Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

[GVB]

I found an old Sea King 3.5hp outboard motor in the trash about 5 years ago and would like to see if I can get it to run. It looks like it's in fair condition and there is a good spark at the plug. The plug and piston have a little carbon on them, which I assume is from running the engine at too rich a mixture.

The Model No. is VWB 279 03A and the Serial No. is 76X 134 99.

I guess the 76 in the serial number means the motor was built in 1976 (it looks about that vintage too). Any Idea how old the motor actually is and what fuel/oil mix is required?

When I found the motor I didn't have time to tinker with it, but I did get it started in a trash can full of water. I ran it for about 10 minutes then I drained the fuel out of it, drained the glass bowl below the carb, cleaned the carb with some carb cleaner, and put some motor oil in the sparkplug hole and pulled the cord a few times.

It?s a nice looking motor (except for the paint) and I would like to see if I can use this season. First, I?d like to put some fuel in it and see if it starts ? I?m hoping that?s all it will take. Any other suggestions on how to proceed would be appreciated.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Welcome to iboats.

It's a 1968 built by Chrysler. It's probably 24:1 which would be one pint to three gallons. Five ounces per gallon should be close enough. Use regular unleaded and avoid alcohol-blended gas if you can. Use Stabil in it because you probably won't use much and it might go bad before you use it up. Check the gearlbe and change it if it's dirty, but only after runninig it awhile to mix the sludge back in. If it's dirty, sludge will settle out in that much time and fresh gearlube would just get instantly dirty.

A model 301, 302, or 311 Chrysler would be similar.

 

[GVB]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Hi Willy,

Thanks for the information. I put gas in the Sea King this morning, stuck it in a trash can full of water and pulled on the starter cord about 10 time before it started. I let it run for about 15 minutes. During that time I noticed that it runs better at higher RPMs than lower RPMs. At lower RPMs and sometimes at higher RPMs it seems to run fine for a while, but at random intervals, it seems to ?cough? and stalls or tries to stall. I think it may be firing prematurely due to carbon on the top of the piston. If it does stall, it starts right back up if I advance the throttle a little and pull a couple of times on the starter cord. It also seems to run better with the mixture control on the lean side of the run range.

Based on the little I know of small engines, and on the way this one is acting, I would assume that the the carbon needs removed from the piston and the idle mixture control may not be set properly. However, I?m not sure this carb has an idle mixture control. Other than the manually adjustable mixture control on the front of the carb, there is only one other setting screw (with spring), which is accessible through a hole in the engine cover. That screw is located at the top-center of the carb. Could it be an idle speed control?

In any case, do you know where/if I can find a service manual for this engine? Also, do you think it?s worth my tinkering with or should I just take it to an outboard engine mechanic and let him adjust it? I have a Heathkit Small Engine Tune-Up Meter that I built many years ago, but only used on my old Honda Civic and motorcycles. It works with single cylinder, 2-stroke engines. I think if my meter stills works and I had a service manual for the Sea King, or knew more about small engines, I could probably get it running better.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again,

Gary

 

[GVB]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Willy,

Thanks for your help with my 1968 3.5hp Sea King. I ran some Sea Foam in it and cleaned out the carbon in the cylinder. It's running fine now. I still have to adjust the idle speed jet, but I shouldn't have any trouble with that since I recently acquired an owner's manual for the motor.

I do have another problem that I have discovered and could use your advice on. The prior owner pumped the lower gear case full of grease. I cleaned that out and put fresh hypoid gear oil in. However, there is a little play in the propeller shaft and the oil leaks. Any idea if I can replace the propeller shaft seals on this motor or if I can buy a new propeller shaft fitting? I don’t see any seals that can be replaced. The “bearing” seems to be a brass bushing. I assume this is worn and allowing the oil to leak out. Maybe it can’t be fixed and I should just put grease back in and use it until it wears out. Any thoughts??

By the way, a photo of the inside of lower gear assembly is show above.

Thanks again,

Gary

 

[F_R]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Are you sure there is no prop shaft seal? I find that to be strange. If the prop shaft bearing housing is worn out you might be able to find a replacement. You have a Chrysler motor and they built the same thing for others besides Wards. Like Sears. And of Course the Chrysler/Force brand name too.

Try Laings for parts. www.laingsoutboards.com/
Or www.sea-way.com

Those are one of the few air cooled outboards that earn my respect.
It is worth fixing and using.

 

[GVB]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Standby, I?ll take a closer look and report back. There is a small burr on the propeller shaft that prevents me from sliding the shaft out of the removable part of the housing. I?ll remove the burr so I can remove the shaft & gear and see what?s behind it. Maybe there is a seal under there that can be replaced. I'll post more photos of what I find.

I agree, it would be cool to put this outboard back into service.

Thanks again!

 

[eterry]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Man, I should check my garbage more regular, thats a pretty good find out of a dumpster. I had a 1950's 5 hp seaking and loved it til it broke a ring and I couldnt find parts (that was pre-internet days). It would idle down slow and I used it to troll local lakes. I now have a 20 hp chrysler seaking and get my parts from Franz marine. I dont have his number handy but do a search, or check my earlier post for it.
Good luck,
Eterry

 

[jmercer21]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

Hi Gary,

I have an identical Sea King 3.5 model VWB27903A. I inherited mine from my grandad. Mine sat in a shop for about 13 or 14 years unused. When I dug it out last October I had to clean all of the mud dauber nests out of it and then clean the varnish out from the old gas. After a little tinkering we got it running. It really sounds a lot like the situation you have. My motor takes a lot to get it started (I've worn blisters on my hands before it started the last 2 times). After it warms up it runs well except those random coughs and sputters. I haven't had much opportunity to work with it, but I'll be interested to hear what you find as far as parts and service information on this motor.

Jason

 

[jmercer21]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

I've had my Sea King out a couple of times now this summer. Last weekend I was out and ran into problems. The motor started fine early in the night, but after I ran it for a little while (maybe 10-15 minutes) it would suddenly sputter and die. I could start it back up without too much hassle, but after a minute or so of running, it would do the same thing. I shook the motor a bit, and it seemed like there was plenty of gas in there. I should mention that when I got home and was able to take a better look I noticed that the tank was a bit low. I'm not sure if this is a result of loss while driving home or not. It just doesn't seem like behavior indicative of running out of fuel. Any suggestions?

 

[steelespike]

Re: Sea King 3.5hp restoration help needed.

It sounds to me like a fuel supply problem.Fuel is flowing to the carb but not fast enough.when the motor stalls it catches up a little.I would check for any restrictions,plugged strainer in the tank,is the vent open and clear?
That motor will use about 3 tenths of a gallon an hour at wot.if there is any restriction flow would be less and less as the level of gas goes down.
Depending on the position of the outlet the flow might be even less underway
or if the motor is at an angle on the transom.

 

[bradley53121]

I need a gas cap for that same motor any help would be appreciated

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