Help? Procedure for changing gear oil in '65 century 100

[sturgeon]

Hi All,

My first post here. I just picked up an old century 100 that hadn't been run in 15-20 years. I cleaned the tank and the carb, and second pull, rat a tat tat tacka tacka tacka...! The water way was blocked, so a little overnight lime remover and now it flows nicely.

So I now want to change the gear oil. What is the procedure for doing this? Do I just tip the motor on it's side, remove the cover, fill up the case, and replace the cover? There is a largish white plastic plug with a large cross head. Is this the drain? I really don't know. I'll get myself a user's manual and a few spare parts soon, but for now, can anyone offer some advice?

Thanks.

Ed
Surrey, B.C. Canada

[sturgeon]

So, I removed the plastic plug, drained the oil, though there was very little in there. And tipped the motor plug side up, filled it back up with SAE 85 140, and considered the job done. But... The oil seems to be leaking out of the horizontal slots above the gear case... Is this gear oil? Do I need to replace some seals?

[Stelios_Rjk]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

SAE 85w140 is not the right stuff. 85w140 means that your gearbox will run on a low viscosity of 85-90. Viscosity of around 140 would have been reached in case the gearbox reach high temperatures. That will never happen as it is all the time in the water.

The leak is a result of the thin gearbox oil. If you use straight SAE 140 (high viscosity) you will see a lot less leak or no leak.

In addition, you should not fill the whole gearbox with gearbox oil. It should be filled up to the level of the plastic plug when the engine stands vertical. Let the additional oil drip out and then screw the plug.

Add some pictures and read the FAQs please.
http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/faq/faq.htm

[phil]

Some of them still leak even with 140 wt oil in, maybe 50/50. It likely has to do with how worn the prop bush ( sleeve bearing) is.

If you have trouble finding 140 wt. next time you are in N.S., I can supply you with some.

[sturgeon]

Thanks for the tips. And here's a photo. I'll get some action shots later today, when she plunges into the mighty fraser river.

Previous to posting I read most of the FAQ. They really helped me in getting the machine running. I saw in the FAQs that 140 or EP 90 gear oil should be used. I guess I don't know much about oil weights. I got some EP 90, so I'll swap it out before we take it out for it's first test cruise today.

[Stelios_Rjk]

Greating looking engine!!

EP or SAE 90 has similar properties with the one you used. It will leak the same way plus it is not the proper stuff for your engine. Try to get some EP or SAE 140 (API GL1 is the type if you go to a shop with lubricants).

EP or SAE 90 is suitable for some later engines with a "sealed" gearbox.

[sturgeon]

Thanks again!

I just found some good information on the Seagull parts website too. Very useful. I'll track down some 140.
http://www.britishseagullparts.com/gear-oil.htm

Ed.

[sturgeon]

I've made a few calls and am having trouble finding EP or SAE 140.
They keep telling me, "Oh, that old motor, you can just put anything in there" I'm not buying it. I'll keep searching.

[phil]

I understand the older 70s-80s Troybuilt Horse tillers used 140 wt. In the gearbox if you could find a place that services them or a Troybilt tiller enthusiast you may find out where they get the oil.
Another possibility is a marine lubricants supplier to the fishing industry. Also farm lubricant suppliers. I would try a John Deere dealer in the farming area of the valley, say Abbotsford, Mission, Matsqui, or Chilliwack.

[Stelios_Rjk]

Yeap, some tractors use this stuff. In case you can't find it, John when he get back on October could supply it.

[Hugz]

Pretty sure this mob can send you some Penrite 140transoil. An Australian oil funnily enough.

http://www.sportscarcentre.ca/index.php?p=9

http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products.p ... roducts=82

[sturgeon]

Well we took the thing out with the less-than-ideal gear oil. It ran quite well. I hope I didn't cause any excessive wear. Two hours there, two hours back. No problems at all.

[Collector Inspector]

So four hours running time with no probs. You have a winner of a find.

Dents in tanks must help reliability.

No more dent removal for me!



B

[sturgeon]

Is this not normal? I've heard great things about seagulls and seen them hanging around in sheds and garages, but never used one.
With a clean carb and clear coolant channels, what can go wrong?

[chris]

In many tears of using them not much has gone wrong
except once when the carb tried to fall off
and the strap on an old 102 that holds on the tank breaking and having to tie the fuel tank on with a bit of spare rope
the 2 bolts holding the gearbox on coming loose and wondering why it wasn't pumping water,
the nut holding the water pipe onto the head coming loose and the pipe not supplying water for cooling
the plug lead falling off from the vibrations
a shackle coming loose on the main sheet and falling overboard
the cork on the fuel tap falling apart on the water and couldn't turn the fuel off
the little screw holding the spindle in the fuel tap falling out and losing that part of the tap over the side, went to shore and found a stick that was the right size and stuck it in the hole
the bracket holding the exhaust tube coming undone and the tube dropping down, boy are they loud
plus lots of other things I can't think of,
Mine also do a lot of worked quite often 5 hours plus in a day and are properly maintained.
Most of the time they are problem free