I’ve got a '96 Evinrude 88 Special, and while it runs just fine, the steering arm has seen better days.
It still seems relatively solid, but the chunks that are flaking off are very disconcerting. I’m not sure how long I have until I really need to do something about it.
I’ve been looking for a used replacement arm, but they all seem to be in that condition (way to go, OMC/BRP). A new one is going to cost about what the motor is worth. It’s also a pretty big job to replace, as far as I understand.
With the replacement cost being so high, it may be a better idea to start looking for an inexpensive outboard to replace the 88SPL.
Lot of metal left on that still, like Chris said, clean it up good and paint. Might run into more problems taking it off to clean. Once it’s as clean as ya can get it in place, maybe can use that Ospho* stuff that turns rust into a hard sealed paintable surface before painting.
Lot of metal left on that still, like Chris said, clean it up good and paint. Might run into more problems taking it off to clean. Once it’s as clean as ya can get it in place, maybe can use that Ospho* stuff that turns rust into a hard sealed paintable surface before painting.
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That may not be a bad idea. I used to see a lot of folks in the Jeep scene pushing POR-15 as a rust treatment. Sounds like similar stuff.
quote:Originally posted by THE PLUM
quote:Originally posted by capntang
Is there an easy way to detach it from the motor, or would I just clean/paint it as is?
NO
Ha! No to which part?
And I still owe you some beer, and I swear I haven’t forgot about that. I ran into a major setback with my brewing setup, but I should be back at it very soon.
Most of the time you cause more problems removing it. If the arms are in bad shape, you can bet the hardware is in just as bad shape or worse. I would clean it up, and try and protect it. I know with the Yamaha’s you have to pull the power head to get to the arms, I’m not sure with the 'Ruuds. If you want I’ll help you with it, I had to do the same thing with a pair of 130’s I use to own. Were cool on the brew, I do favors because I might need one in return one day.
That is definitely a “if it aint broke, don’t mess with it thang”!
I had one worse than that and I just gently flaked away the major rust chips and then took a can of white epoxy based spray paint and it “sealed” it and it actually looked pretty good right up until I sold it.
ospho is a good product, also look at penetrol. its a paint conditioner, does the same thing as ospho but will condition fiberglass too. ive been very happy with it on my marine equipment.
The steering arm on my merc looked the same way. I too thought about removing until I found out how much work it is and the probability of breaking parts like mounts and fasteners to get it apart.
Here’s what I found to be easiest. Get a pneumatic chisel with the punch attachment and dial down the air pressure to around 40 psi. of course if you have a needle gun that would be better. This will get most of the large scale off. Then use small wire wheel attachments with a drill. Clean thoroughly with a deagreaser. Use a rust converter then paint with a self etching primer like zinc phosphate. Last, paint with the factory color.
You will have spots of rust that pop back through no matter how good of a job you do. What I have down is brush some good quality marine grease like Mercury 2-4-C over the spots which has kept them in check.
