R P M Problem

[rudedude]

I just picked up another old outboard. Its a 1967 5hp sea king (gale).

I did all the carb cleaning , new plugs ect. It will start on the second pull and will run very well at low speeds. however I put it on my 10 ft jon boat and wont get up to speed. My 46lb trolling motor seems almost faster.

I am sure it is a high speed mixture thing. My question is where is the starting point for the low and high speed adjustments?

I get to a point where it seems to be running at the RPMs but after I put a load on it she just wont go faster than a very high idle. Seems like it is over fuleing or something.

This outboard has only 10 hrs on it in all these years. The man I got it from said his Dad got it new at Monkey Wards in June of 1967 ,used it for that summer ,drained the fuel and there it sat for years. He used it about 10 years ago for a kicker motor ,wintersized it and there it sat until I came along.

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[Tig]

Re: R P M Problem

I would suggest you take a digital picture of the settings before you begin. Make notes on any changes along the way so you can get back to where you started.
Many are set 1.5 turns out from fully seated. That's a good start.
If it were me working on an engine that I had no info on I would lean it out till power/rpm dropped, note the position of the needle. Then I would richen it up till power/rpm dropped. I would then set it to the median between these two points. Take it for a run and then read the plugs. Too lean and you burn the piston. Too rich, you foul the plugs.
With any luck a Gale expert will show up soon.
Unless someone has messed with the carb, it should be as it was from the factory. If it has a problem it is more than likely dirt. This is a single cylinder motor, right? A fouled plug in a twin can act as you describe.

 

[rudedude]

Re: R P M Problem

Thanks tig, I will try that. I am sure someone has messed with the adjustments because when I picked the motor up the knobs were removed. The knobs are hooked to a small likeage system. This is a twin cylender motor.

 

[Tig]

Re: R P M Problem

Get new plugs. Just went through this on my wife's snowmobile.
If you want to do a basic test for a fouled plug. Start the engine from cold and put one hand on each cylinder as they warm up. Or run it for a minute then shut down and check plug temps by feel. The difference will be obvious if one cylinder isn't firing.
Either way, new plugs every 40 years or so is not over doing it.

 

[steelespike]

Re: R P M Problem

Last year of Gale production was 63.Sea King number would be GG18801A.
Very closely related to the E/J 5.5.Normal initial settings both needles is 3/4 turn out from gently bottomed.Adjust to the best performance leaving the high speed just very slightly toward rich (not enough to change performance).Then install linkage and knobs in mid point.
These motors often have weak or bad coils and will run nearly normal on one cylinder except for a comeplete lack of power.

 

[rudedude]

Re: R P M Problem

I put new plugs in it before I started to pull the start rope, cleaned the carb and replaced the water pump impeller. It spits real nice and stays very cool to the touch.

These small motors are easy to figgure out if you know where to get things set to start with. Thanks for your help Tig.




The year may be in guestion. The man told me his Dad got it new in 1967, his Dad put the date in the hood and the price he paid for the motor.

The tag states it is made by gale. I will check out the numbers later. iboats has a great post telling us the years for old motors.

I dont know who monkied with the needle valves but they were so far off it wasent funny. I just needed the starting area for them, I did the 1 and a half for slow and 1 full turn for the high speed. This did the trick, I got the thing up to snuff in short order. Starts on the first pull and goes right to a perfict idle, put it in forward and the rascal want to go, crank it up and it isnt very long my 10 foot jon boat is on plain and going full out. Ducks are gonna hate me now that I can out run them.

Thank you for your help Steelspike.


Now on to the 1966 Merc 3.9 This one needs a lot of work.

 

[rudedude]

Re: R P M Problem

You are correct Steel, it is a 1960 Sea King made by Gale GG8822A

I also have a 1946 "Sea King " by Gale 1.5 hp.

Strong motors , seem to last when people keep them clean.

 

[steelespike]

Re: R P M Problem

Glad you got her going.Should last a lifetime.Pretty much has to this point.

 

[rudedude]

Re: R P M Problem

Well I found parts for this old thing. Got a new low and high speed needle valves and a kit for the carb.


The carb has the same needle valves as the E/J 5.5 as stated before in a post above this one.

 

[steelespike]

Re: R P M Problem

I have the older sister to your 5. the 55 Bucaneer by Gale.It has the older style primer type carb but has a full gear shift.Its amazing what parts are still out there for these oldtimers.