1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

[John the landlubber]

She turns over, produces spark from both leads, checked gear oil, have trashcan, 24:1 fuel mix, firmly secured on lumber, ordering impeller kit tomorrow. Still have a few questions. Dont know what tubing i need to connect fuel tank to fuel in, and dont want to have to tak engine to shops. can anyone make life easy for me and tell me correct type/diameter internal? Also, the wires from the harness plug socket are not connected to anything, does this matter, doe I have to electric tape them apart or anything? The cover is missing from the right hand side of the leg about half way up, inside it i can see the rod that connects the selector to the gearbox. this appears to have been welded at some stage and although not particularly pretty seems to work ok. does the cover have to be on before starting, no oil in there is there? Any other tips greatly appreciated. cheers!

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

I have a RDS-23, which is a 1961 Johnson 40 H.P. outboard. I have placed mine in a pail of water and attached the tube that came with my fuel tank directly to the "fuel in" at the fuel pump. The motor ran great, and don't be alarmed by the amount of smoke that comes out while running it. Mine smokes a ton. The only problem I have is idleing the motor below the startup on the throttle adjustment. My motor just quits. I have to fine adjust the carbueretor to make mine idle properly. You should have no problem running your motor. Do you have a new impeller installed? Make sure you have your motor sunk deep enough in the garbage pail of water or else the pump will destroy the impeller very quickly. Also do not be too afraid if it takes a little while for the outboard to "pee" water. It takes mine a little while to do this. Make sure your thermastat is working properly by submerging it in water and it opens at the apropriate temperature as well. Good luck with your outboard and let us know how it is going as you work on it...

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

If it hasn't been started in a long while, throw a teaspoon of TC-W3 in each spark plug hole and give it a few turns to wipe the cylinder walls. The fuel line should be 5/16", and take a standard OMC quick connector.<br /><br />EDIT: Oh, yeah - for now just tape off all the wires and don't connect any of them together. It'll start and run fine like that. You'll have to choke the engine to kill it since you don't have a kill switch wired up though. Pick up a manual to figure out what the wires do.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

You might as well purchase a standard fuel line with bulb for your motor. You'll need one eventually. It's a standard OMC (Johnson/Evinrude) fitting that attaches to the fuel input on your engine.<br /><br />Make certain the water in your container reaches well past the water intake screen. That's important. Better to have too much water in the trashcan than not enough.<br /><br />As Paul said, just tape off the wires, making sure none of them are contacting each other.<br /><br />Are you starting your motor with the electric starter? That's the easiest. If not, you can use the recoil starter, but that's a little more difficult for a start-up after long storage. If that is the case, be sure your stand is steady and well-secured and make sure the latch that keeps the motor from tipping up is set.<br /><br />I assume you'll have the cowling off the engine for these tests. If you're using the manual start, keep your hands well clear of any moving parts as you pull the rope. If you cannot get a proper pull without putting your free hand on the engine, put the cowling back on the engine before proceeding.<br /><br />Bonne chance!

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

thankyou all for advice and encouragement. how do I measure or can anyone tell me the length of my shaft (lol), as there is a boat hull i am interested in which measure 21" from top of transom to bottom of vee. I also have a 1967 evinrude fasttwin which is either 18 or 25hp. maybe none will be long enough but need to know for sure. do i measure from centre of prob to bottom of engine casing or ? ? ?

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

also, I have some pictures of a boat hull I am interested in looking at if either of these motors will fit it. Only problem is, I am not convinced it is was it is advertised as. i realise this is a question for another forum but which should I post pictures on and can i only post picture if i have a url or is there another way?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

Measure the motor from the point where the transom mount rests on the top of the boat's transom to the horizontal plate just above the propellor.<br /><br />On my RDS-20, that length is 24". The motor has the 5" extension, making it a long shaft motor, suitable for boats with a 20" transom height.<br /><br />Normally, you could tell from the model number. An "L" at the end of the letters means a long shaft motor, but many of these motors have been converted to the long shaft version. The extension is 5" long.

