Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

Yooks

Cadet
Joined
Aug 4, 2012
Messages
19
Hi there. I recently purchased a 1976 9.9 Hp Evinrude that I am rehabbing. There is a line of oil that has been splattered around the inside of the engine cowling at about the height of the top of the powerhead or the flywheel (it's tough to know exactly what level the oil is at since it's inside the cowl). I'm trying to determine if this indicates the engine a bad top seal which is flinging this oil around the inside of the cowl.

So I removed the flywheel and inspected the armature plate, the points, condersers and main coil. Aside from the main coil being slightly discolored in some areas (black/brown areas), these components look great.

The engine had a "tune up" a few years ago, and it's obvious that the points have been adjusted. I asked the previous owner whether the top seal was replaced or not and he didn't know.

My first question(s) is, if the top seal is leaking oil, and that's what's causing the oil that's been splattered around the inside of the coil, where would the evidence of this be? Would the oil be sprayed from under the armature plate, leaving the oil under the armature place and on top of the power head? Or would it climb up the shaft and get flung out by the flywheel? If it would be seen on top of the armature plate and flung out from under the flywheel, then I suspect the top seal has been replaced during the last tuneup because the armature plate and the underside of the flywheel are perfectly clean.

If the oil would come from under the armature plate, then I've probably got a bad seal because it's pretty oily down there. In that case I'll need to remove the armature plate to get to the top seal, which brings up my next set of questions:

Second question: If I carefully remove the armature plate and carefully reinstall it after I replace the top seal, will this upset the engine's timing / points settings and require it to be timed again (points adjusted, etc)? This sounds like a big job to me...

Third question (s): If the engine will need to be timed again, should I consider replacing the old points system entirely with a CDI setup? I've heard that points can be tempermental and I don't want to be chasing after points issues for the rest of my life. And one of the ignition coils will need to be replaced anyway, so I could potentially roll that money into a CDI install. Is it easier to time one of these engines with CDI rather than the old points system?

Fourth question: If a CDI install is the way to go, what components would need to be replaced on the engine to make this "upgrade?"

Thanks for all your help!
 

Chinewalker

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Aug 19, 2001
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8,902
Re: Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

If the upper seal is gone, you'll be getting large amounts of oil all over the points and primary coil under the flywheel. Most of the time, particularly on an older outboard, that fling-line you see is simply due to old fuel & oil seepage from the carb (motor laying down in a car trunk, stored on its back, etc.) that accumulates over time. These motors are fairly dirty beasties and will leave a mess behind... Not saying it isn't your seal, but it could be "normal"...

Removing the plate shouldn't affect timing.

Only practical way to convert to full CDI is to get a donor motor. Parts needed will be the flywheel, armature plate, mounting ring, power pack, coils, and exhaust cover (makes mounting power pack MUCH easier).
 

OptsyEagle

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Sep 13, 2006
Messages
1,359
Re: Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

and by the way, re-adjusting the timing is simply a matter of re-gapping the points to 0.020" with a feeler guage and then cleaning them with a clean business card dipped in laquer thinner and then blowing it with compressed air.

If I ever take my flywheel off, I always readjust the point gaps anyways. The rub bar does wear down and the point gaps change. This changes your timing and you will really appreciate the benefit of that perfect point gap when you hit that throttle wide open. So, definitely ensure your gaps are properly set if you take off the flywheel and add ONE drop of motor oil to that wick to reduce the wear on the points rub bar.
 

Rick.

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Jul 30, 2006
Messages
3,740
Re: Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

I've got CDI engines and points engines. I can't honestly say one is better than the other. You should not have a lot of "points" issues but I would recommend and annual cleaning and gap check and at the same time clean the flywheel magnets. I don't think I would change over an engine to CDI as points seem to work just fine. My opinion.

I had that same oil ring on my 4 HP this summer and pulled the armature plate to remove the upper seal and found it was bone dry. Like Chinewalker said, it may not be your seal although I completely understand why you would suspect it. Best of luck. Rick.
 

JDusza

Ensign
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
973
Re: Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

I'll bet the recoil starter got a good oil bath and transferred some to the flywheel at the ring gear teeth.
Is this a current situation or has it abated? Repeat the test, clean the inside of the cover, run and look for a fresh oil line. You should be able to trace a fresh line back to the flywheel with a few basic measurements. If the line fades away after a couple tests, you're a victim of over-lubing somewhere.
Like Chinewalker says, if you're clean underneath the ignition, your seal is fine.
BTW, if you can handle a seal change, you can handle a points gap adjustment. Just sayin'.
Do not do the ignition conversion. Point systems are fine. You'll never tell the difference. Rick nails it. Way too much money for the return. On the other hand, you'd be an ignition expert by the time you're done!
My 2 cents.
J
 

Yooks

Cadet
Joined
Aug 4, 2012
Messages
19
Re: Top seal blown on a 1976 Evinrude 9.9?

Thanks for the great info guys.

I will carefully remove the armature plate and I wont be afraid to set the points. :)
 
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