50th anniversary edition Johnson 40hp

[ferris 23]

I have a Johnson 40hp, model 40EL 72E. I believe it is a 1972. It turns over just fine but there is no spark. I’ve got fresh plugs. I’ve tested the coils. Zeroed out on the primary and 4.0-3.8 on the secondary. The high throttle safety switch works. It won’t crank when the throttle is too high. A neighbor had a meter to test the capacitors and the came in at 330nf(?). I pulled the coils and tested the plug wires and the both had 0 ohms. Not sure what else to look at. I might have hit my limit of know how for the motor and need some guidance.

 

[jimmbo]

No spark on either Cylinder? You haven't mentioned the Points? Condition? Are they opening? Are they gapped @0.020"? Have they accidentally been shorted to ground? Flywheel Key installed correctly?

 

[ferris 23]

I didn't check the gap on the points but they do open. The flywheel key has only one position. now about the accidental ground short... what should I look for to check for that?

 

[ferris 23]

Everything under the flywheel looks really good for a 48 year old motor.

 

[F_R]

Remove the points and individually polish each contact shiny bright. Reassemble and set gap to 0.020" It'll spark.

 

[ferris 23]

Found a loose ground wire. Reassembled the motor. I now have a decent spark on the top cylinder but none on the bottom.

 

[F_R]

Everything under the flywheel looks really good for a 48 year old motor.

Maybe it looks good to you, but I can see the corroded points from here. Clean them, already.

 

[ferris 23]

Pulled the points and polished them up. Fired right up. Thanks for the advice. Next thing, I have the lower unit in a bucket while idling and there is no water coming out of a "pee" hole or the exhaust port that is above the water level. I had seen on another feed that some years didn't have the "pee" hole and the water just came out below the surface(?). I know, alot of questions, but I don't want to get on the water and seize the motor.

 

[racerone]

Water must be 6" above the pump when running in a bucket.------But if you do not know how old the impeller is you need a new one.

 

[F_R]

Water pumps don't come much simpler than that one. If it is deep enough in the water and not pumping, there is something wrong with the pump. Or plugged up, which is highly unlikely on a fresh water motor.

 

[ferris 23]

I pulled the lower unit, looks like the drive shaft seals are sho . Oil in the LU is blue milk colored. blue oil and water churned up. Tomorrow I'm going to put the garden hose to the water tube to check for plugs/exit port.

 

[ferris 23]

Also looked like a small piece of casting was broke off from a rock(?) on the inlet side of the pum . It doesn't look like it will affect the pump though.