Re: Sears 5 hp outboard motor no spark
Hi,<br /><br />I have a 1969 Eska 5hp that should be nearly identical to your sears and if so, YES, there is an easy fix.<br /><br />I had the exact same problem, and all you should have to do is clean the "points" (points are sometimes refered to as ingnition contacts). They probably are corroded, I just scraped mine off with a small screwdriver.<br /><br />Now, here comes the hard part. You are going to have to remove the internal tank / pull start assembly AND the flywheel to get to the points.<br />YOU WILL NEED A VERY VERY LARGE SLOTTED SCREWDRIVER. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE INTERNAL TANK / PULL-START ASSEMBLY WITH ANYTHING ELSE --- YOU WILL DESTROY THE HEADS OF THE SCREWS (This comes from almost doing so myself). You will also need some kind of puller to remove the flywheel (as the points are UNDER the flywheel).<br /><br />The following is a description of how to do this. It should take you about an hour to do this. I do suggest, however, that if you have never worked on an engine before that you get somebody who has to help you. Also, this should probably be a person whom has worked on lawn mower engines -- not an outboard mech. If you can find a guy that has worked on a lawnboy brand mower, then this will be like a lawnmower on a stick to him!! : o ) The points in these are pretty much the same as any older techcumsea lawn mower though. (For example, most older sears lawnmowers)<br /><br />Mount the engine on a workstand (saw horses are great)<br />Remove the plastic cover (hood).<br /><br />Look around the base of the internal fuel tank / pull start assembly and you will find it to be held in place by four screws, each with 2 crossed slots. Again, use the biggest slotted screw driver you can get. Phillips will not work and a smaller slotted will ruin the slots. You will have to use LOTS of force -- don't be shy. Once they break free, they should unscrew real easy.<br /><br />Once you get those four screws off, look under the front panal. You will see that there are four screws holding the front panal on. Use the biggest slotted screwdriver you can fit in the holes, and remove all four screws.<br /><br />Next, remove the choke knob (Just pull it off), idle mixture control knob (It has 2 small set screws -- use a small slotted screwdriver) and the throttle lever knob (Just the plastic part -- it has one screw in the bottom)<br /><br />Finally, gently pull the front panal over the controls and then set it on top of the tank / pull start. Disconnect the fuel line from the tank. Gently lift the tank / pull start off of the engine.<br /><br />Now, you need to remove the flywheel (the big metal thing on top). <br /><br />Remove the nut. You will have to hold the flywheel still while removing the nut. I stuck my big screwdriver in between two of the fins. Be careful, as breaking those fins will off balance the engine (causes extreme bearing wear) and reduce cooling (this is an air cooled engine).<br /><br />Once you get the nut off, remove the washer and the little cup on top. (The cup is what the pull start grabs onto when you pull the string -- don't lose it : o ) )<br /><br />You will need some sort of a puller to remove the fly wheel as it will be stuck on there really good. I used a 6" gear puller I got at harbor freight for $8.99.<br /><br />Once you get the flywheel off, you will see the coil and the "guts" of the electrical harness. Right on top, where the shaft that you just pulled the fly wheel off of is sticking out, you will see a thin metal piece covering what looks like a box. Look close and you will see a wire looking thing streched over it. One end of it is just snapped in place -- un snap it and remove the cover. This is the points cover -- don't lose it -- water in here will stop this engine from running.<br /><br />Now that you have removed that little cover, you can see a black plastic piece with a spring and a contact on it and that contact is probably touching (or close to it depending on the shaft's position)another one, They are small and round -- the second one is on a piece of metal screwed down. DO NOT LOOSEN THAT SCREW!!!!<br /><br />Gently move the plastic piece so that the contacts (points) are NOT touching -- spread them as far as possible.<br /><br />Clean the surfaces of each contact (point). ( I just scraped the corrosion off with a small slotted screw driver)<br /><br />There are 2 ways to make sure you cleaned them good enough.