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

shafts on both motors measure 18 1/2 - 19 ".doh! that rules them out for 21" transom height unless I follow your example CATransplant. What sort of cost would be involved in a shaft extension and would a novice like myself be able to carry it out?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

The cost would depend on where you obtained your parts. You'd need the 5" long extension housing, a longer driveshaft, and a longer shift rod coupler (that brass piece you disconnected inside the two covers when you pulled the lower end), plus longer water tubes.<br /><br />An outboard breaker or wrecking yard will probably have the parts available, but the cost will probably vary quite a bit.<br /><br />I saw an extension housing on eBay today. A search for "Johnson" on eBay Motors will pop it up. I can't remember a more specific title. I don't think I saw the driveshaft and other parts, though.<br /><br />Your best bet is to find a longshaft motor of your year or near that has a bad powerhead and buy the whole thing for its parts, probably.<br /><br />Not much changed on these motors, except that the water pump changed in, I believe 1958 or 1959.<br /><br />You should be all right with a long shaft 40hp Johnson or Evinrude from 1960-about 1964. The number of years actually could be more than that.<br /><br />It's not a huge job, and it's been done many time. I was lucky, in that my motor had had the conversion done already.<br /><br />As an alternative, you could look for a boat with a 15" transom. In some ways, that's a better option, since short-shaft motors of that size and age are generally less expensive than long-shaft ones.

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

also, the other day you suggested getting a factory parts list when I got my manuals. unfortunately (well depending on you how look at it) I got a second hand copy of both clymer and seloc manuals from an old boy in yorkshire england so i could use a suggestion on where to get a factory parts list. is it available from omc dealers?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

You can go to marineengine.com. They can get you a reprint of the parts list. It's US$25, plus whatever the cost is to get it to the UK.<br /><br />Where I am, the local dealers have the parts lists for these "mature" engines, but you have to make nice with them to get access to them. One of my local dealers won't even talk to me about my RDS-20. The other one sees me coming in the door and pulls out the parts list before I get to the counter. As you might suppose, I like the second one better. He doesn't always have the parts, but he's interested in people who are keeping old-time engines going and in use.<br /><br />Next time, I'm going to ask him if I can borrow the parts book to make a photocopy of it. I'll wager this guy will let me borrow it.<br /><br />I find that if I look humble and smile a lot when I visit a dealer, I can generally get them to assist me, even if they know they aren't going to become wealthy with my trade. It's a relationship, I suppose, and they figure I'll eventually get sick of keeping a 47-year-old motor going and come in for a new one.<br /><br />I'd still consider looking for a boat with a 15" transom, were I you.

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

Well, as it happens i know of a 1961 rdsl-23 which is in abreakers yard near where i need to go to look at the hull. It is advertised for £150 sterling and supposedly turns freely and is complete. This causes me a dilemma as i was already considering buying this motor for spares.I have a slight problem now as what I realy need is some expert advice on boat hulls. I have pictures on my computer which i need to show somebody who can tell me if they feel it is a particularly good design for what i need. I believe it is. Can you tell me where I can go for this type of help?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

Hmmm...that's not too much for that motor. Every part on your current motor, other than the length-based parts, will interchange. Making the conversion on your motor would be child's play. Or...you could see if the 61 is in equally good condition with your 60.<br /><br />What a quandary! I can't advise on boat hulls. There is a boating section here on iboats, though, and you might find help there.<br /><br />Another possibility is a boating club in your area...one which deals with power boats. The sailing crowd will look down their noses at you for being a stinkpot boater.<br /><br />There are good hulls with 15" transoms as well as with 20" transoms. Telling the good from the bad, however, is beyond my expertise.<br /><br />On the other hand, aside from having five fingers, having both a long-shaft and short-shaft version of your motor would give you additional freedom of hull choice, along with a ready source of spares. An enviable position, from my point of view.

 

[John the landlubber]

Re: 1960 rds-22 40hp Am i nearly ready to start??

I would just like to say (without blowing smoke up your arse) that I have had access to the internet for years and its saved a few quid here and there, you know. But never have i really utilised it's potential until first coming on this site a few weeks ago. I used to listen to people raving on about chat forums and think "tosser". now i understand. I have misjudged a good few people in my time on this. Thanks for setting me straight CATransplant. will go check the boating forum.