Old motor, not alot of money. What would you do?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

albanyco

Active member
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Ok folks, I've got to put this question to you guys as I am having trouble figuring out what to do. The situation is last month I bought a fixer-upper starcraft 16ft boat with a 1960 gale 35hp electric start motor on it. I fixed up the boat, got the prop and parts that were missing from the motor and took it out on the lake 2 days ago. The motor has worn clutch dogs and it will pop out of gear at anything over 1/4 throttle. So, on the suggestion of the guys over at AOMCI.org I opened up the gear case and found this:
2011-05-13_16-04-04_716.jpg

2011-05-13_16-03-36_96.jpg

2011-05-13_16-03-25_335.jpg

The clutch dog is shot, the corners are very worn and rounded on both sides, so I think someone already did the 'pull out the dog and turn it backwards' trick. The lower unit had alot of water intrusion, and whoever had the gearcase apart before I got it looks like they tried to seal it up with silicone and got it all over the place. The little screw holding the shifter arm is junk, that took cutting a slot in it with a chisel to get it out. Also, when out on the lake the old transom in the boat cracked all the way across so no matter what I have to pull the motor off and replace it. Also, the boat is a homemade side console that im not really sure I am all that impressed with. So here are my options so far:
1. Find a used lower unit....I might be able to get one for 250.00 bucks.
2. Order a new clutch dog and seal kit and pray it works...if the clutch dog is worn I am guessing
the gears are as well.
3. Find a new motor (I don't really have the cash for a new motor, I've already sunk more than I wanted to in this boat to get it fishable.)

Any other options I'm overlooking? I just want to get out and fish!
 
That's what I was thinking, my hangup though is that if the clutch dog is that worn, the lugs on the gears have to be very worn also....so if I buy a new dog and put a seal kit on it...are the gears worn enough to continue slipping?
 
I had an old outboard with worn clutch dogs.I tig welded them up & ground them back to shape & worked good as new.
Most of those seals can be matched up at a good auto parts store.
 
You can look for another gearcase for that engine. There should be lots of them out there. If you are handy with a dremel and a stone you can grind the dogs and gears back into service. Have done quite a few of them. I take what I call a sacrificial file and grind an undercut onto a 3/8" diameter stone and cut the worn areas out. Continually match the dog and gear using the shaft. The undercut will hold the gear and dog against eachother under a load and it works quite well and doesn't take much time to do. Chances are, the reason for your situation is that the shifter is not adjusted properly. Once you decide what you are going to do here and have something ready to go then get back on here and we can go over the proper way to insure the dog is fully engaged into the gear. Or, go back into AOMCI and do it there.
 
I have welding materials and grinders...im pretty sire i could grind the dog square again...but im not sure about where the dog engages the gears.....i dont know how i could get a stone or file in there to square it...or even if it needs.to.be touched. I wish i had a good one to compare it to. I appreciate.everyone giving me input.
 
If you'll send me a pm with the measurements on the parts you need, I've got a couple of the 33hp Johnsons here that are in pieces and I may have what you need in one of the 'extra parts' buckets
 

Latest posts

Top