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Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

A further examination of Sea King 8821 remains reveals they seem to have had
very little use judging by wear of piston/cylinder and driveshafts. Early Mercurys and Wizards that I have delved into often show long hard use. Could it be the carburetor equipped motors were easier to start and run than the poppet valve Sea Kings? Still waiting to see if ad for a cast aluminum tank for Sea King 8821 or KD3 will produce results. Being as the motors came free the worst outcome is an addition to parts inventory. Every motor I have torn down and rebuilt
has taught me a little more and these motors are no exception. I had not
seen the thin hex nut used to secure flywheel on prior Wico or Eisemann equipped
motors...either I was not paying attention or nut were "lost" during earlier
repair work. I will have to go over prior jobs to install nut.
There will be a small meet not too far down the road Saturday. I will ask around
as they say and maybe somethings will come up. The early Kiekhaefer singles are
uncomplicated,well designed and easily restored to service...they are a little
different but same can be said of Ford Model T.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

About half of a restoration rebuild is cleaning which for me means a full
tear down. Those with different outlook and technique will of course do things
their way. Anyway several hours over last few days getting things apart
and removing old gaskets,gasket cement,corrosion,loose paint and grime.
Parts from each are kept separate just for drill as there may be some mix
and match required at some point. Pictures are being taken to document
progress and problems. I have discovered I will be looking for an Eisemann
coil and armature as it was found to be missing...definitely a "no spark"
magneto. Every motor I have worked on has given me some knowledge or corrected
my past assumptions.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

I may not be world's worst painter but it would be fair to say I rank in the
bottom half. Fortunately Mr. Kiekhaefer's early K Models are one color and
not too carefully applied. Even those of modest talent can with some care
do an acceptable job. Paint should not be applied over dirt, grime and grease.
It is done but not by me. After thorough cleaning and a wipe down with wax and
tar remover applied etching primer.
90% of a paint job is preparation,the other 10% is patience. Spray can paint
has to be misted...that is apply a light coat, wait for solvent to evaporate
and apply another light coat. You build up a little at a time to attain an
even finish. Trying to do it in one heavy application will give sags and runs.
Better to put on too little than too much. If you can walk away and do something
else it is easier to resist temptation to gob it on. Bear in mind that spray can
paint does not have much pigment to solvent so you have to mist to allow solvent
to escape.
At the moment I am waiting to see if wind will calm down. I have applied etching
primer to legs, a rewind assembly and a few small parts. I can see light at the
end of the tunnel for these projects.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

Painting went well. Results good enough to meet with my level of expectation...
not perfect but more than acceptable. Assembled legs and attached gear case
and gear case assembly. Powerheads will be assembled,then primed and painted.
As long as surface is clean and free of oil/grease and not to be painted ares
masked off it should work ok. These projects have been fun but will not be
completed until some parts become available...the postwar KD3 is likely to be
easier to round up a gas tank,carburetor and water pump/prop shaft assembly
than finding a tank for prewar Sea King. Anyway a lot of fun for very little
outlay.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

For several weeks higher priority projects around house have kept me away from
further work on treasures/trash projects.
Today it rained so back to the projects... KD3-1 powerhead assembly.
First pressed in 2 upper crankshaft bearings and top seal. As found there
was only a single bearing and the wrong one at that. Revised parts manual
indicated 2 bearings was correct. A curious change which might be
related to the rest of the story.
I was careful to locate bearings so they would not obstruct seal or upper thrust bearing in crankcase. Then installed crankshaft and attempted to install lower cover. Cover would not fit into crankcase without force and when
it was in it jammed the crankshaft so it could not be turned.
Several trial attempts indicated the problem was with cover.
Crankshaft seemed ok by dial indicator when chucked in lathe.
I do not have V blocks to make the check as outlined in manual.
Placed lower cover in lathe to reduce diameter of portion that fits into crankcase...after several small reductions and trial fits the cover fitted
fully into the crankcase. Trial assembly still tight on crankshaft.
No end play of crankshaft, Removed cover installed a gasket made from cereal box...trial assembly results...crankshaft turned easily
with a tad of end play. I have had to do this in past when end play
was too tight.
Normally I do not alter parts to make them fit. I did so in this case after a
number of trial assembly efforts which indicated the cover needed to be eased.
to fit cover into crankcase.
End play of crankshaft can be increased by
use of a thicker gasket between cover and crankcase or by reducing
thickness of thrust washer. Thrust washer at the top end of crankcase can get out of position...check before dropping in crankshaft then hold crankshaft in until lower cover is in place.

