Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

[adamj]

I have a 1951 3 hp evinrude fleetwin. There is a rattle in the pullcord retractor when the engine is running. I (with the help of Dale, my 7 year old son) took it all apart and see that the retractor hub has some wobble when I push it back and forth. I took that apart and tried to see if there was some way to reduce the wobble but didn't really see any way. There is a spring that seems to not be springing much in the middle hub ( a larger 1.5" diameter spring between the hub center peice and the top, not the 3 small springs on the outside of the retractor). The spring seems to be springy, but not really tightening things up. Could the spring be screwed up? Could it be assembled incorrectly?

Any advice? Not sure what to do.
Also not sure if I can get these springs to try to replace it.
thanks!
AdamJ

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

Are you sure of the year and model? Evinrude did not make a 3hp in '51, they made a 3.3hp and the Fleetwin is a 7.5 hp.

 

[F_R]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

That spring is there to provide friction to the equilizer ring, making the pawls swing out when you pull the rope. It must be pre-assembled up on the shoulder of the spindle before the spindle is inserted into the pulley. If it is not, then you can't tighten the screw that holds it all together.
Starter rattle wasn't all that uncommon. That's why newer motors had an extension on the rubber handle that went in and jammed between the pulley and housing.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

That spring must not be stacked, it must be wound out flat, it is not a return spring.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

Here's an old service bulletin from Evinrude about this subject, sevice bulletin, Eas-a-matic and simplex starters. Applicable? I have no idea but maybe.

Cheers...................Todd

 

[BSDenning]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

I've got a smililar rattle in my 1957 7.5 hp Fleetwin. At first, I was worried that it was in the motor, but when I took the Eas-A-Matic starter off and started the motor by wraping a rope around the fly wheel, it didn't have the rattle anymore. I haven't investigated the rattle any further, but it is annoying. I may try sanding down that spindle and see if that fixes the problem!

 

[BSDenning]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

Well, I have to say that the service bulletin is 100% correct. I sanded down the spindle and it reduced the rattle in the starter. However, I really wish that the H. L. Dickerson had emphasized a little more on the part about not sanding it down to much! I sanded mine and put it on the motor and it sounded a lot better, but it still had a little knock, so I took it off and sanded some more ... too much. Now when you tighten up the screw in the spindle, it locks up the whole assembly. Now I've got to either figure out something to put in there to space it just a hair, or get a new spindle and start sanding again! Any ideas on which course of action I should take?

 

[BSDenning]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

I bought some 1/32 inch thick rubber gasket material from Advanced Auto Parts and used it to space the spindle. Now the Starter works perfectly again. It has a little knock, but I'm going to deal with it.

 

[adamj]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

Hi all, thanks for the replies. Just got back from a week on a lake, Yes!

1. Samo-Ott . My mistake, got mixed up. It is a lightwin 3 hp, serial number 3012-35817. My Dad said 1951 but neither of us are really sure as it was a long time ago, and his memory isn't what it used to be... for that matter neither is mine! I know there's a lookup table somewhere.
2. R johnson, I'm not talking about the retractor spring, which is a long 3/8" spring steel coil. (is this what you thought I meant?). I mean there is a 2 coild square cross section 1.5" diameter spring below the spindle.
3. It's definitly the starter. I found that if I pull the pullcord out about 6", release it a bit at a certain point, the rattle goes away and I can use it in peace, but I have to hold the pullcord at the right place. I assume this is a place in the rotation where the rattle is minimzed or something pushes against it to keep it still.
4. BS Denning, what do you mean it has a little knock? Could you be a little more specific about where you put the gasket?

Thanks a bunch for a good discussion!!!

yours

Adam

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

3012-35817 makes it a 1954 model according to my book. They made the 3012 from '52-'54 but the serial # puts it in '54. So you have one of the 'newer' 3012's

 

[adamj]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

sounds right. I looked it up too and got the 52-54. 1954 it is! (I just lost 3 years of bragging rights, but at least they were making the engine then!).

 

[BSDenning]

Re: Rattle: evinrude fleetwin 3 hp pullcord retractor

Well, I have a 1957 7.5 hp fleetwin, so my starter may not exactly match up with your's, but I'll tell you what I did.

Take the 3 screws off that hold the starter to the motor. Turn the starter upside down. You should be looking at a large round pully that the rope winds around. There should be a hole in the pully about the size that you can stick a nail through. You will have to turn the pulley until it lines up with the same size hole in the starter houseing. Stick a nail or something through it to lock the pully in position.

In the center of the pully is a spindle. It has a screw in the center of it. Take the screw out. It will have a washer under it, remove that as well. Then with one hand, hold the pully down and with the other hand, pull the spindle in the center out. You don't want the whole pulley to come out because then you will have to worry about rewinding the spring. Once the spindle comes out, remove the wire that wraps around it that engages the prawl (that turns the flywheel).

Then you can sand down the end of the spindle that goes down into the pully (the end that sits on the top of the starter when the starter is right side up) Basically this reduces the "play" in the pulley. Don't sand it down too much though! lol I sanded mine down too much and it locked the pulley up. I used 3 sheets of 220 grit sandpaper. I ended up having to cut out some rubber gasket material and stick inbetween the spindle and the top of the housing. This freed up the pulley. I took the motor out last weekend and it ran perfect. It is quieter than it used to be. There is just a slite vibration that can be heard in the starter when the motor is at very slow speed. It's not bad though.

Good Luck!