1957 Johnson QDL-18 10hp is ready to fire

[JBrit12]

Completely refurbished the two-line pressurized tank with metal primer button (old style). The tank was cleaned mostly with phosphoric acid solution and component parts with carb cleaner and sea foam. Twin gas line, gaskets, and diaphragm were replaced and everything reassembled.

The engine had its original cracked coils replaced, plugs were replaced with Champion J6C, lower unit was drained completely over night and refilled and was pressure tested with no leaks. Carb was rebuilt after soaking in some carb cleaner and wiped down with paper towels and q-tips along with a good session with the air compressor blowing out each and every hole/port. New gaskets, needle, needle seat, and float were put on. Only question I may have about that is the little hanger for the needle as it didn't have one when I took it apart so I didn't put one on it when I reassembled. My buddy said it doesn't matter either way. Plugs are gapped to .030 and points were cleaned with very fine sand paper and gapped to .020. For now I'll assume the condensers are fine since it definitely throws a good spark from each plug. New gas and air line were put on the motor. A new impeller will be installed as soon as I'm confident in the procedure and I have a new kit on stand by as well. Gas is mixed to 24:1 and has some sea foam in it as well. Since the gas is only to protect the tank over winter it will be used in other things and the plan from there on out is to run only recreational gas through the motor. The goal is to get the engine fired up and maybe tuned just a tad in a barrel in the back yard and then store it for winter and be ready to take it on the water come spring time after the 14' Starcraft aluminum boat it will push around gets a little trim and transom work (replacing wood). That's all I got for now. The plan is if she runs I'll post a video on YouTube with the link here for anyone that would like to see the final result of a rookie's restoration of a great motor.

I appreciate all the guidance, help, suggestions, and thoughts of all of those who replied to my other couple posts on this subject. Than you very much!

 

[oldboat1]

I would empty the tank containing the seafoam. The stuff probably isn't needed and is likely to just confuse issues (smoke might make you think you haven't got it dialed in -- or you loosen up some stuff in the fuel line, and feed it to a clean carb or foul new plugs). I recommend just mixing fresh gas a gallon at a time for tuning, but wouldn't fire it up until the impeller is replaced.

If the float needle has the little black tip, you need the clip -- can stick in the valve, and the carb bowl won't fill even when the float drops (wire clip attaches around the float arm). Get a cheap spark tester ($10 or so at an auto parts store) -- adjustable, open air tester. Look for a 3/8" spark or thereabouts -- may get more than that. Don't recall if you did a compression check, but should get a tester and do that (at a minimum, gives you baseline numbers).

 

[JBrit12]

My buddy did the compression test when I took it up to him when I visited a few weeks ago. I don't recall exactly what the numbers were at which he took it to and it was stable and held pressure. I want to say I remember 60lbs for some reason but that could totally be wrong but I just remember him saying compression is awesome so you have no issues there. Actually, our gas doesn't have any sea foam in it yet which is good I guess, it is on stand bye for when the tank sits over winter so I apologize for the misinformation there.

I don't understand the whole needle clip thing as it never had one before but I could certainly throw the one that came with the rebuild kit on there in just a few minutes I suppose. Some of the videos I watched said some have them and some don't and my buddy said his doesn't either and is fine and I would be too. I'd imagine that as the float raises it may lift the needle along with it and if the float drops down it would lower the needle thus helping the bowl maintain the appropriate level of gas resulting in either more or less. So I suppose somehow the needle could get stuck and not raise when needed unless it is attached to the float arm.

What is the advantage of having a spark tester if I have new plugs? I have spark for certain so I guess I'm not sure as to why I need be worried about that.

 

[HighTrim]

Before the needles came with the clips, they would sometimes stick shut. Obviously not good. The clips ensure that the needle does not stick shut, and pulls the needle off the seat as the fuel lowers in the bowl. There are a number of different varieties of needle:seat. If yours came with the clip, install it.

Seafoam is one of the few additives I actually use. It has proven itself to me time and time again. I do an annual decarb on my motors with it with a heavy dose, then a small amount every tank to keep the motor clean and healthy. Works wonders, ive gained 15 to 20 psi compression with a heavy dose of seafoam. Smokes like a burning building with a heavy dose, but cleans up carbon deposits well.

 

[HighTrim]

By the way, holding a plug to the block to check for spark tells you nothing. The spark gap tester is set to 1/4", which mimicks the compression in the cylinder. Its EASY for the spark to jump the 030 gap on your spark plug. Even a lot of failed coils and condensors can jump that gap. When the plug is installed in the cylinder though, no spark. You need the tester to determine this.

