1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

[cbmma1978]

Just got the motor. It is super clean. Popped right off with starting fluid in the cly...
Questions:
I believe this is a water-cooled lower unit, with an air cooled head..is that correct?
Does this motor need a pressure type fuel tank, or does it have a fuel pump and can run on a standard fuel tank?
The gas line connector on the motor has two pins, and one post, in a triangular pattern..the post is on the top, the pins are below that...There are two gas lines running to the carb from this connector. Where can I get one of these connectors?
Or, can I change out the connector and replace it with a more common single post/single pin type, by putting the two fuel lines together with a "Y" connector? I can get a gas-rated "Y" connector at the local auto parts store...
What should I see for compression on this motor?
Any commmon problems I should be aware of with this motor?
Thanks,
Kirt

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

The engine is fully water cooled. The 2 line tank, one line is fuel, the other is air, you need the proper connector.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

I get about 80lbs. on my aquasonic 7.5, but knowledgeable folks here say it'll run o.k. down to 65lbs. and they KNOW what they're talking about. It's a good little motor. Most folks that have these oldies like to change the water pump impeller on a new-to-them motor for security. You need to find yourself a pressure tank. Check ebay--they aren't cheap! You can covert it to a fuel pump if you must for about 50 bucks and use a modern walmart tank and fuel line if you can find a modern connector which isn't hard to do. They are fairly cheap. If you get a pressure tank make SURE it comes with the female 2-line connector. They aren't cheap either. If you search this forum you'll find all kinds of info on this motor that you might find interesting.
Good luck with your new motor,
JBJ

 

[cbmma1978]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

The engine is fully water cooled. The 2 line tank, one line is fuel, the other is air, you need the proper connector.

OK...got a (used) pressure tank, connector, and new fuel/air line. Total cost $60.00...not to bad.
Went to start the motor...put lower unit in a bucket of course....pull starter rope...on the third pull the rope rope broke. Actually a wire cable, covered with cloth..not a rope. Anyway, it broke right at the end where it connects to the starter pulley, inside the housing.
Question....
Before I tear the housing apart, is there anything I should be aware of, or is it as simple as it looks?
How is the starter rope (cable) fastened in to the pulley? It looks like it should just have a knob of some kind that hooks into the pulley..is that correct? The cable broke cleanly...no frayed end. Is it possible to just solder/fasten the end back onto the cable, or am I stuck trying to find/buy a new one? If I have to get a new one, any suggestions as to where to find one? Ideas on cost of a new one?
Thanks again.
Kirt

 

[jdbwvd]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

I am by no means an expert, but I am currently rebuilding this very motor. The recoil starter should come off the motor with three hex cap screws. My starter has a nylon rope, not wire rope, and I imagine normal rope is "stock". It secures to the pulley with a knot like you can imagine. Be careful opening up the recoil starter, there is a large torsional spring wound up in there.

If you wanted to see it started first, you can take off the recoil starter and wrap a rope around the bare flywheel to pull. There is a notch in the flywheel to catch a knot at the end of this "emergency starter rope". I wouldn't do it too much though, as there is a bending moment applied to the crankshaft doing it this way. Hope this helps.

Jonathan

 

[F_R]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

The wire rope was replaced with nylon in later years. You can put a nylon rope in yours, but you have to be very careful not to pull it all the way to the end or you will cut the knot off in a nano-second. Newer pulleys have a pin through them to prevent that.

If you can find the hook that broke off yours, you can probably solder it back on.

Now for the fun part: Whenever you break a rope when pulled all the way out, it always wrecks the recoil spring from the backlash. When you go to replace that, you will be checking back here for instructions on how to put it back together. Hint: the friction spring has to be up on the shoulder of the spindle before inserting the spindle into the pulley. Otherwise it will lock up.

 

[cbmma1978]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

Thanks. That is pretty much what I thought.
I have some experience rewinding/reloading the tension spring. I have an old Firestone 10hp motor that I accidently let the spring out of. It was a real pain to get it rewound, held that way, and reloaded into the case. I really hope I DON'T have to do that with this motor after I open it up. I will try to be very careful.
Kirt

 

[cbmma1978]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

About the recoil spring....you say it always wrecks it...As in BREAKS it? I didn't hear any breaking sound when the rope (cable) broke...
I hope you mean it just pops the spring out of place...
Still not a good thing, but way easier than having to get a new spring.
Also, I am not totally sure the pull rope was fully extended. It MAY have broken part way up.......
I quess I will find out when I open it up.
Thanks again.
Kirt

 

[F_R]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

Wrecks it as in wads it up in there. Sometimes you can straighten and salvage it. It'll probably break anyway in the future from being bent back and forth.

There is a small hole in the rope pulley. Find a pin, nail, allen wrench, or anything that fits that hole. Wind the spring up all the way, back it off one turn, then stick your pin in the hole. That'll hold the pre-load while you install the rope.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

Here's a good write up on recoil starters; Obsolete outboards, recoil starters . Lots of good reading here; Duckworks magazine Hope the links work, they seem a bit flaky at times.

Cheers...................Todd

 

[cbmma1978]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

OK, I understand. Let's hope I get lucky, and it didn't wad up.
I really appreciate the help.
I am very anxious to get this motor running. It is over-all in such great shape that it really bothers me to have it just sitting there.
Kirt

 

[BSDenning]

Re: 1955 Fleetwin AquaSonic 7.5

Hey Kirt,

I've got a 1957 Fleetwin that ran lousy when I bought it, but I've done some work on it and got it running pretty good. I got some great guidance from this website/forum. The first time I pulled the starter rope after replacing the head gasket, the rope broke and the recoil spring completely unwound. I went down to the local jon boat dealer/boat motor repair shop and bought 5 feet of nylon starter rope for about $3. I had to take the eas-a-matic starter apart to get the spring rewound, and that was a pain, but I don't think any permanent damage was done to my recoil spring.

This is a nice little motor. It really tries to run. When I first bought the motor, it only ran on one cylinder and I knew nothing about how to work on it, so I was riding all over the place on just one cylinder before I decided that I wanted to see if I could repair it. I would recommend trying to find a service manual for the motor. I have one and I found it very helpful. I've seen them on ebay for fairly cheap.

A guy on this forum told me about this website that he made that documents how to tune up a 5.5hp Johnson that is very similar to the evinrude fleetwin. I found that information very useful.

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repair.com/

Good luck!

-Bret