. Like foodfisher mentioned, that's where I would bet the problem is.
 
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