I just took out my Grandpa's old wizzard wd4s,(from what I have read it is a merc kd4s also ?), I cleaned the mud dopper nests out of it, cleaned the coils and the thing fires up. Now I need to see where to go from here. I need to tear it apart some more to fully clean it up,(now that I know it starts).Are there any books that are good to find info on this motor i.e. How to assemble, dissamble, specs, fuel mixture etc....Are parts hard to find? is it worth to go farther?

I am very new to out board motors, but I am tired of paddeling this old elgin around and wanted to try and get the old pair back together again.Thanks in advance,Jay

Jay,

Pick up a copy of "Cheap Outboards." I got mine off of ebay. Although not a specific manual, it gives good guidance on bringing an old outboard back to life. Now, it is primarily focused on OMCs, but lots of it applies to Mercs or any brand. You can also get an old Mercury service manual covering the KD4, but they tend to be pricey...again, watch ebay.

Parts are fairly abundant (look at the KD-4 parts on www.oldmercs.com), and so getting what you need shouldn't be too hard. But, it can get pricey, so figure what you want to spend. If it runs well now, I would just replace the water impeller, clean the carburetor and have fun. If you want to do a full restoration, get some books on the topic or check out some of the outboard resources on the web. Be aware that Mercs can be a bit trickier to work on if you are a newbie...but they are good motors.

JP

Thank you for the input,and any other input would be greatly appecerated.
does any one know the correct mix ratio for this motor,From what I have seen it can range 20:1-16:1
does any one know for sure? also I guess this type of motor is for going foward only? I can not find a way for the lower section to be in netrual, or reverse?
may get a troller for those dutys....I hope this turns out well.


As for now I am cleaning up the fuel tank and sediment bowl...lucky for me grandpa drained the carb and fuelbowl...the carb looks very clean from what I have seen He passed in 1988 and I don't know when he ran it last.I am 34 now and only rember us rowing the boat around. good memories.

here are a few pics











again thanks for the info and please feel free to let loose some of that knowlage that is on this fourm, and thanks for any input I appereciate it.

I can not wait to get it in the water and let her run.

- Jay

As for oil, you want to go 16:1...heck even a little extra on that vintage won't hurt. There are differing opinions out there, but remember, oils is cheap, burning up a powerhead isn't. You also want a good spray of water coming out of the back end to ensure the water is cooling the powerhead. If it has been sitting that many years, you should replace the impeller, as the one that is in there is probably dried out and brittle and it will pump water poorly.

Yes, that is a direct drive model...no neutral or reverse gear. Use grease in the lower unit (recommend Lubriplate #105 or cornhead grease). If there is grease already in the lower unit, blow it out with compressed air. Do not use conventional lower unit oil. Most of the basic parts are available through www.oldmercs.com. That model is based on the KD4S Mercury...so go to this link for parts like the impeller:

http://www.eastcoastmarineservice.com/kd4s.html

There are lots of things you can do to give it a good check out. People here are happy to help, but even a general outboard repair guide will give you some good basic pointers. Hope this gets you off to a good start.

JP

thanks again.Well I looked for the book(s) that have been recommended to me locally and found non in stock...so I will probably order them on line due to it being cheaper then ordering from the store.

got the sediment bowl clean and on/off fuel valve, letting tank soak....I was thinking of using a cheap paper filter along with the old sediment(rock)filter, but as I think about it non of the 2 strokes I've owned or seen has run a paper filter, usually just mesh? so Does any one know if I can run a paper filter, or should I just stick with the porous one, I just wanted to keep the junk from the tank out of the carb.I don't want to separate the tank, because I probably will never get it to reseal. Any advice on this situation?

also thanks for the east coast marine link

- Jay

If you want to add a filter, you can go-ahead and get one of the lawn-mower grade filters from an auto store if you like. Lots of guys do this...it's up to you.

