Topic: 1948 Champion Blue Ribbon 2K Lower Unit Seals – Page 2

This topic has 26 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 6 months ago by outbdnut2.

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September 17, 2018 at 1:36 am #83019
david-bartlett
Participant
Welcome! Nice looking original motor.
September 19, 2018 at 8:43 pm #83197
joemallon
Participant
Had the motor out on the Chagrin River here in Eastlake Ohio for about 3 hours yesterday without a single problem! After 70 years it still fires up on the first pull every time, I know these arent the most popular motors in the world but man alive, it runs better than I had ever expected it to! Thank you all for your help and advice, now I just need to get my 1950 Chris Craft Challenger up and running this winter

Thanks again, Joe
September 20, 2018 at 10:57 pm #83289
outbdnut2
Participant
US Member
Nice looking motor! I have a couple of those and they are great runners that idle down to almost nothing. The advice the other guys gave is right on. For your 1953 Crestliner, you may already know that there is another great message board at http://www.retrocrestliner.com for people like. us with old Crestliners.
Dave
September 24, 2018 at 11:17 pm #83487
joemallon
Participant
Thank you! I’ll have to post some pictures of the boat and a few of the other motors that I have collected up over the last few months. And I actually wasnt aware that there was a forum for the old Crestliners, I will have to check it out for sure. Somewhere along the way somebody put a plywood floor and two pedistal seats in the boat to make it a bass boat but I plan to make it a winter project to try to get it back to original. I dont know much about it yet (I got it at the beginning of the year, and it is my first boat) but it seems like it must have been set up as a mini speedboat or something originally.

Joe
September 24, 2018 at 11:37 pm #83488
joemallon
Participant
Here are a couple pictures of the boat and the Champion Blue Ribbon 2k at the dock yesterday!

Joe

Attachments:
September 25, 2018 at 3:12 am #83498
kirkp
Participant
Hey Joe, nice motor and boat. In a effort to make it easy on you, here’s a couple of links for you http://www.retrocrestliner.com/ and http://retrocrestliner.com/phpBB3/

Good luck on getting the boat back in shape. It’s unfortunate that people feel it necessary to hack up a old boat but I guess you can’t fault someone that does it. They have their reasons, just not mine. When you get over there let’s see some more pics. From what I see here I would think that it’s a few years newer than ’53.

Kirk
September 25, 2018 at 4:59 pm #83520
outbdnut2
Participant
US Member
Another way to put grease in the lower unit on that model is to remove the few screws that hold the part directly behind the prop to the lower unit – then pack grease in with a putty knife. Lubriplate 105 like the others said, or sometimes I use lithium, water-resistant wheel bearing grease for boat trailers.

The putty knife method I learned from Lyle Swanson – Champion factory employee who got the factory parts and ran a parts and repair shop until the mid-1980s. You may need to make a new gasket for that part, but that’s easy.
Dave
September 27, 2018 at 8:05 pm #83621
sljohnson
Participant
I also have two lower units I would like to put new in and has anybody been able to find a seal that will work for the output shaft ? From what I can tell there is only one Seal in the lower unit.
September 27, 2018 at 8:56 pm #83625
outbdnut2
Participant
US Member
Your Crestliner Commander 12 has Splashwell and side decks. That model with the splashwell was the 550, only made in 1957, and with full deck and steering up front was rated for 30 HP (yeah sounds like a lot for that small hull) I have one that’s nearly all original and run 35 HP on it. See photos below. There aren’t many of those 550s around! I look forward to seeing you on the retrocrestliner.com board!
Dave

Here’s the catalog page:

Here’s my Commander12 model 550:
September 27, 2018 at 8:59 pm #83626
outbdnut2
Participant
US Member
I have never changed a seal in my old 4.2 HP Champions, so can’t recommend a seal that fits, but I know that some other Champion models had custom seals where Champion had a custom-made mold to make them. You maybe surprised to see how well the thick grease stays in with an old, marginal seal.
Dave
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