Salt water motors

[Rob]

I am a bit of a newbie to the antique outboard world and I live in Florida where saltwater motors are plentiful!

I have a salt water motor that I am about to give up on. I had an off the wall idea that I though might make saltwater motors more ‘doable’ but I wanted some opinions first. I was thinking about trying to submerge an entire saltwater motor in a 55 gallon drum of penetrating oil, but I have a few questions before I go down that road:

1) What should I use? A barrel of WD-40 is over 1000 dollars. That’s not going to happen. I was thinking more like 50-100 bucks for this project. Note: I was just using WD40 as an example. I realize there are MUCH better penetrating oils out there.

2) Will it work? Has anyone ever tried this?

Thanks!

Rob

Rob

[frankr]

I also live in Florida, and have worked on salt water motors for a living for over 20 years. Your idea is creative, but I must say "lotsa-luck". The best tool you can invest in is an oxy-acetylene torch. Many/most screws will come out if you get the surrounding aluminum hot enough. A propane torch just cant do it. And then there are the ones that bust anyway. You might as well start developing your skills at drilling them out and installing Heli-coils. Only learned by doing and messing up on a ton of them. I still mess up from time to time.

[dave-bernard]

This may sound crazy but I HEARD that soaking them in salt water for a length of time works. never tried it.

[49hiawatha]

Frank R –so that is why you are so smart and helpful…20 years of OJT..awesome and thanks for sharing.

[frankr]

quote Dave Bernard:

This may sound crazy but I HEARD that soaking them in salt water for a length of time works. never tried it.

OK, that completes it. Now I’ve "HEARD" everything!

[Casey Lynn]

quote FrankR:

quote Dave Bernard:

This may sound crazy but I HEARD that soaking them in salt water for a length of time works. never tried it.

OK, that completes it. Now I’ve “HEARD” everything!

+1 !

[reivertom]

quote Dave Bernard:

This may sound crazy but I HEARD that soaking them in salt water for a length of time works. never tried it.

Could that have been an outboard dealership that gave that advise?

[dave-bernard]

actually it was a member that pasted away years ago . he said he had tried it an it softened the corrosion to get things apart. like I said I never tried it.

[fleetwin]

Showering the engine in WD40/penetrating oil won’t do much, except create a big fire hazard when you eventually have to resort to the torch.
I would look for a fresh water engine to get started with. You might also find a salt water carcass that is beyond repair, you can practice heating on the carcass, who cares if you break the bolts.

[frankr]

quote fleetwin:

Showering the engine in WD40/penetrating oil won’t do much, except create a big fire hazard when you eventually have to resort to the torch.
I would look for a fresh water engine to get started with. You might also find a salt water carcass that is beyond repair, you can practice heating on the carcass, who cares if you break the bolts.

That’s an excellent suggestion. Just don’t get so mad and frustrated at it that you give up altogether. On the flip side, you may get so mad and frustrated that a nice clean fresh water motor will be a joy to work on. I even considered going up North to get a truckload of them a couple of times.

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