1984 Sears Gamefisher 7.5HP (Model# 217-586751) Parts Question & Some info.

[Jsflo]

Hello, new to the forums & new to boating in general. Im an underwater repair specialist by trade (swimming pool leak repair) and ive never worked on any type of motor besides electric pool pumps, so working on this motor has been a very educational & fun experience so far. It has however proven to be very difficult to find the correct parts due to discontinuation and not alot of reproduction or substitute parts available for this specific model.

I purchased this motor in running condition from a guy through Facebook marketplace for $150. It starts right up but had a few issues, here is what ive done so far.

What has been done so far:

• Rebuilt carburetor
• Purchased lower unit rebuild kit (seals & gearcase gasket) -- not installed yet.
• Purchased impeller & impeller key set -- not installed yet.
• Replaced spark plug
• New fuel line / Tank / Primer bulb for fuel line
• Purchased the factory manual.

Things are going smooth for the most part, but there is still a few things im trying to find.


Question: WHERE CAN I FIND THESE PARTS?

• The correct size shear pins
• A new prop
• Case Decal Set (The only ones available i can find only say "Gamefisher 7.5", but this one also has "POSITITVE SHIFT DRIVE" above that)

Some side information that may help someone reading this:

1. Through my research ive found that these motors are air-cooled & the exhaust leg is water cooled. So dont worry if you dont see a "pee" like i did. It should however have a strong mist coming out of the exhaust leg.
2. Although these motors are labeled "Sears Gamefisher" these motors were produced by ESKA during the year of this specific production.
3. The lower unit has a rubber "boot" over the shifter seal, mine fell apart when i removed the lower unit so I called a pro eska enthusiast and he said this is no longer needed so dont worry about it.

For reference ive been using these diagrams & parts lists.

Sears Direct - https://www.searspartsdirect.com/mod...Term=217586751

A couple pictures for reference for anyone looking for information like I was.

 

[brim_buster]

[h=3]New Sears Gamefisher 7.5 hp Original Equipment Propeller Outboard Motor[/h] Brand New

 

[gm280]

As far as the decals go, you can try a trophy shop and see if they can make a set of them like you want. That is not that hard for them to do. JMHO

 

[Jsflo]

[h=3]New Sears Gamefisher 7.5 hp Original Equipment Propeller Outboard Motor[/h] Brand New

I found that a few days ago but sadly it says "will not fit models starting with 217" in the description. Thanks for the suggestion tho.

 

[Jsflo]

As far as the decals go, you can try a trophy shop and see if they can make a set of them like you want. That is not that hard for them to do. JMHO

Going to check that out, thanks.

 

[fishrdan]

I would start looking on Ebay for a prop, might take a while for one to pop up.

FWIW, I wouldn't dump a whole lot into that outboard. I used to have one of those 10-15 years ago, and while it ran good, it was a dog. I highly doubt 7.5HP... I had that outboard and a 5HP Mercury on a new jon boat, swapping them back/forth to see how they ran, (which was more powerful), they both ran the same speed. I picked up a different 7.5 HP Gamefisher (Chrysler/Force/Mercury based twin cylinder) and I swear it had double the power of the Techumseh air cooled 7.5HP.

Though, the 7.5 HP Gamefisher/Chrysler/Force/Mercury based twin cylinder outboard is a de-tuned 15HP outboard.

 

[gm280]

This thread does bring back some old memories. My very first OB was a Gamefisher air cooled engine. And I think it was a 7.5HP as well built by Tecumseh as well. I bought it used and was told it had no spark. And it didn't either. So I bought another ignition module and got it running. It was my first OB engine but I was proud of it.

I then bought a 12' V bottom Feathercraft boat for $125 dollars. And much later on K-mart was clearing out a trailer they had on display in the sporting goods department and I bought that for a song. And it didn't come with a light kit, so they threw a new kit in for the price.

So very little money involved for a total small fishing setup. I even bought a used small hand controlled trolling motor and car battery.

Before I had the trailer, I slide that 12' foot boat into the back of my Chevy short bed truck, transom end first and then OB engine and trolling motor and battery inside the boat. And when I got to where I was going to fish, I had to remove everything and drag the boat to the water, install the engine and fuel tank, and install the TM and battery and set off fishing. A lot of work, but I was young and dumb and didn't mind the work to fish.

Later on the trailer buy came about and WOW what a difference. And ever later on from that, I saved up enough money to buy a 9.8 new Mercury OB. OMG, that was like strapping on a rocket compared to the 7.5 Gamefisher. I was like a little kid at Christmas. And the rest is history.

 

[fishrdan]

This thread does bring back some old memories....

Before I had the trailer, I slide that 12' foot boat into the back of my Chevy short bed truck...

LOL no kidding. My ol' fishing rig (circa 5HP Force/Gamefisher and my pre-7.5HP Ted WIlliams/Techumseh) was an old Coleman Crawdad plastic jon boat, that I would load into my long bed S-10. Get to the lake, open truck door, step up and into the bed of the truck (without touching the ground) then slide the boat into the water, since the tailgate was at water-level. Retrieval was just as easy, lift transom of boat 2-3 inches into the the truck bed, and pull it on in. Once home, back into the garage, hook up a couple ropes that I had strung to the ceiling and attached to a boat winch, then crank the boat up the garage ceiling.

Yep, those were the good ol' days!

 

[Greco123]

Hello, new to the forums & new to boating in general. Im an underwater repair specialist by trade (swimming pool leak repair) and ive never worked on any type of motor besides electric pool pumps, so working on this motor has been a very educational & fun experience so far. It has however proven to be very difficult to find the correct parts due to discontinuation and not alot of reproduction or substitute parts available for this specific model.

I purchased this motor in running condition from a guy through Facebook marketplace for $150. It starts right up but had a few issues, here is what ive done so far.

What has been done so far:

• Rebuilt carburetor
• Purchased lower unit rebuild kit (seals & gearcase gasket) -- not installed yet.
• Purchased impeller & impeller key set -- not installed yet.
• Replaced spark plug
• New fuel line / Tank / Primer bulb for fuel line
• Purchased the factory manual.

Things are going smooth for the most part, but there is still a few things im trying to find.


Question: WHERE CAN I FIND THESE PARTS?

• The correct size shear pins
• A new prop
• Case Decal Set (The only ones available i can find only say "Gamefisher 7.5", but this one also has "POSITITVE SHIFT DRIVE" above that)

Some side information that may help someone reading this:

1. Through my research ive found that these motors are air-cooled & the exhaust leg is water cooled. So dont worry if you dont see a "pee" like i did. It should however have a strong mist coming out of the exhaust leg.
2. Although these motors are labeled "Sears Gamefisher" these motors were produced by ESKA during the year of this specific production.
3. The lower unit has a rubber "boot" over the shifter seal, mine fell apart when i removed the lower unit so I called a pro eska enthusiast and he said this is no longer needed so dont worry about it.

For reference ive been using these diagrams & parts lists.

Sears Direct - https://www.searspartsdirect.com/mod...Term=217586751

A couple pictures for reference for anyone looking for information like I was.

Hello JSFLO,

I am in a similar situation where i was able to get all the lower gear case seals but could not find this boot since the engine is considered vintage now. You mentioned that you spoke to an eska expert and they said to not worry about using a shift rod boot? What did you do to solve the problem?