Hi i have called john and following advice before spending money i have checked water flow checked i have a spark all good so far but my gearbox is dry is this the death nell for my engine or can i just add oil and try how can i check the gears?
Dave
my new to me 40 plus
Moderators: John@sos, charlesp, Charles uk, RickUK, Petergalileo
Re: my new to me 40 plus
Hi, what are these words "death nell"??? It takes more than some missing oil to kill off an old seagull. Take out the spark plug and turn the flywheel by hand, hopefully the prop will turn, if so the gears are not seized. I got an old seized engine and with a lot of patience, all the parts are moving nicely. The trick, which I learned from this forum and the guys, soak the parts in diesel. Remove the plastic cap screw on the gear/prop housing and fill up with diesel then go away and forget it for at least a week, this will clean out all the old sludge. I actually left it for about a month. Now get some oil and you should be ok.
Gerard
Gerard
Re: my new to me 40 plus
Oh good the prop turns fine and there is no grinding noise from the the gears so i may just fill it and see what happens
Re: my new to me 40 plus
Main thing is to get any debris out of the gearbox before throwing good oil at it, and the only real way to do this is to get the end cap off (two screws), and the act of which will commit you to a new gasket.
How bad is it? Water in the 'box is the biggest killer, which I assume is not present if the gearbox is dry.
Have a peep aided by a torch to assess if there is any crud in the box, and you should be able to see if the back of the crownwheel is clean or badly rusted, which is an indicator to the rest of the gearbox condition. Turn the engine over slowly whilst you are peeping, which will prove that you are viewing the gearwheel, and allow you to see the whole thing.
I have just dismantled a gearbox to see if it was worth keeping or binning - bone dry and full of 'kitty litter', but surprisingly the gears are in good (ish) condition having survived seemingly by being coated with the last remnants of any oil. I just need a new thrust washer to make it a good'un.
If the internals don't look too bad, you could avoid taking the endcap of by filling with any old oil, running for a short while, draining, and refilling with good stuff.
By the way, you are not alone - virtually all the Seagulls you subsequently buy will have no oil, water etc. If you find one with oil in it , it will have lead a spoiled existence!!
PS - 'death knell' is correct - 'death nell' sounds like a girl I used to know!
How bad is it? Water in the 'box is the biggest killer, which I assume is not present if the gearbox is dry.
Have a peep aided by a torch to assess if there is any crud in the box, and you should be able to see if the back of the crownwheel is clean or badly rusted, which is an indicator to the rest of the gearbox condition. Turn the engine over slowly whilst you are peeping, which will prove that you are viewing the gearwheel, and allow you to see the whole thing.
I have just dismantled a gearbox to see if it was worth keeping or binning - bone dry and full of 'kitty litter', but surprisingly the gears are in good (ish) condition having survived seemingly by being coated with the last remnants of any oil. I just need a new thrust washer to make it a good'un.
If the internals don't look too bad, you could avoid taking the endcap of by filling with any old oil, running for a short while, draining, and refilling with good stuff.
By the way, you are not alone - virtually all the Seagulls you subsequently buy will have no oil, water etc. If you find one with oil in it , it will have lead a spoiled existence!!
PS - 'death knell' is correct - 'death nell' sounds like a girl I used to know!
Re: my new to me 40 plus
Called John now have lots of bits ordered so i can get it all sorted and running
Dave
Dave