removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

[kfa4303]

HI all. Almost got my new/old '66 FD-20C 20 hp up and running, but one of the transom clamps is bad. I have an identical donor motor with a good clamp I can scavenge, but I'm not sure how to get it off :/ ? I couldn't see how to take off the cupped portion that makes contact with the transom itself, so I thought about trying to take of the handle by driving out the pin that hold it in place, but I wasn't having any luck, so I stopped before I broke anything: )Does anyone know of any clever tricks for getting one of these transom clamps off? Thanks.

 

[boobie]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

Look underneath the cup and you'll see a keeper on the end of the screw that holds the cup on. Remove that, then the cup and back out the screw. The new clamp screws don't use the retainer, they have a bolt in the end of the screw to hold the cup on.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

ah ha. thanks boobie. I knew there had to be a way. so do i pry off the keeper with a flat head screwdriver, or something? can I reuse the same screw, that I removed the keeper from, or will I need to get a new one? thanks!

 

[boobie]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

You have to pry it off but may damage the keeper. You can reuse the same screw but the trick might be getting the keeper to hold the cup on. I've seen the cups held on with twisted wire when you couldn't get the keeper to work.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

The keepers are still available, although they do come dear. Almost $5.00 each for the little things at marineengine.com. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the cup off even after the keeper is off. The keeper groove gets swedged out over the years. Also the cups themselves sometimes get overtightened and flattened out. You have to make sure they have enough "cup" to them.

Good luck with it. To me it's worth messing with the originals. The new replacements have plain plastic handles and just aren't the same.

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

 

[kfa4303]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

Gotcha. I'll fiddle with it tomorrow and report back. thanks again.

 

[boobie]

Re: removing a transom clamp from a vintage OMC

If you get everything taken apart and going to install a new keeper you can use a small socket on the new keeper and put it between the transom bracket and the keeper and then tighten the screw. This will flatten over the keeper to hold the cup on. Done this many times when I didn't have the OMC special tool they built for this.