A few questions '64 Century Plus Long Shaft

[AmboGraeme]

Hi There!
New member due to recent purchase of the above motor and have some questions -

I bought it off a friend in a non-working condition - he said it would fire briefly, then cut out. I took it home, cleaned the tank and put fresh fuel in. I drained the carb and flushed the fresh fuel through. I checked the plug and the quality of the spark. After many attempts it fired up just fine and only stopped when I turned off the fuel. Great news! BUT, I came home from work tonight and it fired on the first pull. I stopped it to check something out (it'll become apparent later) and now doesn't want to start....

The questions -

I had it running yesterday for some time and it is leaking from what I can only describe as the crankcase/cylinder seal. I tried tightening the four bolts as they weren't particularly tight and have only done each of them slightly (plenty more left though). So, do I tighten them a little more if it is still leaking? Or am I in danger of shearing something off?? Do I need to replace the seal? Another thread I saw from waaaaay back said not to worry about it - thoughts please??

Also, the same oily substance appeared to be leaking from the top of the chrome tube immediately beneath the head (exhaust??) It is possible that it is running across from the other leak, but wanted to know if there is any kind of seal under there that can be sorted - or is it normal for a seagull???

Finally, there was no pull cord with it so I have adapted an old lawnmower cord. Can you please confirm the right kind of length, is it about 4 turns??

Thanks in advance, just about to try and start it again....

[Keith.P]

If you are saying that its leaking around the crankshaft casing, this has no seal and will leak if the bolts are loose, they need to be tight, but don't over do it.
Fuel oil mix from around the top of the exhaust will be about right, this will be unburnt fuel from trying to start the motor.

[AmboGraeme]

Thanks.

It would seem that tightening the bolts did the trick as I managed to get it started again. I wiped, tightened, wiped, tightened etc. until the leak stopped but it would appear to be leaking elsewhere. Where the two halves of the crankcase join, it is orientated horizontally, in the same plane as the piston. I was unable to check how tight the bolts were which hold the two halves together - I presume some light tightening will also work on this (or does this have a seal?).

The supposed leak at the exhaust/head union was in fact from the crankcase leak.

I guess the main question is - does it really have to be leak-free, or will it "soldier-on"? I would obviously want it free from leaks but are they "normal"?

[Keith.P]

They are known to leak, I have never had a problem with it, but this problem can affect the running, your options are run as is,or pull it all apart clean and reseal.
The two halves of the crankcase do not have a seal or gasket.

[AmboGraeme]

Cheers Keith.
Once I've got the right tools I'll try the gentle-tightening method.

Hope to get it in the water on Thursday or Friday - fingers crossed..