Saving Old Seagulls

Hello,
My name is Stelios and I am new here. I am from Greece and I bought two seagull outboards (both silver century) a week ago. I bought them as not working as the one has no block and the other one has a cracked one. So I started disasembling to be ready when one new block arrive. My major problem is the old screws. I spay them with WD40 but it is still hard to unscrew them as I am afraid not to break them. Any tip welcomed. The other problem is that one gearbox is broken. It's not that bad as you can see from the picture. My question is if anyone has ever used the following products to repair a part. I may order some rods and I would like to know if there is any good.

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/
http://durafix.com/

That's the broken part of the gearbox.

I would be giving John a call. Much easier to buy another. His number is on the logo top left

I know the easy way but I prefer try at first and if I fail buy another one. In adition I have the second gearbox which is OK. I like DIY.

Fair enough. The drive tube clamp on the water pump housing is the only thing that stops the box dropping off so needs to be a strong repair

Just take out the gearbox from the petrol. I opened it, clean it and now waiting for action. Cleaner than new! I get rid old oil which was a trouble for me. I 've also dissasemble and clean both amal carb 416. I can't wait for one of the two seagulls to start running..!

Now about aluminium repair from some video I saw seems to create a strong bond to the joint pieces.

All of these 'easy' aluminium repair rods are alloys with in excess of 95% Zinc. If the repair is immersed in water expect corrosion problems. If the repair is immersed in salt water and is attached to other metals it will rot away in a matter of months or even weeks due to electrolytic action.

The *ONLY* way to repair aluminium for marine use is find someone who can TIG weld it. Not all castings are even weldable.

Thanks for the info! Luckily today I found out that one guy in a workshop near me can do it with argon. It must be TIG process. I will ask about corrosion before welding.

Stelios_Rjk wrote:Thanks for the info! Luckily today I found out that one guy in a workshop near me can do it with argon. It must be TIG process. I will ask about corrosion before welding.

Stelios. Get it tig-Argon welded. It will be a lot stronger than patching it up. You must realise there is a lot of vibration in that area. Thats what has caused it to break. It would of been a mix of vibrations and overtightening of the drive shaft clamp bolt. Get it properly welded. and use a new stainless bolt and washers. And dont overtighten it.

Yes I 'll do it this way.

Now something else. I disassemble the transmission of both outboards. The two square drive shaft is from different material in its one. They must be made of brass the one and the other one of steel. The steel it is badly corroded. I am not sure if I can use it. Maybe I will but not sure for now. The only good is that both gearboxes seems to be in good condition. One was full of SAE 140, I suppose. It has a creamy color. Does that mean that it was mixed with water?

Seagulls are designed to mix with water. cream is about the right colour. Many finish up like cardboard crumble if they haven't been changed for ages.
So cream is good

Cool, I opened it to see what's going on as I buy them for repair. Do anyone know anything about the square drive shaft (material etc)? I am curious to understand what's the matter with these shafts.

I have not seen a drive shaft made of brass, someone may have replaced it, as it wouldn't be original.
Impellers, I have seen alloy, plastic and bronze, but never a brass drive, wouldn't think it would be strong enough.

Yes after examination the brass one looks like DIY. I may also need to replace it with something stronger. Possibly DIY or I may buy one if I find.

Stelios there was a Seagull dealer in Greece in 1993, I had a telephone number for him somewhere I will look for it, he might still have some stock.

I don't think you will find the right imperial material in Greece.

Cold drawn seamless mild steel tube 2% carbon maximum, external dimension 0.570", internal dimension 0.381" to 0.376" & square, some were cyanide hardened inside & outside to a depth of between of 0.005" & 0.008" for 2 inches at both ends.

It would be easier for you to cut out of your old one 2 x 3" lengths & weld the correct length of bar between them, making sure they're straight.

I don't think Seagull ever used brass for this purpose.