Monmouth's 1979 Starcraft Kingfisher Rebuild

[Monmouth00]

In case anybody was wondering, here's what the battery switches, batteries, and rear bus bar ended up.

There's another bus bar under the console where most of the electronics are grounded. This is just a ground for the two batteries, sets of lights and the trolling motor outlet that life on the port side of the boat. It didn't make sense to run all that extra wire all the way around the boat. Saved some money and space for those thick battery cables.

It's not as "clean" as I had hoped, but it will do the job.

I got the wire into conduit and used cable clamps to hold it in place right at the base of the rear bench.I did the same with the power cables from the remote start. I stopped with the clamps just short of the "Y" where it splits for the battery/motor.

The battery cables are thick, and don't bend easily. This causes some problems getting the battery boxes to close. The starting battery box will not close all the way, no matter what I do. So, I'm content just cinching it in as is.

You can also get a view of the fuel/water separator. That's new, so I'll have to cut the old fuel line to accommodate.

 

[Watermann]

Looks great and like your ready to get your KF wet in the lake. :encouragement:

 

[Monmouth00]

Looks great and like your ready to get your KF wet in the lake. :encouragement:

Well, hold onto that thought. No motor, and bad news to go along with it.

After the new float valve and gaskets were installed, the motor runs perfectly. It just won't shift into gear.

Further investigation revealed problems in the lower unit. Not sure if it's the clutch or what. I was told that it may just be cheaper to replace the entire lower unit. So far the least expensive one I've found on eBay is about $500.00

I'm beyond bummed. I went from talking about getting on the lake with my son last night, and organizing all of my tackle, to wondering what the heck I'm going to do.

Do I ditch the engine? If I do, the most likely replacement will be a used 4-stroke tiller - which means I ditch the console I worked so hard on. Do I cough up $3500 for a brand new remote steering engine ('cause I can't find a used one).

Guys, I'm gutted. This royally sucks.

 

[Watermann]

You should post some info on the problem, what's your motor and serial #?. What happens when you try shifting the motor into forward and reverse gear? Are you doing this while it's running? Did someone recently drop the lower?

 

[Monmouth00]

You should post some info on the problem, what's your motor and serial #?. What happens when you try shifting the motor into forward and reverse gear? Are you doing this while it's running? Did someone recently drop the lower?

I should mention up front that I know nothing of outboards, which is why I took it to a local guy who had the best recommendations I could find.

My motor is a 1979 (I think) 2 stroke 20HP Mercury long shaft. I'm not sure if it's 20" or 25". I don't have model or serial number information.

The motor starts and runs fine. The shaft is turning, and the water pump is working.

But, when it gets put into gear (while running) it rattles, and only shifts into forward intermittently. It will not shift into reverse at all.

I gave permission to my engine guy to drop the lower unit (he hadn't previously) to see if there was an easily identifiable problem. There wasn't anything in particular he could see. He mentioned that it could be the dog clutch, but h can't be sure unless he tears it apart.

He's reluctant o tear it apart, because he says there is a cracked housing. I'm not sure if it's the main hosing, but I do know that the skeg had a pretty bad whack in it from the previous owner. I've never seen the lower unit drip oil, and there was still oil in it when he changed it earlier this week.

Regardless, he's telling me that he might be able to find a complete lower assembly for less than the cost of the pats and labor of fixing this one.

Here's my dilemma: I'm already $300 into this thing for the work he's done. Am I going to spend another $500 or more to get this motor going when it's almost 40 years old? Am I going to have to spend another $800 next year on it? Am I going to find out the hard way, by being stranded on the lake at 11:00pm with my scared and crying 9 year old on board?

I've pretty much made the decision that, unless he finds a lower unit for peanuts, I'm going to replace the engine altogether. This will do three things for me:

1. Give me a reliable engine.
2. Give me a properly sized outboard (my 20 is technically illegal on my 9.9-limited lake)
3. Solve my slow trolling problem (can't do it well without bags on the two stroke)

I've found a Yamaha with remote steering about 2 hours from my house that is being sold off someone's Boston Whaler. He says it's still under warranty until July 2019. If it's still there, I'm going to try to look at it on Saturday. Side controls included. It was a salt water engine, but only for a very short time.

I've moved from disappointed to pissed. I was supposed to be on the lake this weekend.

 

[Monmouth00]

Anybody have a guess on the length of this shaft? Is it 20" or 25"?

BWR1953 - do you know the transom height for the KF?

The new O/B I found is 20", and I can't get to the boat to measure. My engine guy isn't responding to texts.

I'd like to move quickly on this O/B if I can.

Thanks!

 

[ab59]

20" is the most common .

 

[BWR1953]

Anybody have a guess on the length of this shaft? Is it 20" or 25"?

BWR1953 - do you know the transom height for the KF?

The new O/B I found is 20", and I can't get to the boat to measure. My engine guy isn't responding to texts.

I'd like to move quickly on this O/B if I can.

Thanks!

Okay, okay, I'm home, I'm home! Doc appointment today...

Yes, my KF has a 20" transom. Yours probably does too.

Here's how to measure:

 

[Monmouth00]

Okay, okay, I'm home, I'm home! Doc appointment today...

Yes, my KF has a 20" transom. Yours probably does too.

Here's how to measure:

Awesome! Once again to the rescue! Man, many, many thanks!

