Went to the dry swap meet at Vail Mills,New York sponsored by The Mohawk Hudson chapter last weekend. There I found a donor motor. A 1966 Montgomery Ward 6 hp. 1966.
It had a good gear housing … No cracks. On the donor motor, the motor was all white except the gear housing. It was silver. so I’m thinking it too was replaced at one time.
So…took it off, cleaned it all up and put it on my 5 hp. Bolted right on. There is a little difference between the two on the outside but everything lined right up. Same gasket. On the replacement there is a groove that looks there should be an o-ring or some sort of spaghetti seal. There wasn’t one. However, there is plenty of permatex.
I guess on that design, The groove where the retaining ring snaps in to hold everything in place is the weak point. A little water in the groove with some cold weather is just enough to pop it.
So now, what to do with a good running 5 hp Montgomery Ward outboard? Tag it, put it on the rack and let my Executor deal with it.!
