60 hp sea king wont start

[teenbuilder]

ok well i own a 1961 sea king motor. its a 60 horse power motor with 4 cylinders. it came with a boat project that me and a friend started. so heres the problem. it wont start. before we took most of it apart and found that we werent getting any fuel to the cylinders. we took off the carb and this other fuel distribution system and there was a gasket that was just a solid thing of rubber that when you tried to pump fuel through it then nothing came out. we fixed that and so now fuel should be going through it. well theres something else now that we think that might be clogging it cuz the fuel dosent hit the cylinders it just drains through the exhaust at the bottom. even after only squeezing the bulb a few times thats what happens. any hypothesis as to why it does that? also when we try and start it the cables goin from the battery to the 12 volt converter thing gets really hot and then the wires we solderd melts and comes apart cuz it gets so hot. that also happens when the battery is dead. when the battery if fully charged we try and start it and the 12 volt converter just clicks then turns everything off. someone plz help me with this. its gone from something that looked pretty simple to me to becoming the biggest pain of a motor ive ever had to work on.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 60 hp sea king wont start

OK, here's the deal. You have an outboard that's one year short of being 50 years old. It was made by the same folks that made Johnsons and Evinrudes. You need a service manual for it, and one for the V-4s of Johnson and Evinrude will do just fine.

I don't know how long it has been since your engine ran, but you have some work ahead of you, and you need to do it by the book. First, you're going to have to give that carb a thorough cleaning and a carburetor kit. Next, you'll have to check out the entire ignition system and make sure it's all firing properly.

A compression check on the engine is also in order, along with replacing the water pump impeller.

If your wiring is getting hot enough to melt solder, you have the wiring connected incorrecly. The service manual will have a wiring diagram. If you keep trying with it connected wrongly, you stand a good chance of burning up some expensive parts.

You're just getting started working on this outboard, and every step is going to cause you problems until you get the service manual.

 

[teenbuilder]

Re: 60 hp sea king wont start

alright thanks!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 60 hp sea king wont start

I don't mean to sound discouraging, but this outboard isn't like other engines you've messed around with. If you want to get it going again, you're going to have to take it one step at a time, and you're going to need some guidance.

That's why the manual. First step, in your case, is going to be to get it wired up correctly so you can turn the engine over with the starter. Rope-starting the V-4s isn't in the cards, although it is possible.

Since we're not there, we don't know what you've done, but if the wires got hot like that, whatever it was was wrong. The manual will have a nice, color-coded wiring diagram you can follow.

Once you get that done and the starter is cranking the engine, you can check the compression to see whether it's worth going any further with this outboard. Compression numbers should approach 100 psi and be within 10 of each other on all cylinders. If they're not, it's probably not worth messing with.

If that's OK, then you can begin to check the ignition system. It has to have good spark to all four cylinders. If not, then you have to diagnose why. The manual will help.

Once you get the spark going, you can look at the fuel system and carburetor. It'll probably need a cleaning and a carb kit...almost certainly. The fuel pump will have to be checked, and fixed if it isn't pumping well.

Then, if everything goes your way, the engine will fire up. Then it's absolutely time to replace the water pump impeller before using the outboard.

The thing is, you can plan to spend a few bucks, at least, getting this going, and your first purchase should be that manual. The factory manual is best, but it's pretty expensive. You might be able to get by with the Seloc manual for the Johnson and Evinrude V-4 engines from 1958-1962. I think there's one that just covers those engines.

Figure out how much you can afford to spend on getting this running, and tell us. It may be more than the engine is worth. In that case, you can find a running one for about $400-600 for that type and age of engine. In many cases, it's cheaper to do that and keep your questionable one for a parts engine.

You have a big project there. Plan on spending a bunch of hours getting it ready for the water.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 60 hp sea king wont start

These motors were available with a magneto ignition(self generating) or a battery ignition similar to cars of the day.The plug wires are screwed into the cap don't try to just pull them out.Often thought of as heavy when actually
lighter than many of todays new 2 cylinder 50s .