Trim fixed, motor blown,... plan "D"

[Brian]

Tuesday had the trim all fixed up and ready to go. Running so good, didn't even need the kicker. About a 1/2 mile down river I pushed it a little too far and the rings gave out on the bottom cylinder. Kids had a great time playing in the river while I arranged a tow back to the ramp. Ouch! Painful lesson. :shocked2:

Wednesday, went to the mountains, hiked and played in the creek catching frogs and eating black berries.

Thursday, canibalized the blown motor and put carb's, fuel pump and ignition on a 70 hp 'freshly un-siezed' motor I picked up in Kelso last month for $100. It fired right up so I installed it on the boat right beside the kicker.

Friday, we're back on the water having a picnic lunch on Government island, playing in the water and eating black berries. The Chrysler's running good. :boater1: Pulled the boat into a 15 knot head wind and fired up the Evinrude 7.5 hp kicker. It pushed us along at around 5 knots. Could have used this motor on Tuesday.

Saturday, swapped out the lower unit on motor #3 due to the hard right rudder from the bent skeg. Looks like there should be plenty of parts from motors 1 and 2 to make one of them run. Replaced the power steering pump on the suburban. :shocked3:

Exhausted, beaten, bloodied and bruised from the weekend, can't wait for the next trip. Yeah, I know,... Screwy1 but it sure is fun.

[slo-mo]

Doin' what it takes...

Your the man, Brian. If nothing else-your kids will learn perseverance from your example.

Boat looks awesome!

[Tim McCrain]

Way to hang in there, Brian! Sometimes it takes a little (ok, a lot of) patience and work.

[Tim_Mattson]

Good work Brian,
You can easily straighten the Bent skeg by laying the lower unit on it`s side,then pre-heating the desired area to bend with a torch before landing some hard blows with a sledgehammer.Re-heat if it seems to need more.
You can hit another hammer or use a block of hardwood to beat on.
The block underneath can be shimmed with plywood until you get it flat,which makes this easier than trying to while on the motor.
Unless welded before,it usually won`t snap,and even if it does ,it can still be beveled and re-usde by most good welders.
Once semi straight,a file can be used to true it up if rough on the edges.
Got a Tach on the Boat?
Might save the powerhead next time......as well as checking WOT timing.
Keep it up,great story.
Tim M

[Bflaherty]

Good work Brian,
You can easily straighten the Bent skeg by laying the lower unit on it`s side,then pre-heating the desired area to bend with a torch before landing some hard blows with a sledgehammer.Re-heat if it seems to need more.
You can hit another hammer or use a block of hardwood to beat on.
The block underneath can be shimmed with plywood until you get it flat,which makes this easier than trying to while on the motor.
Unless welded before,it usually won`t snap,and even if it does ,it can still be beveled and re-usde by most good welders.
Once semi straight,a file can be used to true it up if rough on the edges.

I would just say a little warning here... I have had two failed attempts at straightening the skeg on my 100hp Merc after the infamous slough run. We heated it to the point where you could actually make it move by hand (with a thick leather glove) and it still snapped off My brother is a certified welder and has done an excellent job welding the straightened skeg piece back on each time, but if your gonna try to straighten it yourself I would suggest you locate a good, qualified, welder first...

[Tim_Mattson]

Plan E

Hey "Slough Brother",
Realize Portland is a saturated with Alum River Boats,pretty sure a good welder needing a half hour job can be found......and it(one of his Two units...) isn`t broken yet....but, I now remember the Chryslers MAY have a split lower unit....usually not OK to mix with another case as they may be mated sets.

This lowest case pc you don`t want to mix with another upper ,at least that was what I was taught while at the former Chrysler Dealer I wrenched at.
Also learned the lower gear sets are pricey and prone to pop out of gear if shifted slowly,which clashes gears and allows gears to wear out.
Chryslers have a pretty meaty build ,I`d give it a whack after a Mapp Gas session ,Propane is not enough ,and Acetylene will make it molten.....
A big crescent Wrench held by a friend can help apply a load the way you want it to bend ,moving the block below every few whacks so the bend is NOT all made at one spot.Spread it out and re-heat if bending seems to stop. I sometimes draw a Grid with a felt pen to map the center of the action,then move up + down as it starts to move.

Another option,"Plan E" , is to buy a "SkegGuard" that is SS and bolts right onto the case......cut the bend off leaving enough meat to thru-bolt the contraption.
Saw one on Seattle C-list for most of the Summer at $75.00,almost half price of new.
TimM

[Brian]

The big lesson was that WOT doesn't mean butterfly valves parallel to the air flow. If you do, you better have a tach. Still looking for one that will work with a 3 cylinder.

Set it up like Tim said and after an hour of heating and beating with a heavy soft mallet, got that skeg looking ok. With careful inspection you can still see it's a little off kilter but way better than it was. A little filing and it should steer strait.

I used a heat gun until the gear box started getting hot. Reasoning was, not to cook the gear oil or the seal. And using a heat gun I could aneal it slowly and not overheat the pot metal.

Now the hard lessons are learned we can have fun we actually planned on.