So if I've got a 20" transom, I can use a motor with a 20" shaft, right?

 

[BWR1953]

Awesome! Once again to the rescue! Man, many, many thanks!

So if I've got a 20" transom, I can use a motor with a 20" shaft, right?

Absolutely! That's a perfect fit.

Sorry to hear you're having motor troubles. Hopefully it gets resolved quickly for you! :joyous:

 

[Monmouth00]

Put the tape on the stern of the Rod Bender and she is indeed 20" !

I look at the motor on Saturday morning .If it starts and isn't covered in salt and corrosion, it will come home with me .

it's coming off a 13' whaler, so I'm concerned about the cables and harness being the right length . How difficult is it to change the control cables? What are the chances that the harness is the right length?

 

[Watermann]

It's very disappointing to see there's people who sell others an outboard motor they know is messed up. Second worse thing is being charged 300 bucks for work on a motor that is messed up and it's not repaired. :mad-new:

 

[nrf414]

Man that sufks about your motor. Good luck on the next one. Control cables are pretty easy to replace. Usually just a retaining nut and washer on each end. At least for OMC. Keep us posted!

 

[Monmouth00]

It's very disappointing to see there's people who sell others an outboard motor they know is messed up. Second worse thing is being charged 300 bucks for work on a motor that is messed up and it's not repaired. :mad-new:

Well, the motor worked just fine (gear-wise) for last season. Despite the problems with the float valve, and stalling when I put it in gear, it generally always moved the boat. It shifted into gear just fine when I dropped it off in November. The gremlins in this guy's shop must have gotten to the lower unit while it sat on the stand.

Which brings me to my next point of frustration: This guy had the motor since November 2017. Granted, I didn't rush him, and told him to take his time because I was putting the boat back together. But I started calling him in February to let him know the timeline. He said he was up to his ears in snowblowers and would get to it before it was time to hang it back on the boat.

I found out about this problem on Wednesday - the same day I was supposed to drag the boat over to install the outboard. I'm pissed about that. I think I have a right to be. I've kept a level head, but it's bothering me.

I'm not telling him about the other motor I'm looking at yet. I don't want him to stop looking for the lower unit yet. If I do end up buying this 9.9 on Saturday, I'll offer to let him keep the old 25hp Merc in lieu of forking over $300 for what he's done so far. I don't want to have to drag it home, and then deal with trying to ebay or craigslist it.

You guys think that's fair?

 

[Monmouth00]

Well, I don't have an engine, but I've got some nice letters!

A buddy has a vinyl lettering business and did this up for me. I love it. Wife loves it. Kid will love it too.

Everyone at the lake is going to know about Rod Bender!

 

[Monmouth00]

Quick update:

I went to check out the old/new Yamaha 9.9 that I found on Craigslist yesterday.

The engine was manufactured in 2011, but entered into service in 2014. It's still under warranty - I called Yamaha to confirm. It's an F9.9LEA with remote steering/start.

It wouldn't stay running. It would fire up, but quit after 20-30 seconds. Obviously a fuel delivery problem.

We quickly pulled the carb, and cleared what appeared to be clog. We then chased the fuel delivery system through the engine. The gas was getting through the filter, through the pump, and into the carb.

It fired up and ran for a couple of minutes, but it died again.

After we primed it, the bulb would be firm, but after running for a short time, the bulb would go soft again. Is that supposed to happen? I've never felt the bulb after the engine has been running for a few minutes. Does it go soft?
(obviously I know nothing about outboards)

I'm hoping it's a problem with the fuel line or the tank - maybe there's not enough vacuum to keep feeding fuel?

The engine is going to his mechanic this week. We're going to try again next weekend.

I have literally installed every piece I have bought for the boat in the meantime. All that's left is to hang an engine on the back.

It's killing me. Guys from my trout club are pulling up fish left and right. Rainbows, lakers, and even a few browns. I see pictures every time I open Facebook.

Hopefully the bite is still on by the time I get an engine.

 

[Monmouth00]

Oh, and in anticipation of actually bringing the motor home, I've bought some control/shift cables.

The 9.9 is coming off a 13ft. boston whaler. The cables are too short, so I bought ones that match the length of the old cables from my Merc.

Are they difficult to change inside the side mount shifter?

I know they're threaded on each side - do I simply screw them into the shifter, or do I have to take it apart?

Thanks!

 

[Watermann]

If the bulb in the fuel feed line is going flaccid then there is a problem with the line and or fuel tank, it should remain rigid.

You have to remove the cables from inside the controls. Many controls have a dent ball and spring so be careful when pulling it apart. Once apart it will be obvious how to remove the cables from the shift cams.

 

[nrf414]

Do you know which controls they are? I had the 703 controls for my Yamaha 115 and they were easy to change. Pop off the cover, take off retaining nut and washer, put new cable in and reverse disassembly.

 

[Monmouth00]

If the bulb in the fuel feed line is going flaccid then there is a problem with the line and or fuel tank, it should remain rigid.

Thanks for the imagery! Yeah, I thought it was supposed to remain semi-rigid. It didn't deflate completely, but it definitely wasn't firm.

Hoping the problem is with the fuel line or the tank itself. We didn't ave a spare to test with.

With regard to the control box, it didn't look like a really fancy one. I didn't get a model number off it, but I think the cable replacement will be fairly simple (I hope...)

I'll be mindful of that spring though. Thanks for the tips!