old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

[chuckfromaustin]

the motor at idle stumbles about half the time. it will idle smoothly then sputter erratically. Revving it up seems to help some. it is as though one (of 2) cylinder is not always firing. new plugs didn't help. I have the gas/oil mix really rich at the moment 1:24 or so. would be the culprit? At full throttle it seems to run better without hardly any sputtering. would a leaner mix help? maybe 50:1 ?<br /><br />thanks. what a GREAT resource this is. I read through the posts looking for good info, but I didn't see anything on the stumbling problem.<br /><br />chuckfromaustin

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Probably time to get "in there" and service the points. That could mean just clean and regap or if pitted at all, lapping or replacement along with resetting the gap. While "in there" look for cracking in the coils as this would indicate that you would probably want to consider those for replacement also.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Hey Chuck,<br />What year is your Sea King? Post the numbers and we'll pinpoint the year...which determines which fuel mixture to use. Very early engines were 16:1, then it was 24:1, and finally 50:1 (this switch was in the 60s I believe). If its pre-55, use the 16:1...better rich than lean on the fuel/oil mixture. The stumbling could be due to crud in the tank, fuel line and carb bowl strainer. See if you can take the carb bowl strainer off and check there. That's where the crud from the tank shows up. Clean the strainer and trap, and then do the tank. Take the tank off, undo the fuel line and plug the hole. Put some clean solvent (alcohol is good) in the tank and drop in about 1-2 feet of small chain. Hold onto the end of the chain out of the tank and then Shake,shake,shake...shake,shake,shake...repeat, repeat, repeat. Then rinse it out. Couple of those and it should be fairly clean.<br />Try the carb/tank fix first. They are easiest. If that doesn't do it, you can invest about $75 in a flywheel puller, new plug wires, and a points/coils/condenser kit. Pulling the flywheel and replacing these is pretty easy if you have some mechanical ability. And it will run great afterwards with new coils/points/condensors. You can get the coils/points/condensors from a NAPA parts store...from their Sierra marine catalog. Or just watch ebay for them (ebay motors, parts, boats-watercraft). There's a good article on tuning old outboards at www.mastertechmarine.com and also lots of good info at www.aomci.org (antique outboard motor club inc. website). Have fun.

 

[chuckfromaustin]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Hi and thanks for the offer of help<br /><br />the sea king is marked as 5 hp<br />serial # 36X875105<br />model # GG18732B<br /><br />made by Gale products<br /><br />in looking for plugs (j4j) I was told it was a 67 or 69.<br /><br />and do you have a recomendation for a repair manual? I only see generic manuals advertised.<br /><br />thanks

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

That sounds right for plugs, that or a J6 or J8 (Champion). Higher numbers means hotter plug.<br />I like the generic Intertec outboard service manual. It comes in two flavors, vol. 1 is for engines 30 or 40 hp and less, and vol. 2 is for 30-40 hp and greater. Look for the right vol. according to the range of years covered. I bought mine on Ebay for less than $20, but you might want to go to Intertec(h) Publishing on the web first and see exactly what volume applies to your outboard. You can buy from them, but more $$$. Another guy on the web, Ken Cook (others please correct me if I'm wrong) offers reprints of manuals for specific years/models. Don't know what he charges. Gales are basically Evinrudes/Johnsons, which all fell under the umbrella of OMC. Gale made the plain jane models for stores (M. Ward, Goodyear, etc.) and some under its own good name. Good engines. How is Canyon Lake and Town Lake after all that rainfall? I know the rivers are probably still a bear in spots.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Duh! Don't use a 50:1 mix in your Gale. It probably uses a 24:1 since its 60s vintage. But the manual you buy for the exact recommended mixture, and only use recommended marine 2 cycle oil, not auto oil. I like to use premium unleaded gas and Wally Worlds marine oil in the 2 or 3 gallon jug.

 

[chuckfromaustin]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Tim,<br /><br />Lake Austin is ok, except the Hydrilla got thru the tom miller dam into town lake now. Travis had 4 gates open for awhile...a pretty cool sight seeing all that water coming out of the dam. still 1 gate open. Travis is around 688 now, down 5-6 feet from its max. It's great to see the lake so full, though the e coli is apparently pretty bad at the moment.<br />Canyon lake/guadalupe got hammered very bad. water was *7 feet* over the spillway, over 80,000 cfs was being poured into the guadalupe, instead of the usual 100-300 cfs the tube riders like to have. the worst Canyon Lake has ever seen.<br /><br />re my motor...do you have a guess at the year? some of the books go pre and post '69 so its age may be important.<br /><br />In looking at the carb it looks pretty tricky doing any work on it with the carb still on the motor. though I see a ?needle valve? on the bottom of the carb under the float bowl. I am tempted to remove it to drain the bowl, but am reluctant to try and remove the bowl itself for fear of the unknown when it opens, considering the cramped nature of the space there. and, worse, most all my hand tools were stolen 2 weeks ago, incl my angle screwdrivers which look necessary to loosen the bowls screws which point straight down.<br /><br />guess I better find a manual soon before I monkey too much with the carb etc.<br /><br />thanks again for all your good advice<br /><br />chuck

