Saving Old Seagulls

this tool kit is labeled as a "BRITISH SEAGULL OUTBOARD MOTOR TOOL KIT"

http://www.britishfasteners.com/index.p ... it-seagull

can you veteran seagull mechanics tell if this will handle the majority of a tear-down job on most 'gulls or is it just good enough for routine service. it'd be nice to get what i need to work on seagulls w/o having to buy complete sets of wrenches and sockets which will have sizes i might never need.

it says it includes:

Open End wrench 1/4"W x 5/16"W

Box End wrench 1/8"W x 3/16"W

Box End wrench 1/4"W x 5/16"W

Sockets 1/4"W and 5/16"W

The kit he offers has done the job for me. Nice person to deal with. I got some of his taps and dies as well [1/4, 5/16, 3/8 BSF] & a BA one, will check the BA size if you are interested.

I think you will find that you also need a special open ended spanner, with the jaw at right angles to the shaft, to fit the nuts ( or at least one of them) at the top of the drive shaft tube.

...was thinking of digging out my tig welder and some scrap metal and making up a special little wrench just for that *^%#! nut.

Jerry In Maine wrote: it says it includes:

Open End wrench 1/4"W x 5/16"W

Box End wrench 1/8"W x 3/16"W

Box End wrench 1/4"W x 5/16"W

Sockets 1/4"W and 5/16"W

Personally I'd have added an open ended 1/4BSF(3/16W) x 3/16BSF(1/8W) to have two spanners to deal with crankcase nuts & bolts and a 3/16BSF for carb pinch bolts. An essential, in my mind, is also a good tight fitting 7/16BSF( 3/8W) box spanner with a substantial tommy bar for dome nuts............ The selection seems a bit heavy on 3/8BSF (5/16W) since I can only think of tiller nuts at this size, although a pair is useful for locking a couple of nuts on a tiller stud if it has to come out. If you want to tackle anything and everything on magneto plates you will need some BA spanners, notably 2 & 4BA. If it comes to cleaning up threads then you will also need BSC and small Whit tap and die selections as well.

John at SOS may still have some spanner tool kits.................


A 5/16BSF obstruction spanner certainly does save the French on dealing with the inner driveshaft nut!

Peter

Well if you did it up before you fastened the exhaust tube it wouldn't be a problem.

phil wrote:Well if you did it up before you fastened the exhaust tube it wouldn't be a problem.

Not so. Test that thinking when asked to un-ship the power unit from a fully assembled motor that is placed in front of you.....



Peter

I guess the point would be that I have disassembled and reassembled many Seagull outboards and never needed or used an obstruction spanner. Would it be nice to have? Of course, necessary? Not so much. For that matter one could easily get along with SAE, and metric tools, and an adjustable spanner.

nice wrench - err...I meant to say "SPANNER" size chart:

http://www.vintagemg.com/ArticlePDFs/WRENCHES.pdf

phil wrote:Well if you did it up before you fastened the exhaust tube it wouldn't be a problem.

Slow maybe but I'm still trying to work out how to fit the exhaust once the driveshaft tube and both flange nuts have been fitted and tightened ......... Got it. Must be by removing the waterpump housing and gearbox.......... Now there's a nice fastener to take off!

On a dark wet and windy night we have all struggled with what few tools we had to hand to sort out an alternator or whatever to get us home. That is not the same as pressing into service whatever might just about fit when doing planned restoration or maintenance work on an item of vintage machinery. People using that practice explains why we encounter motors with rounded off bolts and nuts. Quite silly; in fact as silly as suggesting using a yard brush to play serious pool.

The habit is only half a step away from using whatever threaded fastener might be to hand to replace the correct one that has been lost.......... and that is vandalism!

Seagulls only need a few different types of spanners to be able to deal with all tasks so please let's not start promoting "close equivalents " in charts. Use the correct spanner or socket. We are already having to work hard to prevent people wrecking motors via the "magic electric drill" trick; lets not start off a sloppy habit of using any spanner that just about fits !




Peter

You do realize that the exhaust pipe slides down over the piece where it enters the lower unit? So with the powerhead ready to receive the drivetube and the exhaust pipe slid down as far as it will go, water tube in place, make the connection loosely tightening the nuts and waterjoint. Tighten the drivetube nuts down [without marring them] the aluminum exhaust tube out of the way giving just enough clearance to tighten them properly with an open end BSF spanner. Pull the exhaust tube up and clamp or screw it in place.
No, my Seagull motors do not have damaged nuts. I do use the minimum number of BSF spanners that will do the job. No need to be patronizing.
Are Seagulls the only motors you have worked on?

Sorry Phil, but in 99% of the Seagulls that I've worked on, the first time you try to get the exhaust tube off the cylinder, involves the use of a vice to hold the cylinder & both hands on the end of the exhaust tube, pushing it backwards & forwards to loosen.

Early & late models with water cooled exhausts are very prone to corrosion between the exhaust tube & the cylinder block, I can,t remember ever getting one off without a struggle, though I did see one ENFR in a race in NZ that after the retaining screw had fallen into the Waikato, had the exhaust tube held in place by a fish hook & line.

The 1/4 5/16 BSF 85 degree, King Dick obstruction spanner is the most used tool in my tool kit.

I'm just sore because I can't get an inexpensive one over here. However, still having success using a BSF spanner to remove and refasten the drive tube nuts, admittedly it needs to be used at an approx. 45 % angle to get the needed clearance for initial loosening or final tightening. Replacing mangled nuts from disassembly is way less expensive than any obstruction spanners I've seen for sale.

I guess the solution for us colonials to to make our own obstruction spanners.

before i got my obstruction spanner i had some success by positioning a spanner on the nut wlth the handle running parallel with the two tubes.then just twist the handle with some grips or another spanner and you will find you can generate enough torque to loosen the nut.i did one using a couple of shifters (monkey wrenches) and there was no damage to the nut.easier than trying to shift a stubborn exhaust from the block.... although sometimes it just has to be i suppose!