My friend Graham finished what was to have been a quick glance at my outboard motor. It is an old 9.9 HP 2-stroke with an extra long shaft (25″). My concern was the play in the gear train from the motor to the propeller.
“No problem, completely normal”
But then I had the bright idea he might fix my rusting-out remote throttle cable (based on a bicycle shifter!) and perhaps add a remote shifter and shutoff so I could come into port without having to have one arm down in the smoky engine well.
Its always gratifying and dangerous to turn Graham loose! The remotes got built…using marine, lubricant-enclosed cables… and he went on to investigate what had trapped water and pushed out the lower wall of the drive, as well as the source of exhaust building up in the engine well.
Turns out there are 3 exhaust outlets on this motor: one through the prop, one just above the prop under water, and one up near the top, above the water. When the outboard is truly out-board this third port is no big deal, but when it is fully enclosed it makes the engine well an enclosed trap for exhaust…no wonder I had to devise an external air input to the motor.
Then, attacking the lower unit, he discovered there is a compartment that takes on sea water through a small port which was TOTALLY full of barnacles, mussles, and crud. It had trapped water over the winter, accounting for the burst housing, and had built up to where shifting was difficult. Being Graham, with his skills he repaired the broken housing, taking 4 hours to complete the aluminum welding back to the point where there was sound metal…something about hairline cracks indicating deterioration.
“Good as new”
So now it is back and I can use it with peace of mind.