Saving Old Seagulls

hi all

i've just started stripping a seagull i bought siezed last year with the intention of rebuilding it. its a century 1963 i believe.
can anyone tell me how to separate the square driveshaft from the gearbox and remove the pinion gear,

any advise greatly apprieciated

regards

john

Hi

Once the bolts holding the end cap are removed there is only friction and corrosion holding it in place. Having said that it can be an absolute pig to shift - lots of surface area corroding leads to a prodigious grip.

The manual (great value incidentally - you can get one from John) shows the square drive gripped firmly in a vice with hefty hammer blows applied to the flat of the alloy casting; this must be done with the aid of a substantial bit of timber - the alloy is soft and will easily distort. The alternative is to grip the casing firmly ( gripping the skeg is recommended with soft jaws in the vice), and then whackng the nose of the pinion with a suitable drift.

Neither method is guaranteed, nor are they easy unless you are extremely lucky.

Is it absolutely necessary to remove the thing at all? If the teeth are OK, and if the bearing isn't worn and wobbling you shouldn't need a complete disassembly. If it's siezed it'll be easier to free in situ, albeit the heating process will be less direct.

Hope that helps

thanks for the quick reply, the teeth and bearing are fine, i want to replace the seal on the pinion and also thought that a complete dissasembly and clean now would make future maintenance more straightforward

regards

john

I have consulted the parts list - I reckon there is no seal on the pinion. There is a case hardened thrust washer - if there's no wear it'll be fine.

The only oil seal is on the crown wheel shaft, outside the box between the bearing and the bronze/brass collar. There are many seagull aficionados who think this is possibly the most useless oil seal ever employed. Others disagree. This one is fairly easy to get at.

From what you have said I belive that a 'leave it alone' strategy may well be the one to follow.

I am a believer in the saying 'if it doesn't leak oil it's not a real Seagull'!

Charles wrote: I am a believer in the saying 'if it doesn't leak oil it's not a real Seagull'!


Or it is empty...

thanks for the advise charles,
i think i will leave that bit as it is then