Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

[rossfree]

Hi all,

Just picked up a beautiful outboard for $50. Used in New Hampshire fresh water lakes up until about 15 years ago when it was put up for storage and never pulled out again. The owner (in the family since new) brought it in for service but after a few days of trying to break it loose... was told they even tried VooDoo... they called the owner and said it would cost him more to repair than the engine was worth.

I figured for $50 I could give it a try and if unsucessful, part it out on ebay and make a few dollars more in the process.

The paint looks almost factory fresh. Hardly any corosion. Same with the engine. I pulled the head and the cylinders look good except for some thin rust aound the intake and exhaust ports on one cylinder. It is unclear how bad the rust damage is at this time. Probably have some rings involved.

I can't budge the flywheel. Nuttin. I've pulled the rope pull so I can get my hands on the flywheel gear. I've squirted PB in to the cylinders for a couple of days now. Will try again when I get home. Trying to be patient. Trying. :-I

I gently tapped on the pistons with a piece of PVC pipe and a mallet. Gently. Just to break her loose a bit. Nuttin. No whaling on it. Nope. Trying to be patient.

Would pulling the intake and exhaust manifolds afford me any more access to the piston rings? One cylinder holds the PB pretty good for a long soak. The piston in the other has exposed the exhaust and intake ports and will not hold PB. Thoughts?

Haven't pulled the lower unit yet. Probably will this afternoon. It is possible, though I think unlikely, that the drive shaft is involved. The propeller shaft turns smoothly. I will pull the lower unit and drive shaft to eliminate that as a source of binding. Then I will know for sure and can concentrate on the head.

Have ordered a lower seal kit, water pump and head gasket. Haven't ordered the carb kit yet. It may work without. We'll see. There is something nostalgic about seeing these old babies run. I can't wait to get her on the water. I know I'll get her loose. Just know it.

I have an older 14' Meyers aluminum fishing boat I want to put her on.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've never taken apart the head on one of these things before. Hoping I won't have to this time. I don't know... 15 years sitting is a long time.

Regards,

Ross

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Oil, like ATF would be better. Give it a week or so soak. Then try again. I would put a socket on the flywheel nuts with a breaker bar after the soak and give it a few whacks. I had a 5 HP Royal years ago that would rust the rings to the cylinder walls and the socket routine always worked. Certainly nothing to lose, given the circumstances.

 

[phineas]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

i have broken free a few seized, well gently seized i guess, motors including a '61 18 HP by laying them piston up and putting sea foam in the sparkplug holes for a week or two then used a johnson bar on the flywheel nut , gently rocking it back and forth till it moves a little bit then use some more juice (sea foam or deep creep) and still rock it back and forth till it moves freely. Depending i suppose how bad it was stuck it may need further examination of the cly. walls. Course if it was stuck from lack of lube or damage to the rings etc all i said above will not work

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Not to add a dark cloud to your shiny new motor,
but i have read that back then they used to "plug the fuel line and run it until it stops". I've read a few stories like this and they all end with "ill never do that again" as the engine was ran without oil on the bearings.

Not saying this is your problem, just one more thing to consider.

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Thanks for the feedback gents,

To see this thing you would have to say it was treated with lovin care. The guy said his brother n law would winterize it every year and it would be in great shape the next summer. But they quite using it about fifteen years ago and that was the last it saw of winterizing.

It's stuck good. I have removed the lower gearbox. Man that thing was clean! No aluminum pitting or anything. I turned the drive shaft by hand. It moved alright. I felt the resistance of the water pump impeller. Good sign on the lower gears. The prop turns freely.

The engine is mounted to the transom for lack of an engine stand and I have it propped up so that I could pour Mystery Oil in the cylinders to soak. I used paper towels to jam in cylinder with the ports exposed. It will leak through but should provide a little longer soak. I'll just keep refilling it.

Patience is a virtue... but I don't own any virtues. I've put the breaker bar on the flywheel nut but it just gets tighter and tighter (the nut) and I don't want to put much torq on it. I've pounded a bit with hammer and wood. Even tapped on it while putting torq on the flywheel nut. She's stuck good. Grrrrrr.

