Another question about 1962 Evinrude Starflite 75hp.

I recently purchased a new distributor drive belt as the original was looking a bit worn, and being at least 58 years old felt that it could use an upgrade. Removed the flywheel, stator, distributor, and bracket. Decided to disassemble the distributor to clean the parts, and bearings. There are three bearings in the distributor housing, one large needle bearing, and two ball bearings. the needle bearing seems to be in good condition, however the lower ball bearing feels kind of jankey after washing in solvent, so i'm ordering new ball bearings. My question is what type of lubricant is used for these bearings? It looked like some type of brown grease was used on the ball bearings, however the needle bearing looked like it had some kind of oil on it, and the Seloc repair manual I have doesn't address these bearings, or what is used for lubricant.

thanks for your consideration,
Mike.

The large needle bearing is just a pivot.-----Does not rotate a full turn or fast.-----Any grease will do.------The 2 ball bearing spin at up to 5000 RPM so a nice thin wheel bearing grease will do the trick.

You referring to the big roller bearing in the mounting bracket? I checked the book, and it really doesn't specify any particular lube. I suppose most any medium grease or anti-corrosion lube. Somebody may have more info.

Thanks for the info. Never dawned on me that that big needle bearing only does a partial turn when the throttle is turned up. Seems like overkill for the application, but I'm sure the engineers felt it necessary.

Motor is now 60 tears old.-----They knew how to build stuff back then with the technology of the day.-----" They don't build them like they used to " comes to mind.-----With proper care it will last another 60 years.------And the cost of manufacturing comes into it.----A bearing is cheap and always the right dimensions for a good fit !!

I agree, my old motor, (same model, same year) has served me well with thousands of hours of mainly bay, and ocean work, and never failed to get me back to port. The old motor started getting water incursion in the lower unit till the reverse coil quit on me. When I opened it up the studs were corroded and seized into the upper section so I was going to buy an ETEC to replace it, however they don't make a 15" driveshaft version, meaning I would have to modify my transom. I kept looking on the net for another L/U when I came across the same model/year motor which had low hours, good even compression, and had been stored indoors in New York, so I bought it, and had it shipped here to Cali. So far, I've rebuilt the L/U, currently working on the distributor, and plan on rebuilding the carb, fuel pump, starter motor, and replace all the rubber hoses before putting it back in service. I know it's a fuelish motor, and I do get the stink eye at the launch ramp, however twice now I've towed in boats with the modern EFI motors cause they wouldn't start after a day of fishing.