1956 Evinrude Lark 30 HP Tear down

[Pappy]

Piomarine,

SIERRA PARTS from your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store are about HALF the price & GOOD QUALITY. - Sierra sells every BIG TWIN part from circa 1955-75 other than the bare block & outer metal/plastic parts.

ImVho, avoid the overpriced "genuine" NOS parts unless you cannot find Sierra parts locally/by mail.

yours, tex

Sierra coils are notorious for not lining up on the mount bosses, The center laminates are also too far away from the flywheel magnets to produce spark at a low (cranking) RPM. After numerous complaints to them they still have not addressed the issue.
Sierra carb kits are incomplete. They lack several important parts including needle and seat plus floats in a lot of their kits.
Sierra water pump kits are also widely known for impellers that are too thick and also too thin, height wise. Also known for incorrect water tube grommet size which can be total destruction when they supply the ones with an inner diameter that is too large.
So far OEM parts do not have these issues for the most part.

 

[Piomarine]

OEM Johnson/Evinrude/OMC part’s is what I used when I did the ignition system on my ‘57 Sportwin. No issues whatsoever. The parts were “plug and play” right out of the bag!

 

[Piomarine]

Ok, so I am back at it this morning and decided to take a look at the lower unit and gear case. I got the prop off (which took way more work than I believe it should have). There was a small amount of fishing line on the prop shaft but not much, came right off. The inside of the prop hub is VERY dirty and sticky with old oil and dirt which I assume is what contributed to the difficulty of its removal.

So I pull the screws out of the lower gear case and remove the philips head retaining pin. At this point I expected the skeg to just lift right off...not the case. Just for kicks and giggles I took the oil drain plug out and too my surprise it looks like there might actually be oil in there. I had attempted to drain it and nothing came out so I just assumed it was empty. But I stuck the tip of my philips head in there and it came out covered in thick, black, oily sludge.

So as of now it remains inverted with the screws out trying to figure out how to get the lower lifted off without breaking anything.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

For something like this I’ll use a 1” scraper that I sharpen on the belt sander. Stick it in the seam and tap it with a small hammer.

Chances are someone used plenty of sealant on the rope seal and ya now glued in place.


Of course I’d probably hit it with a rubber mallet first, but that’s me.

 

[Shaugh]

All normal. What you likely have in the gear case is marine grease... that's what they used to use... another good sign that this motor has been sitting for decades. Prop is normal... grease leaking past the seal and drying there over the years..

When a skeg is stuck on I usually just tap it around the tip with a soft hammer... that will break the seal... it will come.. you just have to break it loose. Inside you are likely to find a couple handfuls of butterscotch .... clean that all out of there with a bunch of rags...

 

[Piomarine]

All good suggestions! That went very smoothly...and was disgusting!!!

The gears look GREAT there is a small amount of rounding wear on the clutch dog and a little bit of rounding on the forward and reverse gears where the clutch dog engages. The teeth on the gears themselves are are crisp and sharp

You were right about the grease! There was a ton of it and it was filthy but not butterscotch colored like I expected. It was just black. I cleaned most of it out.

Now when I go to put it back together would it be advisable to repack the bearings with new grease? Or will the lower unit oil be sufficient lubrication?

 

[Shaugh]

Just clean everything good. Soak in gas. Spray with wd40. You’ll use oil when you rebuild. Reassemble and put aside until final assy. Grease probably saved that unit. Oil would have been gone for decades.

Clutch does show some wear.... probably a hard shiftin Elvis looking fella in it's past..... but those parts are easy to replace if needed... won't know till you try it.

 

[Piomarine]

Will do. So from your perspective is the amount of wear of any concern of the clutch dog or the gears? If not I’ll get it cleaned up and put back together tomorrow.

 

[Pappy]

Turn the clutch dog around to the side with the least amount of wear to face forward gear. You may be okay.
When the time comes there are adjustments that are critical to making or allowing the gearcase to live a normal service life.
We will cover those when the time comes.
When you go through the case the biggest offender as far as leaks go is the shift rod o-ring. Make sure you change it!!

