5.5 sea horse engine isses

[bailer52]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

thanks for all the help chris. i really really appreciate it. its been a real trip working on this piece of history. thanks to every one who gave me advice. the bad part, i was out of town for the week so i couldnt even look at or speculate how the darned thing will sound once i have it but back together.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

Not a problem. Cant wait to see a video of that gem running!

Good luck.

 

[F_R]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

Connecting rod problems are not all that rare!! Did you notice the carbon seal when you removed the powerhead? That seal keeps water out of the crankcase. The water is what destroys the bearings. People ignore that seal and put it back just any old way, or not at all. That has destroyed countless motors. Do it right, with 100% good parts.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

Yea, I concure. Rod damage is quite common with the old 5.5's and 7.5's, mostly because people run them with not enough oil. That old motor calls for 16:1 mix and a lot of people think that outboards run on 50:1.......well, later ones do, but not those oldies.

If your connecting rod has come loose in there, it's very doubtful the crank escaped damage. Usually the rod journal gets hashed. I just repaired the little 5.5 in my signature below, from a rod issue, but I got really lucky. A rod bolt just backed out and and hit the crankcase, therefor stopping the engine. Luckily all I had to do was polish up the surfaces and put it back together. Usually though, the rods get hot and warp, then eventually come loose. I rebuilt one of these where a rod got so hot, it was bent at 30 degrees off from straight and ended up having toreplace it.

So, the best thing to do, is investigate the idea of replacing/fixing the rod issue. That will set you back about $350 and up, in a worst case scenario. Usually you can find good running powerheads for a lot less, but you still want to check them over really good and make sure you won't have the same issue develope in a short time later. The only way to get a visual of the rods, is to tear the block down completely.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

I sent him a good rod and piston to fix her up like new

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

right on.

 

[bailer52]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

ok, almost ready to put this thing back together, pistons with rods came it. coil/arature plate assembly came in, so i have new coils points and condencers, have my new impeller in, just need to get the gasket kits in and give the carb a good going over. and actually i fuigured that with the age of the engine, the right ratio could have been a 32:1, but thanks on the correction of 16:1. anything else i should really look for before i slowly start to bring her back to life?

 

[oldybutagoody]

Re: 5.5 sea horse engine isses

This link should get you there. It's about a start to finish revival of your very engine, albeit without the rod/piston issue.
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/r/columns/max/11/index.htm
Do you have a pressure tank yet? The tank itself my require some TLC in the form of a new diaphragm and gasket kit.
The reason this engine needs 16/1 mix is because it has solid bearings in the crank and not roller bearings. Some say 24/1 is OK due to modern 2 stroke oil but I believe the smaller old OMCs that used to solid bearings still need 16/1. The bigger motors that have roller bearings can use 24/1 but too little oil is the best way to kill one of these old motors.