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My dad's 1984 Evinrude 28spl, which hasn't been cranked in probably 5 years has locked up. I went by their house today and decided to look at things that need to be done to make the boat useable for my sister and brother in law. I removed the cowl cover and attempted to turn the flywheel with no success. I pulled the spark plugs and there is rust on the ends of both of them. I shined a flashlight in the plug holes to look into the cylinders and they look clean. I guess the rings must have rusted to the cylinder walls. Should I spray penetrating oil into the plug holes and try to work it loose? I think I have heard of that being done by others. Will this mean the rings are now junk and freeing it up only means I can now take it apart to rebuild the powerhead? I hate to see this happen because this boat has been garage kept the last 15 years.

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Tilt the outboard up and liberally spray the cylinders and let it sit at least a day. No expert, but have heard good results after freeing them up.

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Huck, does the engine have sentimental value to you/your family, and do you want to restore it? If so, you should consider a total disassembly of the engine....but first to answer your question. Yes, the rings have likely rusted along with the cylinder surfaces. If it is light rust from poor storage, it should loosen up and allow movement once you soak it with either penetrating fluid or diesel fuel. Allow plenty of time to soak and try moving the flywheel every day or so. If it finally moves and there is no visible damage, your could try to start it with fuel...but if it has sat that long, the carb is probably in need of cleaning/overhaul. Check for spark first to make sure the ignition is working. Extent of the damage is the variable and can only be determined by inspecting the engine.

If you want to restore the engine, tear it apart. It is relatively simple, especially if the engine was used in fresh water. If used in salt water and not flushed after each use, it could be a real challenge. Those engines were simple and tearing it apart would be very educational whether you decide to restore it or not. If you know someone near you who is skilled in engines, they could provide you some oversight and give advice. Get ahold of a good shop technical manual for that engine to guide you along.

I have restored several seized engines. One was so bad that I had to take off the cylinder heads and bang on the pistons with a plastic hammer to get some movement after soaking. Only you can decide if it is worth it! Good Luck, and if you can, take some photos and share them with the rest of us.

Al

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Whoa! there. BIG difference between a frozen motor that's been sitting for years and a seized motor.

Yes, get some penetrating oil in the cylinders, let it sit overnight and then try turning the flywheel by hand.

You may be surprised.

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Thanks Drew, Al, and Tom. The engine has been hanging on the back of my dad's 1971 13' sport in his garage. He has had health problems that have kept him from doing much boating by himself, and when we do go it's in my 15' or 11'. One of the last things I did was I went through the carburetor and got it running after it sat for about the same amount of time before. I'm hoping I can hit it with a little penetrating oil tomorrow and see what it does Sunday.

Thanks again, Bill

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I like Marvel Mystery Oil for this myself.

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I wouldn't get to hung up on what you use, not yet anyway. I suspect the stickiness is slight.

Use whatever you have laying around, even WD-40. I recently went through this with a 1974 Evinrude 25 that had been sitting for over 20 years. I and just sprayed a bunch of OMC fogging oil that I had in the shop inot the cylinders. The motor is running fine.

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Since work sent me to south Georgia over the weekend, I finally got a chance to flood both cylinders with WD-40. Also, I further inspected the spark plugs and wiped them with WD-40 and this stuff seems to be more like varnish than rust. Hopefully all this thing will need is a water pump, which isn't bad just 30 years old. I'll keep y'all posted on my progress.

Thanks

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i have to toss in a comment, not sure whats in " I like Marvel Mystery Oil for this myself" . but have used this several times myself, and at least for the short term, worked great! So if its lookin bad, and maybe an overhaul is coming, give it a shot. Couple of bucks, and who knows.

Duf

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The think I don't like about WD40 is that it gets gummy, and relatively quickly.

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WD-40 is what was laying around. If it's not freed up this morning I'll go get some Marvel Mystery Oil.

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again, don't know why it works, but it does. I was driving from GA with one of my CJ7's many years ago, headed to Corpus Christi Tx and hadn't gotten very far and my AC went out. It was July, i'm thinking, this isn't good. Not much later, my lifters starting making a lot of noise, like i was for sure going to lose a valve etc. Drove in a Wal Mart, got a pint of Marvels, poured it in, and went to Corpus hot as hell, but quiet as a mouse.

Duf

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I let the WD-40 sit overnight and the motor still will not turn. I have now taken Duf and Phil's advice and got some Marvel Mystery Oil. After a few hours it has started dripping out of the exhaust and the water tube which is an improvement but I might still have to pull the engine off so I can get the cylinders perpendicular to the ground. I have it tilted all the way up with the hull tilted all the way down.

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well, hang in there, let it do its thing, again, don't know why, but its worked for me on several occasions.

duf

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+1 to what Duf said and if needed take the head off and keep applying the Marvel Mystery oil to the cylinders. If that still won't get her loose try Blaster penetrating oil spray all around each cylinders/pistons.

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Yup on the Marvel, Kroil is also as good if you can still get it but any aerosol penetrating oil should work

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You could pull the carbs and spray into the crankcase and get the crank rod bearings and crank bearings also and possibly the piston end of the connecting rod bearings.

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any updates?

duf

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Duf, the last time I went by it still wouldn't turn. I keep pouring the marvel oil into the plug holes and go, then I'll come back and check in a day or so. It drips out of the exhaust over time so I probably need to take the motor off so I can pour it down into the carb. I just hope it has enough weight to get past the reed valves and down into the crankcase.

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Take the head off, not difficult to do, and look and see what you're dealing with before you remove the engine and try going at it from the crank case. With the head off you can direct the fluid to and around the pistons. Use a rag to "plug" the intake and exhaust ports of the liner so the fluid just doesn't run out and down the exhaust housing and so will actually do some good.

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Well, about two weeks ago, I poured marvel mystery oil into both plug holes and filled them up. Then I poured some into the carb and filled the crankcase the best I could. It has been sitting with the plugs down for about a week and a half and still won't turn. Today, I turned it on its flywheel hoping to get the oil on to every crevice of the cylinder. If I don't get results soon I'll pull the head like whalerman suggests.

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i'm not sure putting it down the carb is a good idea. You have jets that regulate the fuel, much thinner then oil, that you need to clear to get fuel. Putting it down the spark plug hole is fine. But if your turning the flywheel, your half way there, come carb cleaner to clear the jets, and see what you have.

So, did you actually turn the flywheel??

Duf

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When using any kind of penetrating oil, don't forget about setting up a vibration by tapping in different areas to allow the oil to penetrate further than it would by time or gravity alone.

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Duf, the marvel oil is getting no where near the jets. I open the throttle valve and let it pour in. I was extremely careful in getting it by the reed valves down into the crankcase.

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Try this: http://www.blastercorporation.com/PB_...aster.html