 

[Shaugh]

My guess is that it will work fine. But as I said it will be an easy fix if it gives you trouble. You'll want to get the shift rod seal and the prop seal, but let's wait till we see how the rest makes it through this evaluation process before buying stuff..... a compression test should tell us a lot.

 

[Piomarine]

I have a compression tester. Can I check the compression in the cylinders with the motor in it’s current state or will I need to bolt everything back up? I know I need to put the cylinder head back on but will I also need to reinstall the carburetor? Also can I perform the test with a drill on the flywheel nut or do I need to have it back on the pull string?

 

[Piomarine]

I decided to put the tester on it and just see where it’s at with everything off. With the original head gasket, and blown gasket on the exhaust port, and no gaskets on the access ports, plus no carb and no lower unit...both cylinders read at or very near 85lbs. I used the drill to spin the crankshaft and it bucked like an angry bronc. It still wants to get hung up in the position it which it froze (which is starting to make me want to hone the cylinders). I can hear the carb port sucking in huge amounts of air.

 

[Shaugh]

What you did is correct. 85 is good for right now. After the motor runs a while it will be even better. That's enough evidence to know that the rest of the motor is most likely in similar condition and has lots of life left in it. Can you feel a rough spot or a ridge on a cylinder wall ? Feel them with the piston all the way down. If you feel something it's perfectly ok to take some 400 grit paper to it...

Now would be the time to start cleaning everything meticulously. Tear the magneto apart and clean the plate. Buy coils and condensers and points unless you're sure the ones you have are good. Buy an impeller... buy 5 feet of 7mm copper core spark plug wire. Buy spark plug ends and boots. Buy lower prop seal, drive shaft seal, and shift rod o ring.

other things to research. That motor is a 6 volt starter. The bracket is smaller. You either need to find a 12volt bracket or consider using a 6 volt starter with a resistor. You will need a 12 volt choke and 12 volt solenoid... learn about that and we'll talk later... Pappy probably knows more about this...

 

[Piomarine]

When looking at replacement parts and seals, my source (marineengine.com) does not have a parts list for a ‘56 Evinrude, but they do have one for the ‘57s. Of the parts you listed, how many of those would be interchangeable between years?

I have an original parts manual for the ‘56 Lark, but the numbers don’t always line up with modern parts (especially parts only made by Sierra or other companies with unique part numbers).

 

[Shaugh]

Take the part number from the diagrams and put it in the box on Marine Engine.com. You can do the same on EBAY... the part numbers on the 1956 listing are the only way to be sure. I usually just search on ebay : Johnson 0123456....

example : seals

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=johnson+302564

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=johnson+301877

https://www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_search.php?part_num=302564

 

[Pappy]

I see that Sierra word again........

 

[Piomarine]

Pappy I plan on using only OEM parts whenever available if that makes you feel any better

Also...what is the most painless procedure for removing/replacing the shift rod o-ring? Do I need to pull the whole shift rod linkage out or can it be done just pulling it out slightly? Also I’ve heard there’s a special tool needed to remove the ring. Is this true?

 

[nccatfisher]

I see that Sierra word again........

You can lead them to water, but you can't make 'em drink. But they will always be stubborn.

 

[Pappy]

The gearcase has to be split and everything removed.
There is a special tool that does the job quickly but you can also use a tap and do it. I use the tool. Tool can be made easily on a lathe.

https://www.crowleymarine.com/parts/16392.cfm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkKrd45L96gIViZ6zCh3XIwr7EAQYASABEgLmMvD_BwE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYSdZiP0xj8

 

[Shaugh]

another video showing the tool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRgcg4haPuo

I've seen some people just use a piece of 1/4" threaded rod with a nut and small washer to drive it out from the bottom or use the same rod to pull it up with a bar like in pappys video.