She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

[loopie]

Hi....I'm new to pleasure boats/motors in general.
I bought an old setup a few weeks ago that has a 1957 Johnson Super Seahorse 35 outboard.
The previous owner said they ran it at 40:1, after some quick research, I thought 30:1 might be better at least..considering the original spec called for 24:1 I think...
So I had it out 6x and it ran like a top.
The 7th time, I tried the river and got the leg hung up but still running on sandbars twice. I lost neutral and reverse that day...it only operates in forward gear now.
I have twice taken it out on the lake with just forward and have had no problem with starting or otherwise running full out.

Today...5minutes into the first run of the day...it sputters a few times then settles down to just a crawl...it will maintain idle and will accelerate to only what can be achieved as if it were stuck in neutral...it is in fact in forward gear.
My guess is that it isn't getting fuel or can't spark the fuel. So I limp it back to shore at 5mph and shut it off. I pop off the fuel line at the motor housing and jar and shake the fuel tank in case some crap got sucked onto the pickup.
The choke appears to be operating normal.
We pull the plugs...one is dry, the other is soaked in oil. I wipe the wet one clean and even swap the holes they came from and we try it out.....
...same...no acceleration. It's not getting fuel...or enough spark...or running on one cylinder maybe???

So the boat is back home tonight and I will buy 2 new plugs for sure......but is there something that I should check before I even head out again to try the new plugs????
I honestly have no idea.

Thx

 

[F_R]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

Most likely you have bad coils. Not enough spark to the wet plug. The coils are ALWAYS bad in those old OMC motors unless they have already been replaced. You have to pull the flywheel to replace them, but you can take a peek by removing the recoil starter and the thin inspection cover off the flywheel. If the coils are cracked they are shot...period. If they look like dried-up perspiration, they are shot. If they look like nice new plastic, somebody has replaced them.

The forward-only is something else, completely unrelated. Shift linkage probably came apart.

 

[steelespike]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

If you are going to be doing work on your motor the first thing you need is a ser. manual.You can find one here at Iboats,the internet,or possibly the library.
Sounds like you have one cylinder with no spark.Loosen the plug wires and start it.then remove one plug wire at a time with insulated pliers .It will stall when you pull the hot wire,no change when you pull the bad one.
Or simply remove plugs and hold the plug wire close to a bare spot on the head and crank.Spark should be blue and you should hear it snap.
Original coils on these motors are weak.If they haven't been changed you will need to change them.They are available hear at iboats,or any well established E/J dealer or some NAPA auto parts among others.
You need to try to figure out why it won't shift, also if you run it with a damaged prop you can damage the seals and bearings in the lower unit.
Disconnect the shift cable and see if it will shift by hand at the motor.
You should change the lower unit lube DON'T REMOVE THE SMALL PHILLIPS HEAD SCREW.Drain the lube into a can refill the lube through the bottom hole until it comes out the the top hole replace top screw with new gasket then replace the bottom screw.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

most parts are available at laingsoutboards.com i just did a 58 35hp johnson. if your coils look like this they are definately toast. this is what you will find under the flywheel, you need a harmonic balancer puller, 14 x 20 #8 hardened bolts (auto parts store) regular bolts will strip out in the flywheel.

 

[larky]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

since she's down for repair, might want to put a water pump impellor in it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

total agree. simple job.

 

[57whitehouse]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

As the pro's here have mentioned to me, check points while looking at coils. They are cheap enough to replace everything while you have it apart.

 

[bds85466]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

As far as the shifting, what kind of shift does that motor employ? Manual, Electric, Hydroelectric?

 

[wbeaton]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

Nothing left to say that hasn't been said already except that you shouldn't run the motor if the gears/shifter is bad. You might make things worse. Make sure the shift linkage is working properly. If its manual shift then pull the lower unit, pop off the skeg and check the shift linkage there as well. Sounds like you may have a bent or broken shift lever or pin.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

57 was manual shift, with the linkage connector behind the 1"x2" plate on the leg of the motor. also could be slipping where the shift selector arm connects to the shift rod.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

All excellant advice you have received so far. One other thing I would do is check the compression to get a baseline and if on the odd chance that it's an issue but it does not sound like it is but it's always good to know.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

You say it's a 1957 Johnson Super Sea Horse. Sorry, but there ain't no such thing. This is important because if it truly is a Super Sea Horse, it's probably a '58 and has a fuel pump. These fuel pumps are mounted and connected to the bypass cover on one of the cylinders. If the pump diaphragm is faulty, fuel will leak into the cylinder and foul the plug for that cylinder. Pull the pump loose from the bypass cover and pump the bulb on the fuel line and see if fuel spits out the back of the fuel pump. If so, the diaphragm is bad.

 

[loopie]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

Wow!...thx for the tips

Let me work on some replies.

 

[loopie]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

You say it's a 1957 Johnson Super Sea Horse. Sorry, but there ain't no such thing. This is important because if it truly is a Super Sea Horse, it's probably a '58 and has a fuel pump.

It says 1956 on the left and 1957 on the right at the bottom of the plate.

 

[loopie]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

most parts are available at laingsoutboards.com i just did a 58 35hp johnson. if your coils look like this they are definately toast. this is what you will find under the flywheel, you need a harmonic balancer puller, 14 x 20 #8 hardened bolts (auto parts store) regular bolts will strip out in the flywheel.

Do I need a puller just to get a look at the coils? Or just if they are getting replaced?
And whats this about bolts??? Are we supposed to put new ones in every time it comes apart or something?
...and while I have you and I don't have a manual yet...do you happen to know the torque setting for those bolts?
Thx

 

[loopie]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

You need to try to figure out why it won't shift, also if you run it with a damaged prop you can damage the seals and bearings in the lower unit.
Disconnect the shift cable and see if it will shift by hand at the motor.
You should change the lower unit lube DON'T REMOVE THE SMALL PHILLIPS HEAD SCREW.Drain the lube into a can refill the lube through the bottom hole until it comes out the the top hole replace top screw with new gasket then replace the bottom screw.

It shifts easily by hand on the side of the motor there...but it stays in forward, regardless of lever position.

And thx for mentioning which screw to NOT mess with...I actually heard about it in another thread I was reading too.
It's just the two big standard head screws that are for the gear oil changing...check

 

[loopie]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

The rest of my pics

 

[wbeaton]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

Looks like a 1959.

The hand shifter can shift and feel normal even if the linkage is disconnected/broken. Open the inspection plate on the leg where the shift disconnect is and then move the shifter. If the rod goes up and down then the problem is in the gear case. If its a gear case problem, pull the lower unit and remove the skeg to inspect the linkage.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

After pulling the inspection cover the rod should go up and down, but so should the rod after the connection. A possiblity since it is stuck in forward that possibly the lower shift rod came out of the connector. If there is a bolt missing out of the connector pull the lower unit and find it. It will be somewhere in the water pump housing chamber. There will be a star lock washer also.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: She's a bit of a Classic/Vintage...can you help me?

mine and others i've had don't have the lock washer.

what the model number on the plate in the picture. this way we will know exactly what year it is. looks like 59. it has the fuel pump.