This is day four. On day seven... if I make it that far, I throw it on the cement and jump up and down on it. One of us is gonna break loose!



Ross

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Ross - take it apart - all the way!! As nice as it is, it is worth pulling down to the crankshaft to assess it. Even if you did break it loose, the life span of the powerhead would likely be measured in minutes once you get it going. Might be a single bearing stuck. Could be several bearings. It would save you much frustration in the long run. As it is now you have a stuck, useless powerhead. Taking it apart won't change that, plus you might learn more about it as you go along. Lots of 18hp Johnson and Evinrude engines out there to draw from if you want to chase down a replacement powerhead, too.. Anything from 1959 to about 1968 would work. You'd just need to swap your periphery stuff onto the other powerhead...

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

...but ...but ... but

...i'm afraid!

:-O

Up to now, I've just messed with the peripheri stuff. Taking the head apart... now that's... well... just plain scarry.

I figure'd I'd be doing it sooner or later anyway. It's just that past experience tells me there will be this ONE FRICKIN PART that will take 99 percent of the time... breaking the head off of a bolt, breaking a mounting hole, cracking the aluminum body. You know what I mean. I broke a bolt head on the '65 6hp Rude you see in the pictures above (nxt to the 18hp). Fortunately, I was able to get a grip on the shaft and throw heat at it. I got it out fine. But I was plenty concerned!

But... I'd like to get the pistons out and hone the cylinders if nothing else anyway. Get some new rings. I'm hoping the rust is minimal and a simple honing will send her home. I don't have any experience with outboards. I'm a VIRGIN! Be gentle! But I've rebuilt plenty of car engines and whatnot.

Take it apart you say!

Woof.

Ross

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

There's not much to taking one apart. That's what I'd do and I've only taken a couple apart myself. The only thing I found annoying was taking the rods off the crankshaft which have about a million needle bearings but you hopefully will NOT have to do that. Even if you do it's not that bad but be sure to retorque all the bolts back properly.
Later,
JBJ

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

A shop manual would be a real help. Stuff like, the rods (and bearings) need to go back to the same places aren't intuitively obvious or when reassembling always use new rod bolts, etc., etc., etc.

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

I have a generic manual that covers a range of engines but it's pretty thorough. I'll be taking tons of photos during disassembly and will mark which bearings go to which rod / crank. Any other trouble spots???

Thanks for all the input!

Ross

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Update:

I pulled the engine apart, pulled the rod bearings and pounded the pistons out of the cylinders. The cylinders look great. I honed them and they are ready for a re-assembly.

The piston rings are stuck in the pistons. Does anyone have a simple method of breaking them free for ease of removal? I may re-use. I know.. I know... replace them. Well I could but I'd rather see how they look first so let's focus on how to get them out of the pistons first. Thank you.

These parts seem harder to come by as of late. Whas tha matter... it ain't too old yet is it?

So... any suggestions on removing stuck rings from the pistons without damage to either?

Thanks for feedback!!!

Ross

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Try soaking in kerosene for a few days.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Continue doing what you are doing and for certain you will have a junk engine. You keep using the term "patience" and that's the first ingredient in this recipe for loosening an engine. Use of an rust agent (Tri Flo, PB Blaster, etc) is a good start. Tilt the engine so the pistons are up. Add the agent and then walk away for as many days as you can. Leave the breaker bar at your neighbors for at least a week. Keep using it and you will break rings, the ring lands on the pistons and heaven only knows what else. After a week, retrieve the bar and "gently" try to move the flywheel just a tick by pulling and pushing the bar. Look -- you are not trying to hit a home run here so "even the slightest movement" is all you are looking for. If it doesn't move, soak it again. Wait. Try. Soak, wait, try. Eventually it will exhibit just a very slight movement. Now again -- DO NOT try to move past the limits of the initial movement. Soak it again and wait one day. Movement will now tend to be slightly farther. Rotate back and forth within the limits of this movement. Soak it again and repeat this process until you can rotate WITH EASE one full revolution. Remember, if you feel resistance any time during rotation and tend to force past that resistance you are scratching things. Once full rotation is available lubricate the be jeepers out of the cylinders and continue to rotate to get things lubricated well. Shortcut this process and you do expensive damage. You are then advised to fully disassemble the engine to inspect the lower end for rust and damage. Loosening the engine before attempting disassembly means you won't try to beat the pistons out only to ruin them in the process.