If it currently starts up and runs, you might want to leave well enough alone. But, if you are adventurous, I would pop the flywheel, check the condition of the coils (if they are cracked, replace 'em) and clean up the ignition points. Points are easily salvaged, just get the contacts nice and shiny with very fine sandpaper and then clean them off. Re-install and regap them. You'll have to figure out if you have an Eisemann or Bendix magneto set-up-- should say on the flywheel. I believe the gap for Eisemann points are .020 and the Bendix Scintilla points are .018.

JP

Thank you for the pointers. Poping the flywheel was one of the first things I did (not as easy as it sounds). I cleaned the mud out of every thing( it was caked in there) I then took some emery cloth to the coils, points,magneto, etc.. after that is when I started to get some spark....gotta get the book to find out how to get the lower unit off and apart.

here are some pics of how it is going.

I pulled the jug off and checked the rings and piston out..the rings were stuck in there grooves, and draging on one side of jug. I got them freed up so they will seal and create equal pressure in the jug.
(question....should I treat the area that the water runs by outside the jug with some type of metal protecting paint i.e. rust inhibertor, or leave it well enough alone? ) I don't know if it will burn off due to heat or not.

now for the pics


























not my wd4s but my other 2 wizards don't know if I will tackel them later or not, but will show them to y'all.

the super 10



and the unknown



again thanks for looking and givin me the advice that has been given, it is very welcomed.

keep the comments and directions coming.. --Jay

also the books are ordered.

cheap outboards, and the old outboard book..both have been highly recomended.

Jay-

You're giving it a really good going over! As far as the magneto, make sure the contacts on the breaker points are shiny, you may need more than the emery cloth for those. If there is light pitting on the surface of the contacts, do your best to smooth the surface out. If they are heavily pitted, you probably should just replace them.

If you have an ohm meter, it would be good to check the continuity of the coils and between the coil and the spark plug terminal/boot to ensure you are getting continuity all the way at the spark plug. If the coil is good but you don't get a reading at the terminal, then you might have bad plug wires. If the rubber coating on the wires is dried and cracking, replacing them would be a good idea. You can get 7mm wire core spark plug wire at Napa (I can get you a part# if needed). You can probably recycle the terminals.

You're doing a lot right now, so if you have specific issues, pass 'em on and hopefully guys here can help. I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable on these, but will do my best to keep helping you out.

JP

thanks jpatti for those pointers on the spark plugs and points. Worked late tonight and didn't get to tinker today......but there is always tomorrow.

Removing lower unit can be routine or not so
routine depending upon how much corrosion you
run into. Do you really need to remove?
If you go ahead, keep track of which fasteners
go where. I can walk you thru with pictures
if need be.

thanks that would be helpfull.
I want to pull it, because as I have been cleaning it, the mud, and dirt has been going down into it.
I have no experince with boat motors so I am kinda iffy on just tearing into it(lower section).

got some more done today

took the prop off (looks to have a lot oh hairline cracks) hope it holds up for a while.




found the lower section stll packed in grease, with very little water intrusion.



the prop/impeller shaft looks good, but did notice a little pitting. and one of the gears has a little chip in it, but I think for now it will be fine(if not definitely)






this is the section that I have a question with.
the upper ports (exhaust ports?) is where the debris has been falling into. Will what falls in there hurt anything, or will it blow out the bottom.(I am guessing that the tube that is curved at the bottom is the exhaust (tip?)that blow into the water? Please correct me, and let me know if I need to get access into this area of the outboard.



got the impeller out It seems very flexible,and not cracked, but I think I may still change it out since I am this deep.And besides it doesn't straighten out once it is out of the housing.





I cleaned some of the hardware, then shot some paint on them.along with the fuel bowl filter housing.



The one thing I do love about this project is this is about the only tools I have needed, got to love simple well built machines.



also I have the Eisemann magneto.made in Brooklyn New York.

