MrGiggles

Thanks Wrench. Update, pulled the top carb off and found that the idle jet is missing. That's a problem. 99% sure I didn't remove it, had to have been gone from the get go. The other two are there. These are the plugs, left is top.

Sea trials today. Didn't have any trouble shifting, still grinds a little in reverse, but I think a linkage adjustment will solve that. I think the pilot jets are still plugged. The pilot screws don't seem to do much of anything, it will idle and run wide open, but the off-idle transition is awful. Sometimes when you try to take off, it will putt-putt along for quite a while before it eventually catches and takes off. I'm also way over propped, that is not helping things. I do not have the air box on either, not sure how finicky these are about running without them.

1 part BLO, 1 part Spar Urethane, 1 part mineral spirits. There are variations to the recipe, but that's the gist of it.

I'd skip marine ply for the deck. It's good for transoms and structural parts, it has more plies with less voids, but is made out of the same stuff as exterior sheathing. I'd use ACX or BCX ply, coated with old timers formula. Epoxy works really well too, but is spendy. As long as you have enough support underneath, 5/8 would be more than strong enough for the floor, and would save you some weight.

Well that's that. Seems to be shifting and doing what it should, with no parts left over. Soon as my prop seals show up it'll be ready to try out.

There is hope. Had a machine shop weld up that housing and build up those worn dog's. Only problem, they fixed the wrong side of the clutch dog. Probably better off that way though, once both are done it should be better than new.

Was $99.99. I suspect it was a mistake, and I'd be surprised if BPS honors it. Lowes does that from time to time and they seldom actually sell you the item.

Didn't have long enough bolts to use a puller, had to use a slide hammer and vice grips. The threads were about half gone from corrosion and pulled on one side. At this point, I had it separated about 1/8", so I tried wedging a screwdriver in there to help it along. Didn't work well. I got it smoking hot with a heat gun and was able to beat it the rest of the way apart with just the one bolt. If you're wondering when I'm going to throw in the towel and show up at your place with a box of parts, I ain't there yet.

There is a slim possibility that it could be welded, but I'm not all that optimistic.

This is turning into a debacle. I got it apart. Had a pretty hard time with the bearing carrier, and ended up breaking it. I have not gotten the forward gear out yet, but it both the dog and the gear are worn pretty bad.

That is the case. There is only one part number for the forward, reverse, and pinion gears, to the tune of $400. I'll dig into it tomorrow and see what things look like.

Need some help again Wrench. Got it all put together, oil system bled, and running well, but it just grinds in forward. I tried to adjust it, but even if I unhook the shift cable and push the shift arm all the way forward, it still grinds. I suspect the corners on that #21 clutch dog are rounded off. When you've had these apart, do you just replace the clutch dog, or are the gears usually chewed up too? Looks like those gears come together and they are big bucks. Guess it's a good thing I bought a whole seal kit for the lower unit instead of just the ones I needed.

Anywhere from 20-50. Specific, I know.

Gonna be tough with the high water. Usually about this time I find crappe in timber near the river channel, and on cover in creek mouths.

Got the lower unit bolted back on. That Suzuki shift clutch deal is great when everything is in good shape, but if that shift rod gets tweaked a little it's a royal pain. The outer driveshaft seal was in pretty bad shape, and I suspect water between the two seals froze and pushed it out. I went ahead and replaced all the seals I could without tearing the thing apart. I checked the oil before I bought it and it looked perfect, so there were no leaks. I hope this is all worth it, been a lot of work. That Merc was pretty much a 50hp with it's tail twisted, and the Suzuki is a detuned 85hp. Should be a big difference.

This is where I left off tonight. Got the motor hung and a couple bolts in it. Need to get a couple washers for the slots in the bottom and it should be done. Found some magnum fender washers on ebay. Since this motor does not have a clamp, I figured they would help spread out the load on the bolts.

Finally shot some paint yesterday. Got the Suzuki controls swapped over and monitor gauge installed. Started getting the last few fasteners in the transom, waiting on a skinny armed helper to get the last couple that I can't reach. Got the Basscat in the shop now, gonna pull the Zuke off and set it on the stand. Just waiting on a seal for the lower unit and she'll be ready for sea trials. Sold the Merc on Saturday, had a line of people wanting it, thinking I should've asked for more money.

I've used ethanol in everything for the last decade and have never really had a fuel related issue on my own stuff. Have fixed plenty of them on other folks stuff though. I think it is a good idea, you will get marginally better fuel economy without the corn squeezins', but it will rarely cause a problem on stuff that was designed for it, severe cases of neglect aside. My Stihl weedwhacker has been hanging in the garage for two years (ethanol gas, premixed), and I would pretty much bet money that it will start right up. Always has. Went cordless and never use the gas one anymore.

Update. Figured it out. I blew out the water passages in the powerhead, but in my haste neglected the passage in the lower unit. A clog of ants were sucked in and split the new impeller. I put the old one back in, and it seems to be pumping fine. Runs decent too. I'm going to change all the oil lines and flush out the flow meter and check valves. Hopefully it will work alright, theres a lot more to this oil injection stuff than I thought.

I have heard about this but have not seen anything about it on Navionics. Do you have the approximate location of it?

Progress is still slow. I'm about sick of this stupid weather. Got the shifter situation fixed up and the impeller changed. I still haven't been able to get it to pump water, on the muffs or in a tub. I may need to modify the barrel that I use for small motors to get the water level higher. Seems to be common with Suzukis, they don't like muffs or tanks. At most, I have gotten a small trickle out of the outlet. I removed the thermostat and filled the motor with water from the top. It drained out of the lower unit pickup grates and through the pee hole as well, so I know the passages are clear.

Thanks Wrench. I did not find a coupling down low, but I did find the issue. Removing the lower carb gave just enough access to the shift rod, they needed to come off anyway. A previous "repair" was the issue, looks to me like the factory dowel broke, and somebody installed a machine screw in its place. It's hard to see in the photo, but just to left of center is the shift rod still assembled with that screw. The gear case dropped right out once I undid that screw. I pulled the old shift rod and will grab one on ebay, there is just enough room to wiggle them out.

It came on a Basscat. Can't imagine it ever made it to the coast, the documentation I have shows it has been in Arkansas since 2000. None of the lower unit bolts were corroded. This is the diagram, I apologize if it's not legible. I have backed that #3 nut off and unhooked the rod from the #2 lever. The #1 shaft will not slide back to disengage the main shift rod. I'm going to try and look around the other end of that shift shaft tomorrow, it appears to be exposed. Maybe theres an acorn or something jammed in there that's preventing it from sliding.

The weather has kind of put a hold on things, my shop is not heated. Got the transom wood sealed yesterday, will let it dry for a couple days and recoat. Hoping to paint on Sunday. Parts arrived for the Zuke, but I cannot get the shift shaft apart for the life of me. Pried, pushed, wiggled, tapped, you name it. Might have to pull the powerhead. Someone has been in there before (bolts missing), maybe they tried and gave up.

Haven't done much. Got the transom board glued together and cut. Still need to seal it. Will need a warm day to repaint the transom and splashwell, unfortunately that looks like a long ways off. Got some fresh gas in the Suzuki and drained the carbs, it started right up. Waiting on a water pump, will be able to do more when it arrives. Cleaned all the grime out of the bilge from that stupid Merc PTT pump.