Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

[Heruka]

Hello, my small outboard motor was submerged for over a week last fall, as the story goes, last year in late Nov, I had the Zodiac tied to the dock for about a month after I took the big boat out of the water. and sometime a late storm hit and flipped the zodiac over while the motor was still connected submerging the motor. it took over a week for me to find this out and get down there to pull it out of the water. I'm thankful it just didnt let loose and drop off the zodiac and sink to the borttom. last year when I got it home, I hosed it down and spayed it heavily with WD40 as I turned it over. so this weekend I pulled it out and it was stuck, I couldnt get the flywheel to spin so I took it apart, not compeltely but enough to get access to the cylinders and hosed them down with PB Blaster, and after a while of fighting it, got it to turn. so my daily routine this week will be to turn it over while continually hitting it with the oil. the cylinder walls werent rusty which is good, so I think it will be salvagable. well, its been a few years since I serviced her, and 15 years or so since we had her totally rebuilt. I hate outboards, I can rebuild the big boats a motor(an Atomic 4) in half the time it takes me to fight with this thing.

oh yeah, I was pulling dead fish from the motor. about a half dozen. they must have squeezed under the cover and been unable to get out.

any thoughts on what this motor will need? or where I can get parts? mind you, this is all fresh water, so I dont have the salt issues to compund the problems. I hate to get rid of it, since we had it rebuilt, its literally given us a trouble free life all those years.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

We need a model number as these motors were built by a number of companies.My guess is yours is a McCulloch.
Your may have a prefix of 3 numbers. 571= West Bend,574= McCulloch.
or a number of other numbers.

 

[perkdp]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

Was the motor stuck before and/or after you took the spark plugs out ?
If it was stuck before, that would be that the pistons can't compress the water. If it was stuck after, that would be the internals.

The cylinder walls are probably ok. The rings may have some rust on them and may or may not expand to get compression.
The rod and crank bearings are probably where it was binding.
If got it loosened up without too much force, and got oil on the cylinders, pistons and in the crankcase for the rod and crank bearings..... you'll likely be ok.

 

[Heruka]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

yeah, its an old McCulloch. wellm it was stuck after I took the plugs out, but it loosened up with some force by hand, and now it turns pretty freely. it may be time to upgrade anyhow, but lets see what happens when I try to get her started. its tough finding the plugs for these things. West Marine has them, but theyre about $4 a pop there. eeek. I'm pretty sure she'll be ok. I hate to have to take the rod or pistons out, thats major surgery for these motors, as we all know they built them downward, meaning half the engine is almost inside the lower unit. ugh.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

Runners lucky to get $75..I'd trash it..not worth the effort

 

[perkdp]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

Well, one thing about it.... at a worth of $75 if you spend no $ and get it running you're in good shape if you feel it reliable. If you don't spend $ and don't get it running,, you've only cost yourself $75.

 

[Heruka]

Re: Submerged outboard, Ted Williams 7.5 mid 60'sish

well, shes up and running again. coughing, but shes running. think the carb needs cleaned out. she'll be ok. and hopefully good for another 15 years. and oh yeah, shes worth the effort alright. shes light and trustworthy, two important features I need for the zodiac. when we're out cruising and we need to launch the zodiac, I have to carry this thing down a stepping ladder off the back of the sailboat, not an easy task. and horrible if I needed to do it with a heavier bulkier motor. but its compact size, while a pain to work on is perfect for this job. and the motor fits pefctly underneath the seats when not in use.