Reply To: 1951 Evinrude Fleetwin 7 1/2

[frankr]

Oh, dumb me. Those notches are where they were “staked” to lock them from loosening. To reassemble, you first need to tighten them to the specified torque, then re-stake them. Since the new position will likely be very close to the original and difficult to get a new stake, what I do is mix the screws up so they don’t go back in the same holes. Note: Do NOT mix the rod caps up!!! They must go back on the same rods they came off of, and in the same end-for-end position. You did mark them, right?

So, if in case you don’t know what does “stake” mean? It means to dent the aluminum so it bulges over into the screwdriver slot. I do that by using a hammer and blunt screwdriver to give them a whack to displace the soft aluminum.

Use plain ol’ outboard oil as assembly lube—the same stuff you put in the fuel.