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!
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!