Sounds like things are going well for you. I'd agree that the lower unit is in pretty good shape. Replacing the impeller is a good idea since you are in there. The one there doesn't look terrible, but it is cheap preventative maintenance.

Once you clean out all of the old grease in the gear and reassemble, refill it with some Lubriplate 105. As far as the debris you are talking about in the exhaust leg, it is just probably carbon build-up that should blow out of the exhaust port above the prop. Speaking on the prop, if it is in bad shape, you might consider trying to find a replacement. A beat-up prop can lead to wear issues and will effect performance. It was hard to tell its condition from the pictures.

Looks like you are having fun. Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm sure your Grandpa would be proud. I got my Grandfather's Merc before he passed away, and it made him so happy to see me use it.

JP

Thanks for the words of encouragement,as for the prop the cracks are very very hard to see they are in the middle of the (blades?) between the (hub?) and (blade edge?) I only saw them as I cleaned the prop.( I will look for a replacement, but I just ordered some gaskets,seals,105 grease(now, I looked around my stuff and found a tube of assembly grease labeled 105....but I ordered new tube of 105; wonder if they are the same thing, because it sounds like it, but I am not taking chances over something that cost me $3.00) and impeller from oldmercs on line.So, buying a new one may have to wait until the funds build up a little, but thanks and will try and find one to replace this one (then the old one will be my spare).

And as far as the exaust leg, some mud dobber nest and other dirt/grit have fallen in there. If that won't be a problem then I will not worry about going further.It seems to get that section off I need to loosen a nut by the swing bracket that attaches the motor to the boat; And that does not seem like it will be easy. So if it just going to blow out then I'm not worried, but if it will just turn into a grinding paste that will tear up my vertical shaft and seals then,I gotta do what I gotta do.
Again thanks for the info and comments. -Jay

Motor exhausts thru the leg and out the bottom...
hose it out...if water runs out bottom it is good
to go...problem removing leg/ower unit can involve
drive shaft splines sticking at top or bottom
or both...if you don't need to go there now
"let sleeping dogs lie" Running motor for a while
can loosen up stuck splines anyway.
Props on old Kiekhaefer (Mercury/Wizard) seem prone to cracks near hub on trailing edge...they can be welded or alumaweld with a gas torch...practiced a little first...my attempt on a junk prop came out worse than I started with...either way you have to smooth the weld...Dremel anyone? Watch for a better
prop at meets...look for MB209 in rectangle for
1/2 inch prop shaft...same prop casting with larger prop shaft hole used on some later models...would
require a bushing. Props can corrode to prop shaft
and may be very difficult to remove without destroying
prop. prop shaft or both. Kiekhaefer called for
prop ahaft to be greased each time prop was
remoed and replaced...apparently not everyone
followed instructions.

thanks for that info,didn't know about greasing the shaft.Also thanks for the prop # I will look around for one.As for now I am still cleaning up parts, and waiting for my new stuff to come in...

I enjoyed viewing your grandfather's motor and your progress with it.
I decided to add my thoughts on oil, as I grew up in my family's marine business which started in 1951 primarily dealing in Mercury products these 58 years. The benefit of using additional oil may be helpful with a motor as old and idle for as long as is usually the case here, but outboard oil has greatly improved in 60 years (and the original oils that were recommended long out of production). Long term I feel that a decarboning agent must be induced into the motor periodically with a 16 to 1 ratio. With all but the earliest Mercury products, the powerheads feature hardened crankshafts and connecting rods using ball, needle, and roller bearings versus bushing bearings in most other brands. Mercury began recommending the use of their 50 to 1 ratio oil back in the sixies. Some/many of the outboards on this board may have rust pitted crank and piston pin surfaces, and additional oil may allow them to live awhile, but we have seen more failure long term from too much oil sticking the piston rings. To sum-up: if running a 16 to 1 ratio, do use a product such as Mercury's Power Tune maybe once a year, or if the internal surface are truly known to be in good condition, I feel a 50 to 1/25 to 1 ratio more suitable if a very high quality oil is used such as Mercury/Quicksilver Premium Plus.
To throw our hat into the ring, we do have at least one of several of the lower unit parts for this motor in new old stock inventory per our factory parts manual such as:
Water Pump Housing
Gasket for above
Screws for above
Propeller Shaft
Propeller Gear
Impeller Drive Hub
Propeller Clutch Assembly
Propeller Absorber
Propeller Nut & Washer