<br /><br />1st way is to get a GOOD digital multimeter, put one probe on the spring and the other on screw that holds the second contact (point). Gently open and close the contacts (swing the plastic piece back and forth, allowing the contacts to touch). When they touch, you should see a change in resistance. Please note that a typicpal resistance reading will only be 0.5 to 1.0 ohms when the contacts are NOT touching, and MUST be at least 0.2 ohms LESS when they DO touch. You will need a decently good meter so see a change that small. My $20 radio shack pocket multimeter worked good.<br /><br />2nd way is to put the flywheel back on, pull the spark plug wire off, stick a screw driver (with a thick plastic handle) into the spark plug connecter and hold the screwdriver so that one part of it is about 1/16th of an inch from something metal on the engine. Turn the flywheel SLOWLY CLOCKWISE , and you should see a spark. It may take a couple turns to produce a spark.<br /><br />Once you have proven that you cleaned the points good enough, re-assembly is the reverse of taking it apart.<br /><br />PLEASE NOTE make sure put the little cover back over the points and secure it gently with the wire thingy. <br /><br />MAKE SURE you line up the key way (slot) in the flywheel with the wedge (key) that should still be in the shaft. If you lost the key, go to your local hardware store and get one -- it costs about 15 cents. That alignment sets the timing.<br /><br />Don't forget to put the little bucket thingy back on the shaft before you put the washer and the nut back on -- like I said before, the pull start grabs it to turn the engine.<br /><br />MAKE SURE THE NUT THAT HOLDS THE FLYWHEEL ON IS REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY TIGHT. Unless you want to take you engine apart while it is on your boat!! If you don't get this tight enough, the flywheel will "sheer" the key and become mis-aligned (basically, the key will break and the flywheel will not stay where it's supposed to). IF the flywheel is misaligned, THE ENGINE WILL NOT RUN.<br /><br />Make sure you use the correct screws in the correct spot (the four that hold the tank assembly are the same, but are different from the four that hold the front on.<br /><br />Once you get it all back together, here are some tips to start it.<br /><br />1. MAKE SURE IT IS IN WATER!!! Although the power head is air cooled, the shaft and exaust are water cooled and you will ruin them if not in water. I just use a steel trach can -- screw a piece of 2x4 to the rim somewhere and you have a spot to mount the motor. Fill the can with the garden hose.<br /><br />2. The main jet is adjusted under the carburator (it looks like a screw going into the bowl). Screw it all the way in, then BACK OUT just a hair more then 1 full turn.<br /><br />3. Set the idle mix all the way rich (from the front panal) -- Don't go past the stop<br /><br />4. Pull the choke all the way out<br /><br />5. Put the throttle to start (actually, mine likes to be 1/2 inch further then that towards fast)<br /><br />6. PULL the string -- it may take several pulls<br /><br />7. AS soon as it trys to fire, push the choke it JUST A little.<br /><br />8. Pull it again -- 1-2 pulls should get it going<br /><br />9. gently push the choke in.<br /><br />10. Slowly turn the idle mix to about 1/2 way between lean and rich.<br /><br />11. Run four about 2 - 3 min. You will notice it all of a sudden start to smooth out or maybe start to smoke a lot. Reach under the front and turn the main jet back IN about 1/8 Turn.<br /><br />12. Have FUN<br /><br />13. Just as a warning, these engines are LOUD. Also, they vibrate a bit. As far as loudness, think of what a 5hp lawnmower (more then 10 years old) sounds like. Same amount of noise.<br /><br />At any rate, these are nifty old engines, but are not the pull the string and go motors that are made today. You will have to play with it a little if you want it to run perfectly smooth and make as little smoke as possible.<br /><br />HERES SOME INFO THAT MIGHT HELP:<br /><br />Spark plug gap: .030<br /><br />Fuel Mixture : 16:1<br /> USE WEED WACKER 2 cycle oil (the 2 cycle oil you use in your weed wacker or chainsaw). DO NOT USE OUTBOARD OIL UNLESS IT IS SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR USE IN CHAINSAWS AND WEEDWACKERS. This is because these air cooled engines run a lot hotter then regular water cooled outboards do.<br /><br /><br />Hope this helps. d
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