Johnson JW-10 new guy

[FlightOntario]

Hey all! I am just getting into owning a dinghy/motor. I bought an Intex Mariner last year, and quickly realized how much better it would be if I had an outboard. I bought a motor mount last month and starting looking around. I wanted to use my grandfathers old motor (an Elto of some kind), but he gave it to my cousin when they moved a few years back. Recently I bought a Johnson Seahorse 3 hp (JW-10) and I must say I am excited to use it. The guy I bought it from ran it for me, and I must say how surprised I was at how damn quiet it was. This is my first outboard and I was wondering if parts can still be purchased for it (I know OMC went under) and how reliable/easy to work on they are. Anyone hear own one/have any experiences?

 

[DJ]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

Absolutely TERRIFIC engine.

As you mentioned-quiet.

There are some things to do. If you do them, that engine will be the most reliable engine you could find. It will outlive you.

1. New points/condensors.

2. New ignition coils.

3. New water pump.

4. New carb kit w/float.

5. Fresh lower unit gear lube with new fill/drain plug seals.

All that adds up to a little over $150.00.

You cannot find a nicer engine for anywhee close to that price.

All the parts are available, here on iboats. See the "Marine Store"-upper left corner of page.

The fuel/oil mix is: 24:1 (one quart of TCW-3 rated utboard oil to six gallons of unleaded regular 87 octane.

 

[FlightOntario]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

I only paid $150 CDN for it too! I am very, very glad to hear that it is a great motor. I was grinning driving the whole way home just thinking about it and all the fun I will have with it. This forum is such a great resource! Thanks again!

OH! Should I use oil or grease for the lower unit? I would feel better using oil than grease, but perhaps grease is what is recommended... can anyone shed some light on this?

 

[DJ]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

80W-90 OUTBOARD gear lube.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

That little bugger is in pretty nice condition. Hey, it even has the lower cowl. A valuable comodity on those engines. People often times remove them and lose them.

 

[TN-25]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

First of all, welcome to i-Boats from another Ontarian (I'm nearby you in Toronto). Your motor looks like a 1954 model.

Important: be sure to run that motor on 24:1 gas / oil since that motor does not have needle bearings but rather bronze bushings.

Something I picked up that really helps when changing the oil in the lower unit is one of those hand pumps from the local Evinrude dealer. It wasn't much money and it makes gear lube changes so much easier and so much better. You just screw it in and pump; it flushes out the old stuff and refills the lower unit without any air bubbles or air pockets.

My dad bought a 1967 Johnson 3 weedless brand new but didn't even use it until 1974. We used it for trolling for salmon on his 16' Starcraft, plus we'd portage it into Algonquin Park up the Crow River on my Grumman canoe. My brother has the old 3 now. I picked up a 1971 Evinrude 4 (the same motor basically as the 3) that has very low hours on it (about 50 hours total). Lots of people here on i-Boats positively love those little 3 & 4-horse motors.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

Yea, I had a nice little 58 earlier this year that I fixed up pretty good. I also have a 4hp that belongs to a guy, that I just rebuilt.

 

[FlightOntario]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

A few questions: How would I get all the dents out of the gas tank? What is the best way to clean all the gunk off the outside of the motor? Easiest way to drain all the gas (and is that a good idea because I need the oil/do not want it to seize)? Would it make sense to get a tech to give it a once over and tell me what I need to get fixed?

 

[cougar1985]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

tn-25 im not 100 percent sure im reading your post correctly so im sorry in advance if i did but those pumps are not to pump out the old gearoil in the way i read your post by putting on and pumping in the new and pushing out the old ,you would get a mixture no matter how it looked.you drain the lower by taking out the screw and letting it drain into what ever then put the pump on and fill with new with the top screw also out of course.also make sure you use new washers they are a one time use item.

 

[TN-25]

Re: Johnson JW-10 new guy

tn-25 im not 100 percent sure im reading your post correctly so im sorry in advance if i did but those pumps are not to pump out the old gearoil in the way i read your post by putting on and pumping in the new and pushing out the old ,you would get a mixture no matter how it looked.you drain the lower by taking out the screw and letting it drain into what ever then put the pump on and fill with new with the top screw also out of course.also make sure you use new washers they are a one time use item.

Hmmm... I will accede. I?ll admit that when I change the l.u. oil I don?t start with one that has extra old, dirty cruddy lube in it to start. I do pump the lube until it definitely flows clear and has no air bubbles in it though, so in that sense it does flush. You are right though, if the l.u. is full of old, extra thick, smelly lube then it is probably best to actually flush it well with something, drain it completely and repeat as necessary before pumping it. Perhaps a disassembly is called for in extreme cases (that old 3 doesn?t have a shift dog to contend with anyway, so disassembly won?t include the pain of accidentally removing the shift dog anchor screw.)


As for removing dents, one way is to use a moistened suction cup like the sort a bodyman might have in his toolkit. I would be a little leery of pressurizing the tank as it might overdo it and bow the tank out where it is not supposed to. That is the problem with those 1941-onward sheet aluminum tanks, they dent easily. The earlier cast aluminum tanks on the streamlined mid-1930s through 1940 tanks were far more dent resistant.