Regards,
Joe Poole, Jr.
Ferguson-Poole, Inc.
(770) 597-5992 Cell
jdpjratlanta@msn.com

Joe, thank you for the mix info.I will definitely keep you guys in mind when I need some more parts...-Jay

well I cleaned some more on the old motor and found some gold paint on it in some areas...I had bought some jade green and aluminum for the assembly of the motor, but now think I need some gold paint also.most of the color pics I am finding of this type of motor show it in dull aluminum.

I chose the jade due to the riveted wizard tag was green and the prop was green so I figured all accents were green. Well I was wrong. Does anyone know if the original prop was gold, if so I think this motor may go back as a gold accents and aluminum main body. If the prop was green I guess I could go with aluminum body and jade green accents for now.......Guess it really don't matter, but want it to look as "original" as I can. I can always repaint it at any time.

I often do not have time to visit here everyday, but in seeing your paint question, I will mention that according to our parts manual that the propeller nut is suppose to be a fine thread "acorn" style rather than the one pictured. I am weak on motors this old, but the propeller may not be original, nor the propeller nut or even the propeller shaft. Louis seems to have the most current knowledge of anyone I have spoken with. As he states, many changes occurred (this is only the third year of normal production), so your parts may be original, but it is easy to damage a propeller, so maybe I am onto something (possibly explaining the paint motif).

well my goodies came in today and I put the old girl together sort of.....

the parts









so I went out side and put the parts to use.

I reassembled the water pump and installed old prop.(hands were greasy so no assembly pics sorry)

just a pic of the done assembly.






I then removed lower cylinder cover and jug.

the rings were stuck on this piston also.
I loosened and got them freed up.....Now for my (1st)huge mistake. I have not worked on a two stroke before but some friends I have had. I posed the question about the gap in the piston rings, and do they need to be staggered because I noticed that these did not seem to be.They told me yes to stagger them And so I did. . So when I tightened the rings down with hose clamps (all 3 on each piston) I snapped some rings(will order new ones soon) I broke one on the lower cylinder and two on the upper cylinder.

I have since found a raised area in the piston groove that seems to align the piston rings so i then aligned the good piston rings with them (located at top of piston)
Being that I have not heard this motor actually run (just heard it sputter originally)I went ahead and assembled the motor anyways with broken rings removed.

I centered the one good ring in upper cylinder piston groove, and put the pair of good rings in the outer grooves in lower cylinder (this might be my next problem, but don't know yet.)


open cylinders





here are the jugs reassembled






I will have to post pics later of the completed assembly. It got to dark to take any more pics,and I was on a mission tonight, even though I might be to eagier. I will have to tear it back apart to repair the piston rings....I just needed to hear it run and have it prove to me that I should put more money in it.....

So after assembly and a fuel restriction taken care of,I got the thing to run on it's own.

I have noticed that it likes to only start/run in high (which I would not allow it to run more than 2 sec in that position do to it being the first start ups in 20-30 yrs)the first 4 times, but then it would

would start to start/run at lower rpms which then I allowed it to run until IT died on it's own,or I would fiddle with the advance. I believe the longest it would stay running was @ 20 sec then I shut it down...

I have fuel leaking from the tank(witch is a two piece unit)Any one got some suggestions on the type of material I should use to reseal the joint were the upper and lower halves meet? Right now it is some type of reddish/orange rubber type stuff that is very hard and brittle(sharp also).