A pair of V Blocks, a dial indicator and a flat surface are required to
accurately check for bent or twisted crankshaft. Outboards that go for
a swim while running can have distorted connecting rods and/or crankshafts.
Since I did not test I will hope.

Anyway time to put in connecting rods.

Gaskets made from cereal box cardboard, heavy duty brown paper bags and gasket stock are acceptable if not used in locations exposed to exhaust gas heat.
Some gaskets are difficult to make or require heat resistant material. Those
I buy. If DIY is in your DNA you roll your own when possible.
I match thickness of materials I use to make gaskets against original unused
gaskets for each application. I do full tear down more than most so it
makes sense for me to make gaskets. If I were doing only one motor a purchased
gasket set would be the way to go as there is a learning curve and tools
required to make gaskets.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

Installed connecting rod. Crankshaft turns over but not quite as it should.
After thinking about it over night it seems a good idea to swap in a known
good crankshaft from a motor that turns over easily to see if problem is in
crankshaft or crankcase. May also need to swap in a bottom cover as well.
Swapping crankshafts should have been tried before lathe work.
Louis

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

If experience comes from making mistakes the KD3-1 has given me more experience
than most projects. Swapping in another bottom cover and trying a couple not
quite good enough to use crankshafts proved the problem was with the original
crankshaft.Using lathe to thin diameter of bottom cover just wasted
the part as it is now sloppy. A good replacement is in parts bin so that is not a problem. It is missing the hex thrust bearing for the bottom cover.
I do not have or if I do it is in hiding.
The story the powerhead tells is that the crankshaft was bent probably by taking a dive while running. The powerhead was taken apart and the two upper crankshaft
bearings replaced by a single bearing which allowed the crankshaft to turn freely
despite distortion. When I pressed in the correct bearings and tried to assemble
the distortion in crankshaft could not be accommodated.
Several options present themselves: look for a good postwar single crankshaft...
that could be a LONG wait, swap in a KD3-2 (Bendix Magneto) powerhead OR take
crankshaft out of KD3-2 and use it to build up KD3-1

This is the first experience with a bent crankshaft. Usually the issue is corrosion, wear or worn spline socket. I give the junk crankshaft to shop class
to practice O.D grinding. If anyone needs a crankshaft to build a nonrunner
K Model single or KF3 or K Model twin I have several taking up shelf space.
After Labor Day they are going to school.
Louis

Straightening a bent crankshaft is a touchy issue. A friend in small engine
business had a tool to do that BUT for liability reasons he would not
do it for public.

Re: Swap of "one man's trash" for another man's trash and both hope for treasures CORRECTION

The early small K Models on back burner for moment.
Attended an outboard club meet Saturday. A fellow I did a favor for gifted me with a Mercury KF7...well not exactly...items had been removed and it looked like a salty but was assured its condition was from being left in a wet boat house for many years.
Separated tower from powerhead. Tower looked promising after cleaning and rolling over prop shaft.
The powerhead was another matter. I noticed the Champion spark plugs were J7
and J11 which raised suspicion motor had been ill before it was hung up.
When flywheel came off I noticed half the ignition had been removed prior
to many years of corrosion. Another sign motor had problems that took it out of service and were not repaired. At the moment powerhead is mostly stripped down
except for exhaust cover which was left alone because 3 screws were stuck.

New to me technique: used Dremel tool with abrasive cutoff discs to cut long
slot in key that could not be removed by other means. The slot was not deep
enough to go thru key into keyway so no harm done to crankshaft. Stuck key
was then driven out with nail set used as punch and small ball peen hammer.

Although I intend to complete tear down of powerhead it is likely as bad
inside as it looks outside. I am awaiting a friend to return from "Up North"
to advise and assist as the larger Mercs are more his flavor than mine.

I have been looking into subject of straightening crankshafts. Not sure if
it is something I can handle. A set of V Blocks needed to test and determine
high spot of run out.
Louis .