Hey guys –
I wanted to provide an update as well as ask your opinion about a new problem.
Mumbles was right: that carbon seal is very brittle and was the cause of the oily mess. When we got to that point of the disassembly, it was obvious – the carbon seal was broken in two with a chunk missing. We never hammered on the flywheel nut, so I’m sure it was like that when we bought it a few years ago. The points were burned which I have read can be caused by excessive oil, so that may have been the reason for that, but we went ahead and replaced the condensers anyhow. We also replaced the points, obviously the carbon seal and o-ring, the cam, and the spark plug wires (the original reason why we opened it up). Everything was cleaned and lubed, the timing set using Frank’s kit, the coils set using Frank’s locating ring, made sure we had good spark on both wires, and here is what we ended up with:
While we were at it, we replaced the fuel line from the pressure fed gas tank as well as replaced the o-rings at the connector which were old and hard. We fired it up in the Spring in the barrel and it started and idled up and down beautifully.
So here’s the problem. We took it with us on vacation for it’s first performance on a boat. The good news is that it started on one pull every time and idled really really nice. The bad news is that when we put it into gear, it would stutter slightly and not go any faster than a fast idle. Sure seems like a fuel issue, but what? The primer knob stayed hard and pressing it while running made no difference. Playing with the high speed needle adjustment made no difference. Jiggling the fuel line made no difference. We put in a carb rebuild kit a few years ago after we first bought it. The motor is always fogged and winterized properly. Gas was fresh and ethanol-free.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Mark