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Chuck,<br />Boy, that much water all in one place sounds good...e.coli withstanding. <br />I think your outboard is a 67, but I'll check the Gale numbers tonight and post back.<br />Yeah, you may have to take the cowls and tank off to get working space for your carb.<br />There may or may not be a trap/catcher on the bottom of the bowl to catch and hold sediment. If not, there may be a little fuel filter somewhere or just a strainer inside the fuel line connection that screws into the bottom of the tank. You can clean the carb pretty well by spraying carb cleaner into and out of all the fittings. Do that at least and then see if the stumbling disappears. I think you're safe with a 24:1 mixture, but I wouldn't use 50:1. Burn it up and you'll find out how valuable the old technology is when you go to price a new small outboard (that you can't work on).<br />I'll check my Intertech manual, too. It may go up to 69 models. Not certain.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

didn't see any indication that you had tried to adjust the slow speed mixture screw. Try leaning the mix a bit (1/8 turn at a time clockwise) when the engine is sputtering.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Okay Chuck,<br />According to the old outboard book, Sea Kings with GG1873 in the serial number are 61 and 62 vintage. However, I don't find a GG18732B. the fifth number sequence starts at 5 and goes up through 7, with with ABC or D as the final digit. Here they are:<br />18735A.....3 hp<br />36A,B, C or D.....5 hp<br />37C,D...15 hp<br />38 and 39A, B (61 only)....25 hp<br />I'm guessing yours is a 61or 62, so the fuel mix is 16:1. The change to 24:1 was later, around 65 or so. Hope this helps.

 

[chuckfromaustin]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

hi all,<br /><br />thanks for the input, oldboat1. My old se king has low speed and high speed adjusment knobs on the front of the motor, so I can adjust mixture as needed. Doing so seems to have a little effect but not much.<br /><br />One thing I did notice - when the motor is running right and I pull the choke out, it stalls the motor pretty quickly, but when it is stumbling and I pull the choke out, it has only minor effect on the rpm's and does not stall the boat out.<br /><br />anyway, I went ahead and pulled the carb off and looked it over. the float bowl was clean though the float itself has a skin of varnish on it or the original coating over the cork is decomposing.<br /><br />I blew out all the passages, reassembled it and it started up ok but ran about the same.<br /><br />I could use any help on finding an electrical tune up kit. thanks again for the dedication you all have. I read the posts alot, but of course, I am helpless to offer help to others...I would just mess someone up. though I did read an interesting thing about not using premium gas...better to use mid grade. true?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Hey Chuck,<br />The float may need to be taken out, dried out for a few days (just let it sit in a hot place), and then recoated with varnish or fuel dope (the stuff model airplaners use to water proof their projects). I had to do this on my old 51 Gale 5.5 hp. You may want pull the carb again and let it soak overnight in carb cleaner, then blow it out again. You can get the tune up kits from the nearest NAPA dealer. Its a generic kit for Evinrudes/Johnsons from 55 to 69 or so. Forget the part number. Coils are the same...generic for the same wide range of years. Watch for these on ebay. There's a guy (obman or obman1) who sells the kits on ebay, and he's up near Texoma so shipping ain't costly. I tuned my old Gale for about $60 including points/condensors/coils and plug wires. Really makes a difference. I' m experimenting with a 20:1 gas-oil mixture using Chevron-Techron premium and TCW3 marine oil. Less smoke and runs smoother...hope I don't burn it up since it ain't the recommended 16:1.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Hey Chuck,<br />The float may need to be taken out, dried out for a few days (just let it sit in a hot place), and then recoated with varnish or fuel dope (the stuff model airplaners use to water proof their projects). I had to do this on my old 51 Gale 5.5 hp. You may want pull the carb again and let it soak overnight in carb cleaner, then blow it out again. You can get the tune up kits from the nearest NAPA dealer. Its a generic kit for Evinrudes/Johnsons from 55 to 69 or so. Forget the part number. Coils are the same...generic for the same wide range of years. Watch for these on ebay. There's a guy (obman or obman1) who sells the kits on ebay, and he's up near Texoma so shipping ain't costly. I tuned my old Gale for about $60 including points/condensors/coils and plug wires. Really makes a difference. I' m experimenting with a 20:1 gas-oil mixture using Chevron-Techron premium and TCW3 marine oil. Less smoke and runs smoother...hope I don't burn it up since it ain't the recommended 16:1.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: old Sea King 5 stumbling at low speed... oil mix?

Hey Chuck,<br />Go to www.ebay.com and plug in this number string in the search box:<br />1845314841<br />That guy in Texoma land has a tune up kit for sale. You may want to email him your serial number to double check, but I think this will fit your sea king. No double post this time.