1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

[Jbosco]

Hello all. Years ago when I got a divorce from my X, I had to sell my bayliner and 14ft vhull during asset division as I couldn't afford to pay her out more than the 20,000 that I ended up shelling out already. So I lost both boats and haven't been on the water since. My son just turned 14 and he and I decided to do a project boat together, something we could afford as we just spent another 9,000 this year for changes to the custody schedule that he wanted but that the X refused. We ended up getting everything he wanted, but money is tight as I'm on an educators salary, so we're doing this on our own over the winter together and hoping to spend the summer fishing and boating as much as is possible.

So, here's the deal. We found a 67 merc kiekhaefer 9.8 engine which hasn't seen action for 10 years. It looks to be in pretty good condition, however, I know that before we even think about firing it up, there's some work we will need to do. This is our first go on an engine, so we've got a bit of learning ahead of us.

My question is, on an engine this old, which hasn't seen water in a decade, do you have any recommendations as to where we should start? I currently plan on cleaning the carb, putting in a new kit, replacing the impeller, compression check and I'm sure there are seals that are going to need to be replaced as well as draining the oil, getting new spark plugs and verifying ignition.

Any other advice you guys have for us... The engine is only 2 years younger than I am... So I know it's going to need some tlc before we put her to work!

It feels great to even be thinking about going back out on the river again with my boy and I know this will be one of those memories that will stay with my son and me for many year a to come.

Thanks in advance for any help you gentlemen can muster up on our behalf!

James

 

[brim_buster]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

Your going in the right direction. I have the repair manual for it in PDF format if you would like a copy. I would spray a little WD-40 in the cylinders and check for spark. If you have spark thats part of the battle. send me your email address and I will shoot you a copy of the manual.

 

[Jbosco]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

Your going in the right direction. I have the repair manual for it in PDF format if you would like a copy. I would spray a little WD-40 in the cylinders and check for spark. If you have spark thats part of the battle. send me your email address and I will shoot you a copy of the manual.

Thanks for the advice brim buster and for your kind offer for the manual. We would love to have a copy... I'm shooting you over a message with my email here in a second. Really appreciate your help.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

sounds like you have everything covered. these old mercs are pretty simple.

when you replace the impeller, coat it with a light coat of dish soap. it helps lubricate it on startup until the water gets flowing.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

Welcome to iBoats JBosco . . .

I recently purchased a 1969 7.5 hp Merc, which is the same sort of engine as the 9.8 cousin of that era.

Here are a couple of threads that I have posted about it. . . .

http://forums.iboats.com/non-repair-outboard-discussions/i-got-me-mercury-617939.html

http://forums.iboats.com/mercury-mariner-outboards/1969-mercury-7-5-fuel-pump-629345.html

As long as the engine seems to spin freely with the pull cord and the compression is decent, you should be OK with getting it started. . . . I think I got 90-100 psi on my engine. Definitely drain the fuel system and flush it with a fuel system cleaner.

The things that I ran into beyond what you have mentioned are:

1) The wiring harness (about 3 wires total) was cracking and fraying, causing the ignition system to short out intermittently. I made a new wiring harness

2) The Ignition shut-off button was not functioning very well and I had to shut the engine off by using the choke. I replaced the push button with a toggle switch. I would, however, recommend that you consider the ignition shut-off buttons with the safety lanyard. Those come in a generic configuration that could be retro-fitted. I think "Sea Dog" makes them.

3) I was getting a fair amount of oil sheen on the water, particularly at first use. I isolated the problem to the drive shaft seal that is directly under the water pump and the shift shaft seal that is also in the lower unit. They are still available and fairly inexpensive. So, you might want to replace those when you do the impeller.

4) The fuel pump started to leak towards the end of the season. I'll be re-building my fuel pump over the winter. So, you may want to get a re-build kit for the fuel pump (diaphragm kit).

5) There is a special size fuel line connector (bayonet style) that was used only for a few years. If your engine has the fuel line and connector, then you should be all set. If not the correct fuel line connector is very pricey, as it is in short supply. I paid $45 for a connector. I made the mistake of buying the more modern style Mercury fuel line connector, but it is larger and does not fit into the narrow connection opening, nor does it mate to the connector properly.

So, a 40+ year old engine is a bit of a mechanics special, but the Merc's of that era are very substantial engines. So, if you have one that is in good condition, it should run well. My family had a brand new 1969 7.5 hp back in the day and we kept it for a few years, ran like a champ; then we sold it to get a run-about boat. It was kind of cool getting the same engine after all those years, brought back some good memories, bombing around the water when I was a kid.

If you run into any problems, there are a few Merc experts on this forum, so you have come to the right place.

 

[Jbosco]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

Wow... Thank you all for your input. I can tell you straight up that I wouldn't have thought about any of those suggestions. I ended up buying a johnson sea horse 20hp also from the 1960's as we got to talking when I was picking up the merc, so it looks like my son and I will have a pretty busy winter! I really appreciate all your advice. I'm sure we'll be back on asking for input as we go, but you've helped us get a laundry list of things to do getting underway.

Thanks again men.

James

 

[tomhath]

Re: 1967 Merc kiekhaefer 9.8 unused for 10 years... Advice appreciated

sounds like you have everything covered. these old mercs are pretty simple.

when you replace the impeller, coat it with a light coat of dish soap. it helps lubricate it on startup until the water gets flowing.

If I recall correctly the water tube from the impeller to the power head just pulls out when you have the lower unit off (normally it's trapped between the pump and the motor so there's no need for any kind of connectors to hold it in place). There might be an o ring at the top that would need to be replaced, but in any case be sure the tube is clean; they'll often be plugged or partially blocked with "stuff".