 

[JBrit12]

I installed the needle connector on the arm of the float, took me about 10min max so I think I am now a carb professional, haha, as in correct order of disassembly and then reassembly with no hang ups. I didn't even disconnect it from the fuel line and left that bottom half on the engine and finished it that way. I then set the top and bottom carb needles to 1 and 1.5 turns from being all the way in (heard that was a good starting point). The bad news is she didn't like that at all. I yanked several times and got nothing. At that point I was pretty bummed knowing it was beyond my knowledge if it were anything else (other than new condensers and points which I assumed to be good at this point). Then I decided to start turning them out and after several more attempts we heard a heart beat. Next thing I knew she was ALIVE! She didn't stay alive long but kept firing pretty easily and I had her going for 30 seconds maybe at one point before my stupid gas tank was leaking everywhere so I unscrewed the cap and starved her back to death. That is where she sits until we upgrade out tank size (using plastic garbage can at the moment on a rednecked motor stand) and also figure out the gas tank issue (for those that read my couple other posts it was refurbished by me but leaks at the metal push button which was a big problem back in the day but I definitely didn't fix that part of it). Also, did not install the impeller (feel free to hate on me if you want but I will before any longer runs) but I'll assure you it was spitting water everywhere so the current one is functional. I'm pretty pumped and my dad was pretty darn happy which was the entire goal.

About the plugs, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I want to learn, but why would I have to go through the steps of checking them out when they are brand new out of the box. I completely understand if you are having issues with getting ignition or using some older plugs that may or may not be totally functional. I am far from a real mechanic but have fixed many things including diagnosing a bad coil on my father's lawn tractor that would run for 10 min and then shut off. Everyone was clueless but I did a little research figuring it was electrical and it has worked flawlessly ever since. My point is that some of us don't have every tool on hand because they rarely fix things like this and going out and buying one is just another sum of money that will probably end up sitting on the shelf for god knows how long before it is ever used again, hence my puller, and impact wrench I dropped $ on to do this job as well. Again, not trying to question anyone's knowledge as you are all way more informed than I but definitely looking into how/why I could/should have used such a tool in this exact case. Thanks again everyone and I'm going to upload a video at some point on my YouTube channel but may wait til I get it outside of the garage and more tuned for a longer run with higher rpms and in gear and such.

 

[HighTrim]

When testing for spark, you are not testing the spark plugs. You are testing the ignition system. The coils/points/condensors/plug wire, etc.... Holding a spark plug against the block and pulling over looking for spark, which is what we think you are doing from your description, tells you nothing. Maybe I am misunderstanding is all. You actually take the plugs OUT when you use the adjustable spark tester. They are only a couple dollars, and is what you use to test spark on any engine. It is not money wasted.

You have no idea the literally HUNDREDS of guys that come on here with a motor that wont run, telling us they have spark, when they do not. I have had to go over to about 10 different guys house that posted on this forum that happened to live near me to test spark properly for them. Guess what, had none.

 

[oldboat1]

^^like he says.

You're doing fine. Will note there are disagreements over lots of approaches, so have to decide what works for you.

The issue with the pump impeller (with a new-to-you motor) is the possibility that an old one could break up and spit bits and pieces up into the cooling system. It's a pain to clean that up. The older needles didn't have the little indentation for the wire clip -- or the little tip that seals well, but can stick.

Have fun with it -- good motors.

 

[HighTrim]

Been there done that, spending days digging chunks of old impeller out of the cooling system! What a pain. Now, before I start any vintage motor for the first time, I do the impeller.

 

[JBrit12]

When testing for spark, you are not testing the spark plugs. You are testing the ignition system. The coils/points/condensors/plug wire, etc.... Holding a spark plug against the block and pulling over looking for spark, which is what we think you are doing from your description, tells you nothing. Maybe I am misunderstanding is all. You actually take the plugs OUT when you use the adjustable spark tester. They are only a couple dollars, and is what you use to test spark on any engine. It is not money wasted.

You have no idea the literally HUNDREDS of guys that come on here with a motor that wont run, telling us they have spark, when they do not. I have had to go over to about 10 different guys house that posted on this forum that happened to live near me to test spark properly for them. Guess what, had none.

Noted and thanks for the explanation. I guess to a newbie like me if I pull the cord and see spark at the plug then the system seems to be doing what it is supposed to do since the plugs are last in line but I could be wrong. The other thing is the following: When the motor was stored 35+ years ago it was functional and was so clean when I took the cover off and flywheel and such that I didn't foresee any problems with the majority of functioning parts. All the wires looked good, flexible, no cuts or scrapes, no rust or dirt/grime under the flywheel around the points and condensers and such. The only obvious problem were the coils were cracked but one was still working to a point because we had spark on one of the old plugs doing the engine block method. Points were checked for gap and lightly sanded with super fine paper. So as a newbie I just assumed that all else was good but did the carb just because as a normal procedure. And honestly I don't think the carb was the problem when I first tried to fire it because it wasn't all that dirty but it could have been I suppose. The only thing I did differently the 2nd attempt after doing the carb rebuild was play with the needle settings on the face plate which seemed to do the trick. I could have been weak/old plugs too as they weren't new until I tried the 2nd time because I couldn't find any in town at first. The impeller will certainly be replaced before it runs again but definitely still works. Besides here I have gotten most of my help from a buddy who has rebuilt a 54 5.5hp, mid 70's 33hp that he uses a lot out on Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan, and one other year I'm forgetting. His saying has became, "you only need three things for ignition, compression, fuel, and spark." I was pretty sure I'd have all three, and I did and it made my day. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and most likely will. I was fully prepared to get condensers and points had it not fired this time but now I'm ready to go on to the impeller after I research how (I do have one set of instructions) and then it should just be tuning it up and learning what settings she likes. Thanks again.