Bringing a 1982 75 Eska Back to life

"I'm up in Oregon where yo

"I'm up in Oregon where you can pick up old units for a hundred bucks. So right there you know there's something to fix just by the price.

Then motor will start, but it will not settle down to idle.

And in the tank, with the lever in neutral, the propeller kicks in and starts splashing the water out of the bucket.

Old engines get full of tar and varnishes from old fuel and oil left in them when they were stored. You can't tell much about condition until you've run it long enough to heat it up and get some fuel and solvents through the passages. But that said, what is going on with this motor? I know a bit about motorcycle engines, but very little about outboards. Anyone who could give me a clue or two about how to work on this one would be appreciated. Or anyone who is looking for a parts motor or a running power head could contact me too."

"Go to Sears.com. Parts and pu

"Go to Sears.com. Parts and put in the model number. It should be 215-something. Your motor will come up if it was sold by Sears. They were called Gamefisher by Sears, Sea King by Wards and were also sould by Grants and others under other names. The Sears site has drawings and parts lists. Some parts are available.

There is an idle adjustment on the carb. (#17, 18, 24) Here is what the manual for the Sears Gamefisher says:

Carburetor Adjustments
Your motor has a fixed high speed jet. The idle and low speed adjustments have been preset at the factory but variations in fuel, altitude and weather conditions may necessitate adjustments. (See figure 16)

a. To adjust carburetor remove filler cap at engine tank before removing engine hood. Remove engine hood by turning latch at front of hood and lift off. Adjustments should be made with engine in gear, running at slow throttle setting. [it should be in a tank of water to provide drag on the prop and to cool the lower unit, my note]

The lean-rich adjustment screw is on the left as you are looking at the throat of the carb.

b. Engine should start with the lean-rich adjusment screw in Mid-Range position.

c. With engine at <u>operating temperature</u>, turn twist grip handle to slow speed position and turn Lean-Rich adjustment screw counterclockwise until motor runs roughly due to over-rich mixture, then turn clockwise until motor runs smoothly.

d. With engine at operatting temerature, turn twist grip handle to lowest speed position. Turn idle speed adjustment clockwise to give a faster idle, or counterclockwise to give a slower idle.

e. Upon completion of these settings, motor should run reliably at the slowest speed setting of the twist frip and be properly set for other speeds as well. Also, motor should accelerate rapidly and not "pop" on deceleration. If the engine does not respond satisfactorly, repeat items c and d.

If your altitude is above 5,000 feet there was a kit, part # 190092 available.

That's all from the manual. These motors were made when the gas was different than it is now. The gas you have available is different from what we have here in Michigan. Use a new spark plug. Should be a Champion RJ13Y, 0.030 Gap.

The oil mix for outboard oil is 50:1, it should be certified at least BIA TC-W. Never use auto oil of any kind. SAE 30 0r 40 oil is usable in an emergency but must be mixed 32:1. Just use outboard oil, 3 oz. per gallon. The engine head is air cooled, the shaft is cooled by a rubber pump impeller which is often bad. They are available.

Hope this helps

Al Sevener Carb drawing, adjustment screw to the left

You are a great help to me her

You are a great help to me here. This is fantastic!!

Numbers: 14209C That's the model number on this one. So it wasn't sold by Sears. ESKA supplied the sea king to Sears and re-labeled their motors to various other retailers. If I can find a colosely comparable motor at Sears I can probably use the parts. I don't see them completely re-tooling if they were in the business of supplying to re-sellers. There is probably an identical motor in the Sears parts inventory. It's just about translating the numbers.

CARBS:
There's a little keeper plate on the adjustment screw. It would seem that they wanted you to keep the adjustments within a half turn in or out. But it could be pushed back and the screw could turn freely until set correctly. I've had another outboard carb dissassebled and back in operation since I last posted here so I'm more comfortable with the basic cleaninga and re-installation that this one probably needs. But the needle jet set up on the other carb would seem to be on the air side of the circuit. Turning it out would mean more air (leaner) and in less air richer. But that's another carb all together.

WATER PUMP:
The water pump thing I understand. But where should it be pumping? How can I tell if it's working without a diss-assembly and inspection?

CLUTCH:
The last bug to track down and squash would be that the motor seems to want to turn the prop while the shifter is in neutral. The clutch seems to be catching on something while the engine is turning. I feel like I should run the motor in a tank for an hour or two to let it shake loose any grunge and grime before I go cracking it.

Any thoughts?