hot flywheel

[fireman57]

'83 evinrude 50hp. running fine out fishing the other night and just idling and casting. Engine just quits. Pull the cover and the flywheel is hot but the heads are fine. Pulled the lower unit and oil was milky. Checked new impeller and all seems fine there. Replaced a powerhead gasket the other week and missed a piece of old gasket on powerhead and had a small water leak that would run down the back side of the engine. Not sure what that would hurt so I have left it for now. When I replaced this I found that the exhaust tube had come loose and was hanging by one bolt. This was fixed immediately. When this exhaut tube was loose it would let water fly everywhere in there and I wonder if that is where my lower unit water is coming from. All I can assume at this point is that when the water got in the lower unit oil it did not lube right and the heat was transferred up the drive shaft to the flywheel. The engine stopped due to being hot but the heads were cool. There were no metal shavings in the lower unit. One other thing, my battery connection to my starter solenoid was almost off (due to my not tightening it when reassembling) could that have led to my stator heating up and that be my problem? Any ideas would be helpful.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: hot flywheel

Since you didn't tell us if the engine restarted or not, or was siezed, or had to cool before restarting we (I) can only make some guesses. A hot flywheel would certainly not have been caused by heat going up the drive shaft and I certainly would not have pulled the lower unit because of it. The flywheel has magnets attached to it that swing past the stator and charge coils to produce the voltage to run the engine and charge the battery. The flywheel will get warm just because its a moving part of the engine. What makes you think the engine shut down because of heat? There is an overheat switch but it sounds a horn -- it does not kill the engine. That said, with all the water leaks you have it is very possible the engine overheated. As far as the battery connection is concerned, some questions are best answered by simply tightening the cable and checking to see if the problem goes away. One thing is certain, if you operate the engine with loose battery connections, the rectifier does not like it and will turn to toast.

 

[fireman57]

Re: hot flywheel

The engine did restart after about a half hour of cooling down. I ran it to the ramp which is only about a mile away. Flywheel was much hotter than norman and could not turn it by hand as engine was hot but the heads were cool. Pulled the head today and all is fine there. The lower unit was pulled because of water in the oil and I wanted to make sure everything checked out there. It did. The engine had to shut down over heat because the starter locked in the flywheel because it would not turn. I do not have the overheat horn. My rectifier was already toast as a buddy of mine hooked up the battery backwards a few months ago. The only thing I can think of is that my stator somehow got fried. I am going to pull the flywheel next and have a look see.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: hot flywheel

As Silvertip said, the flywheel is normally pretty warm anyway. Add to that the fact that the engine was way overheating and there is your extra heat at the flywheel. You have probably cured it by fixing the water problem. I would run it and see how it goes... And I would certainly hook up a warning horn or at the least, a temp. gauge...

 

[fireman57]

Re: hot flywheel

Everything under the flywheel is fine. Ran it in my barrel and the water leak has gotten worse. Have two new gaskets and will pull the powerhead tomorrow and replace. Just wasn't getting enough water through at idle. Thanks.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: hot flywheel

Fix the rectifier also. Install a new thermostat as well.

 

[fireman57]

Re: hot flywheel

New stat this spring, works fine. rectifier on the way.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: hot flywheel

Won't a shorted rectifier cause the flywheel & stator to get hot?

 

[fireman57]

Re: hot flywheel

I replaced the base gasket and the powerhead gasket yesterday and it still has a small leak at the back of the powerhead where the 1/2" nut goes on. Found a piece of blue RV sealant by the thermostat. Might have some more of it in the water passages because it seems the center of the engine below the flywheel withthe crank gets warmer than it should. After idling for a while it will start rattling or knocking just a little around the crank. Going to drop the lower unit again and try flushing with a 1/2" hose and see if something is lodged there. I don't want to tear this thing down with the stripers running good but I don't want to blow her up either. If there are anymore suggestions I will welcome them. Paul, I don't know the answer to the rectifier question but it has been out since April and this problem just surfaced a couple weeks ago. Can I just unhook the rectifier since it doesn't work right now anyway. Still waiting on replacement to get here.
One more thing Paul, how do the water passages route? I am assuming that they go to the thermostat first. I was going to remove that cover during my flush hoping that whatever is blocking it would come out there. Otherwise I would just plug this hole with my finger and watch elsewhere.