1956 Sea King

[goodolick]

Hi all,
This is my first attempt at a post, so forgive me if I mess anything up.

I just got a 5hp 1956 Sea King off trade on craigslist. I brought it home, strapped it to my 10' jon boat and it fired right up. I got this motor to replace a 1.2 hp gamefisher my dad used to use with the same boat. Although it seems to run ok, it also seems aweful sluggish (pushes the boat along about the same as the 1.2hp) any suggestions on getting a little more preformance out of this outboard?

Also, do they make like a "chiltons" guide for this motor?

Thanks everyone for reading.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1956 Sea King

Chances are 99.5% it is running on only one cylinder. Those motors always have bad (cracked) coils unless they have already been replaced. You can get them right here at iboats. Manuals also.

Great motors, well worth repairing.

 

[goodolick]

Re: 1956 Sea King

Well.....
I think I figured out what is causing the motor to run slow. I put it in the water to do some fishing this morning, half way accross the lake on the way back, it slipped out of gear. The motor now runs, but the prop does not spin. How complicated are the transmissions on these things? I have never worked on an outboard before, but am pretty mechanically adept....is this something I may be able to repair myself?

 

[goodolick]

Re: 1956 Sea King

I read the article "Awakining a dead outboard" this morning. after doing so, I took the prop off my Sea King and there was a ton of line tangled around the inner components. I cleaned it all away. Now, the prop spins, but not enough to propel the boat. it seems like the transmission is not engaging fully, which part of the motor would investigate to fix this?

Thanks again

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1956 Sea King

Best to find the service manual for your 56 Sea King, which should have FNR shift. Could be slop in the shift lever or something wrong in the gearcase. The manual will give you an exploded view of both.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1956 Sea King

In 1956, Wards sold Gale 5hp motors in two versions: Direct drive and full gearshift. You have not told us which one you have, unless "slips out of gear" is a clue. Does the shift lever actually go into neutral position, of does it just quit pushing the boat?

You had the propeller off, so I have to assume you found the shear pin to be OK, right?

The gearshift model has a "shock absorber" in the lower unit. It could be broken.

The direct drive model has a rubber shock absorbing ring in the propeller that could be shot.

Either model could have stripped gears

Either model could have stripped splines in the drive shaft / crankshaft.

Need to know what we are working on here.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1956 Sea King

Model number usually appears on the mounting bracket.
Depending on the model it could be similar to the Evinrude/Johnson 5.5 of the similar years.Being a 56 it does share ignition parts with E/J motors.
These little motors have lots of pep should get you to 12 to 15 mph .with careful weight distribution and trim.

 

[goodolick]

Re: 1956 Sea King

Thank you so much for all of your help, I am very new to outboards, this is the first I have owned. I am too poor to buy anything else

My model number is 35GG-9015G

Ok.... so... I took apart the lower end, and was able to somewhat repair the problem down there. I was able to get the forward gear to work out fine, but now I dont have nuetral (which is fine, I dont need nuetral). I was sure to refill the lower end back up with marine grease, the gaskets looked like they were in good working order.

After bolting everything back together, and taking her out for a test run, I was back to square one. Just not alot of power, it does'nt seem to be running up to very high RPMs. I am going to guess this has to do with the first gentlemans suggestion about checking the coils. Is a coil replacement a fairly easy thing to do? or would I be better off taking it into the shop from here?

Couple other questions, am I going to hurt the motor by running it in this state, and could my problems be due to a carb adjustment?

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[goodolick]

Re: 1956 Sea King

My model number is 35GG-9015G

.

Ewps 9015A

 

[low93bowtie]

Re: 1956 Sea King

I have a (from what I was told) a 1956 sea king 5 also, but my numbers are gg9002a... is this the same motor? I am having a similar issue as well as a noise when you decelerate, kind of sounds like a rod knock, but it is interminent... if you watch this video, you can hear it towards the end!!