1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

[mikehooper420]

I recently bought a boat that has a 1964 starflite 90 s outboard motor. I bought it on ebay and went from illinois to kentucky to pick it up. The guy who sold it to me said it ran six months ago, and he said that after I paid him and left him good feedback. I got it home and bought a new marine battery for it, hooked it up, and turned it over by jumping the starter to see if it would turn... The motor was frozen up, and by the way the teeth looked on the starter, someone had tried many times to do the same thing. I decided to take the lower unit off to see if it was the gearcase or the motor that was frozen. When I took the lower unit off, the motor began to turn freely. I can not turn the prop or the shaft even with the lower unit off the motor, however the motor started, with a little grinding from the starter pinion gear. I am not a marine mechanic, but I am great with cars. My question is: does anyone know where I can get a diagram so that I may try to rebuild the lower unit? And where can I get the parts? Also what engines would have the correct lower unit with non hydro electric shift? Does anyone have a new or used starter for this motor? Maybe it is something that happens when you let it sit for too long, how would I fix it? I also need the wiring diagram for the key switch to start the motor, the seller did not have a key for the boat. Are there any common problems with this outboard I should know about? Also I need the wiring diagram for the motor to replace old wiring. Will the lower unit lock up with no power running to it? Please help me

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

I think you're in for some bad news. If the lower unit is seized, dollars to donuts it's had a water intrusion problem and was allowed to sit. If that is the case, your gears bearings, etc are as good a junk. Pull it apart and see, you might get lucky and just have something that tore apart and jammed up the internals. But, I'd be bracing for tracking down another lower unit. It'll be cheaper than trying to replace all the internals.

Have you drained the fluid yet? What did it look like?

 

[mikehooper420]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

I havn't opened the lower unit yet, but when I took it off no fluid came out, do you think it could be just really dry, and letting some fluid sit on it will bring it back to life

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

My guess is maybe it leaked bad enough to let it all escape. Or, was just run dry - gak! Look carefully for cracks in the casings. I think you'll want to just go ahead and pull it apart rather than trying to soak it. Even if it moves free, you're going to want to take it apart and inspect it anyway.

Right?

 

[mikehooper420]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

Do you know a good place to get used lower units for this motor, and are there any other model evinrudes with the same set up I can look for

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

ebay and craigslist are good places to look. As for other models, I'm the wrong guy to ask. I'll move aside for the interchange experts on that one.

 

[Dave_A]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

Well, I just happen to have a StarFlite 90S lower (Yelm, WA area)...

It's not frozen, but it's not 100% either - specifically, it will not shift into 'forward'... Everything else works, it goes into reverse & neutral just fine... But for some reason the forward gear won't engage...

Might be easier for you to fix the shifting problem than deal with your frozen lower... Might also be absurdly expensive to ship from WA to IL... Damn thing is heavy...

I know for sure that the 100S lower *DOES* interchange and function on the 90 (assuming you have a long-shaft 90S) - you will have to cut your water tubes short if you go that route, though....

My boat came with a frozen 100S and 2 lowers... It now mounts a 90S with a 100S lower... I just took it for it's first test-run yesterday, and that config DOES work...

 

[F_R]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

Any of the torpedo shaped electric shift lower units from any of the 75-80-85-90hp models will fit. The different shaped ones with thru-hub exhaust are different.

A mechanical shift torpedo-shaped unit from the same models will also fit, but requires considerable other modifications to make it work.

 

[mikehooper420]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

Thanks for all your great help, I ended up purchacing a lower unit on ebay. This one looks good the only worry I have is that the new lower unit may be not shifting properly as it is in nuetrel off the boat. I thought the default for the non-hydro electric shift was forward, but it appears to be in nuetrel, I am working on installing it now.

 

[Lodgepole]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

What ever you do, drain and refill gear case. While it is off, I would replace seals and impeller. You never know what you have till it craps out on you.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

Hydro-Electrics default to Forward
Spring-clutch Electric shift units (yours) default to neutral

 

[Evinrookie]

Re: 1964 evinrude starlite 90 s lower unit frozen

For future LU problems this site might be a good place to look for a diagram.

"http://www.crowleymarine.com/parts.cfm"

The search by year only brings up 1970 as the oldest motor but if you know the Model Number you might find what you need.