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

I think you missed the part where I said I already got the pistons out Silvertip.

Now I'm trying to get the rings off of the pistons. Currently they are soaking. I would like to get new rings but haven't been successful as of yet locating some. It's an 18hp 1960 Evinrude. I suspect the standard set will do. The cylinder walls look great. Have them honed and ready to go. Just need to remove the rings, clean the grooves and reassemble.

Any more ideas on removing rings without damaging them?

Ross

 

[jbjennings]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

I don't see why warming the pistons up a little out in the sun or some other way and having some good solvent soaked in like your doing would hurt anything.
Good luck, that's definitely a nice specimen.
JBJ

 

[rossfree]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Thank you,

Yes, she's a perty girl alright! Need to put it back together while I can still remember how I took it apart!!!

I was thinkin heat too. Thought about warmin it a bit with a torch to the top face of the piston. It's aluminum so it should carry it through to the rings just fine. I don't want to cook it... just get it up around the boiling point or so. That should expand it a bit and maybe help break the rings loose. No heat directly on the rings.

Thanks for the feed back.

Ross

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Frozen Head - 1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard

Be very careful with heat if you want to save the rings. Too much will take the spring out of them...

 

[rossfree]

1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard - SHE RUNS!!!

1960 18hp Evinrude Outboard - SHE RUNS!!!

Hi all,

Thanks for all the responses. Here's an update...

After a reasonable soak, I got tired of waiting so... I beat the damn pistons out of the cylinders... and I had to beat them good! Nicely... of course. Then I had to pry and pound the rings out of the pistons. Woof!

I honed the cylinders just enough to take the shine off of them - absolutely beautiful! Spent a couple of hours cleaning the ring grooves on the pistons. Took my time and did a good job.

The crank bearing surfaces looked like the day it came out of the factory! Perfect! Perfect! What a machine! Some rust above the upper crank seal from condensation sitting there. Cleaned it up and greased it good. Should be fine.

Re-assembled the head paying close attention to proper sealing and cleaned the pedal valves. New gaskets all around. If I needed some I didn't have, I made them.

Didn't mess with the exhaust cover. It looked black inside but still nice and open.

Replaced both coils (they were cracked badly) and the points and condensers. Opened the fuel pump and inspected but did not replace. It looked like it had some years left. Flipped the thick gasket over that mounted the fuel pump to the engine and punched three new holes in it... that worked fine.

Carb kit installed. Made a mistake and put the float in upside down. **Hangs head in shame** But figured that out pretty quick when she wouldn't start.

Replaced the water pump but didn't crack open the lower gear box. Drained and changed the gear oil. Replaced the thermostat. That's about it. Four weeks apart... re-assembled and only one part left over! Hey now... that's not bad for me! It was a second gasket that I think went under the fuel pump gasket. Heck... I tossed it aside!

And she RUNS!

Overheated a bit when I fired it up in a tank. When I reassembled the lower unit, I missed the water tube hole. I've done that before. Man that thing should be easier to hit! Figured that problem out. 15 minutes later had it back up and running.

Took the boat out to a local river pond. Not big but enough to test her out. Youtube video below. Came out great! Big smiles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WHqRvc5-zM

I contacted the original owner to let them know. They saw the video and emailed back to say it left a lump in their throat. Happy to see it running again.

So all ends well. Now I have two old motors and thinking of selling the 6hp either this fall or waiting till next summer when there's more likely a market for it. Just don't want to get into the motor storage business.

Regards to all! Thanks again for all the help!

Ross