Current, and future "maintainability" of vintage Evinrudes...

[sclay115]

I currently have a 72 25 horse Sportster that decided it's crankshaft should no longer be one piece. I have a spare, and no other powerhead damage to speak of. So of course, I need some gaskets, wasn't planning on pulling anything else but the crankcases apart, as I do want to rebuild the spare powerhead completely as a backup.

Problem is, the gaskets are few and far between, or so I am told. I first searched locally, local parts dealer told me the powerhead gasket kits were NLA(truth to this?). So I looked on eBay, nothing. Sierra, nothing. I ended up ordering them from another online retailer, but they haven't come in, and I am almost wondering if they even will due to what the dealer told me.

So with the huge amounts of these motors that are still out there, why does it seem so hard to find gaskets? Or am I just looking in the wrong alleyways? Should I go gasket by gasket? As opposed to a set? Tons of hard parts available, but I have tons of those too, now I need the consumables.

I love the motor, dead simple to work on, and I want to keep it around. But if I can't fix things in a timely fashion, it just doesn't make sense for it to hang on my skiff.

You folks have any tips? Any retailers that positively have this stuff? I find it hard to believe that they cannot be had given the amount of them still being used.

Steve

 

[blimp]

Re: Current, and future "maintainability" of vintage Evinrudes...

great motor, well worth repairing if you have the spare parts laying around. I'm surprised the gaskets were so hard to find. I think those motors had a lot in common with the old 18 and 20hp motors, you may be able to use gaskets from those models. Crosscheck via a parts site to see what will work. http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx is a good place to start looking around.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Current, and future "maintainability" of vintage Evinrudes...

I currently have a 72 25 horse Sportster that decided it's crankshaft should no longer be one piece. I have a spare, and no other powerhead damage to speak of. So of course, I need some gaskets, wasn't planning on pulling anything else but the crankcases apart, as I do want to rebuild the spare powerhead completely as a backup.

Problem is, the gaskets are few and far between, or so I am told. I first searched locally, local parts dealer told me the powerhead gasket kits were NLA(truth to this?). So I looked on eBay, nothing. Sierra, nothing. I ended up ordering them from another online retailer, but they haven't come in, and I am almost wondering if they even will due to what the dealer told me.

So with the huge amounts of these motors that are still out there, why does it seem so hard to find gaskets? Or am I just looking in the wrong alleyways? Should I go gasket by gasket? As opposed to a set? Tons of hard parts available, but I have tons of those too, now I need the consumables.

I love the motor, dead simple to work on, and I want to keep it around. But if I can't fix things in a timely fashion, it just doesn't make sense for it to hang on my skiff.

You folks have any tips? Any retailers that positively have this stuff? I find it hard to believe that they cannot be had given the amount of them still being used.

Steve

Did you look for the power head gaskets using the OMC/BRP part number (which should be 0384960)? According to the BRP website they are limitedly available, but you can buy it right at the site.
http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=kdjnd3e19a8i7is8bggc8uae10&catalog_id=0&siteid=1

"0384960 0384960 PWERHEAD GASKET SET (LESS CYL HEAD GASKET). Not Shown 1 $45.96 USD Limited Availability"



Even a google search with nothing but the part number entered brings up a few sites listing the kits in stock.

The inevitable is going to happen. It's a 39 year old engine, originally made by a company thats no longer around. Though that company's successor still has parts for her, it's understandable they don't want to be carrying much stock for 40 year old outboards they had no involvement in building. All you can hope for is that Sierra or some other interest may pick up where, and when BRP drops off.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Current, and future "maintainability" of vintage Evinrudes...

most of the gaskets you can make from gasket sheet material, in a pinch you can even make the head gaskets as you can get that material in sheet form as well, I have also in a pinch used dead soft copper sheet to make head gaskets (not for aluminum) and have used a gasket material with steel sheet inside for head gaskets (still working on that 250cc engine 4 yrs later)
I know that for my 83 johnyrude 15 my gasket kit was like $18+$4 shipping off of ebay... took 2 days to find out which one I wanted. If you cant find the one your looking for here, you can also use the "ask seller a question" button on ebay for the sellers that are selling vintage OMC stuff and will likely get the kit your after. a note on that, my kit was OMC factory not aftermarket and came with every last gasket for that entire series.

Sean

 

[sclay115]

Re: Current, and future "maintainability" of vintage Evinrudes...

Did you look for the power head gaskets using the OMC/BRP part number (which should be 0384960)? According to the BRP website they are limitedly available, but you can buy it right at the site.
http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=kdjnd3e19a8i7is8bggc8uae10&catalog_id=0&siteid=1

"0384960 0384960 PWERHEAD GASKET SET (LESS CYL HEAD GASKET). Not Shown 1 $45.96 USD Limited Availability"



Even a google search with nothing but the part number entered brings up a few sites listing the kits in stock.

The inevitable is going to happen. It's a 39 year old engine, originally made by a company thats no longer around. Though that company's successor still has parts for her, it's understandable they don't want to be carrying much stock for 40 year old outboards they had no involvement in building. All you can hope for is that Sierra or some other interest may pick up where, and when BRP drops off.

I did see that on the Evinrude site, but I know, at least from my automotive parts experience, that even though it says it's available, it still might not show up at your doorstep.

So we'll see what happens. I'd hate to have to make my own, as some of the gaskets are a bit tricky in design, but it would be doable in the end. Hopefully they show, and if not, obviously I'll need to explore other options..

Steve