I noticed water pouring/shooting out of the lower section port side cooler? there is a hole near the crank area.I guess that is the stream I am supposed to see when all is good? I thought it would of came out the slits that were cut in that near area, but it seems to steadily shoot out of that circular area and straight down the exhaust leg. Hope that is what is supposed to happen. The reason I ask is because with as little running I gave the motor it seemed to get very warm at the water cooler towers? and the cylinders that cover the cylinder jugs. Hotter than I thought it should be, I don't know though for sure.

any how I left it for now until day light and anyhow it needs those rings....But it does/will run as is, just not well.



I would aprecieate any advice, I know i will probly will get some flak about the rings, but I hope some will under stand why I needed to hear this motor run.

as always thanks for looking....-Jay

well Thanks to Joe I got the stuff to make the old girl run, I ran it many times today until the fuel was used up.By the way after using the motor the fuel tank seems to be sealing up,I guess do to the heat and fuel.

some pics of the motor before the new rings were found (again thanks Joe and it was a pleasure talking to you.)

first run in the morning with half the rings installed












and some video of running half compression...








then I got some new rings and ran her again until I ran out of fuel...which took all day... .








and a video of the final run before i put her up...



her final resting position after she ran out of fuel...




when you see my arm and hand touching the cylinder section I was trying to show that the cylinder was running cool enough to touch...now once motor died it warmed up pretty quick...hopefully this is normal.

the motor seems to run a little sloppy (like it needs bearings for the crank...So I do not know were to go from here...I do have another motor available to me from my other grandfather, but this has been a GREAT learning experience and I probably will run the wd4s until she gives.....I will keep you informed on the progress/degrees of this out board, and as always keep the comments coming..sorry the video quality is so poor but it is what I had at the time...thanks for looking..

I did paint the spark plug covers green to match the prop, but thanks to jpattie I have seen the original paint scheme , and I could not paint it that color...good for a restore motor, but gold is not my thing.So it may stay as is or aluminum color...sorry to offend purest, but I think it looks good as is or with a fresh coat of dull aluminim... just my opionion....again thanks jpattie for the original pic....wish I liked it..

Jay-

Some fine work on that motor!!! I'm sure your grandfather would be proud.

As far as cosmetics, you should do what you want. The true Mercs were dull aluminum, so it wouldn't be "shocking" to see one that way.

Glad Joe Poole had the parts you needed. Lots of good guys out there to help you get these things running. I'm sure this has been a valuable learning experience for you. I know I learn something new every motor I tackle.

Now, have fun with it!
JP

well finally got her on the water. Had a blast, not the fastest thing out there, but I bet I had the oldest out board. When I took it out to load it up in the truck,some guys came up and helped me....they thought that it was awesome that I was running a 1947 wizard out board...made me proud. The thing ran with no problems or issues. I put 1 gallon of fuel in it and it ran me all around the lake. now for some pics.

getting the motor on the old elgin.










and some video (quality is poor but you should get the just of it) woman was impressed also, not speed wise, but that all it did was run....cold start took three pulls. after that fired up on first pull....It was great.





thanks for all the help and support that I have found here. this is a great site. hope y'all have enjoyed the ride as much as me.--Jay

Jay-

You really did some fine work and it sounds like you had a lot of fun in the process. Thanks for keeping us informed of your progress throughout -- the pictures and videos are great. We don't often get to hear about peoples results, and so it was a blast reading about everything you tackled. You should get many years of fun out of the motor. If you decide to tackle the cosmetics, someone just posted the sale of some vinyl decals.

Enjoy yourself using that motor. I am sure your grandfather would be proud!!

Best,
JP

The weather here (San Antonio Tx) has been great this weekend,so I clamped the old outboard to the old tin and took them out to the river.After @20-30 mins of tinkering around with the old girl,I got it to run pretty good. Here some poor quality vids(cell phone)

hope everyone has a good spring run with there old iron.

getting it ready at home


on the water