1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

[Mic1227]

First I would like to say hello to all and introduce myself. My name is Mike and I live in central NY. I recently bought a boat of ebay for my nephews because I think the Sea Rayder is a bit much for kids. The boat I bought is a 1973 Alpex (Made by Alumacraft I think) fiberglass trihull with a 1958 Johnson 35 hp motor.
I was on this site earlier and found out where model # was located and how to look it up (Thank you) and started getting a parts order together consisting of
1) carb rebuild kit
2) fuel pump kit
3) tune-up kit
4) impeller
5) REPAIR MANUAL !
6) ignition switch
Until a get my manual I was wondering if you folks could help me along a bit? First of all I checked for parts on this site and cannot find either a carb kit with the float or a float seperate but does list the rest of the kit so what should I do about float? Second, same thing with the impeller or do these motors have some different type then I am use to? Third is the carb kit, does that include everything I should have ? Does not list a breakdown of what comes with it just a pic.
Next as I was going out to look for Model number I noticed it had brand new plugs and wires so I think my next step is to do a compression check first and if that goes well I think I will pull the flywheel and see if ignition parts are new before I order them. I have two questions in this area, first to pull the flywheel do i remove the crnter nut and the three bolts around the outside of it or just the nut? Second is a puller required to remove flywheel?
Next issue is if there is a impeller I am going to replace it and was wondering what gasket are required to change just impeller? Can I ask your opinion on if anything should be done with the water pump, housing, etc etc? I did drain lowwer unit when I got it home and there was maybe a little less than a shot glass of almost straight water before the gear lube came out. I have also removed the prop and checked for fish line or anything and that was fine. Drained carb and gas is getting old but still seemed more liquid than varnish and could smell some gas odor to it. Boat reg on it now expired in 2005 and it was a donated boat so don't have much history on it.
Also have replaced the two battery terminals and started checking and cleaning other connections. Thanks to this site also for finding my fuel ratio mix, so much info and knowledge here it amazes me !!!!!!! I got the boat, motor and a well built homemade trailer for 75.00 dollars and it was one state over but had to travel within 8 miles of the boat for business two weeks after the auction so it worked out very well. Rest of the boat including bottom, trans, shifter box, and interior are in rear decent shape, I am very pleased with it! I do realize it is a lowwer end boat but never had a tri-hull so i thought what the heck! A week later I bought another boat because I was going to switch the seats and it has a 40 hp Johnson but don't know the year of the motor till I pic it up second week of Jan. One question on this, my 35 has a white cover and white bottom where the 40 on this other boat has white cover with a green (?) bottom from looks of the pic. This boat has no trailer but then again what the heck do you get for 1.75, yup 1.75 dollars.
Well back to the matter at hand, if you can think of anything else besides what I am going to do from the FAQ page about starting motors that have been sitting please let me know. Decarbing will be done after I get her fired up and run abit. Thanks to all for any help.

P.S.
Two things I have already learned is taking out the wrong screw to drain lowwer unit is a pain but while I had it out I replaced the O ring that looked pretty beat and the other thing is trying to find that little brass carb drain screw can be quite an adventure!!!!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

this place should have the better part of what you need, if it's not on the site, call Jim, he's great to work with, and doesn't rip you on shipping.

http://www.laingsoutboards.com/newp...ncludes Gale, Sea King up to 1963, and others

seaway marine.com also has a good inventory of old stuff.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

Hi Mic,
Your local Johnrude dealer ought to be able to come up with a carb kit that will include the float, if needed. If by CNY, you mean Syracuse area, there are several around there for you to check out.
If the pump housing is obviously corroded or worn, then it should be replaced, otherwise I usually just replace the impeller itself. There are no gaskets to deal with - just an o-ring at the very top of the driveshaft that MUST be in place and in good shape.
The 40 Johnson sounds like it's from the later 1960s - they had a white and (ugly) green combination at that time. A model number will nail it down for you. If the 40 has the electric shift lower unit, I would stick with the older 35, unless you find serious issue with it. Both motors have tried-and-true powerplants, so you won't go wrong either way on that end.
Sound like a couple of fun projects!
- Scott (just up I-81)

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

To add confusion, there are two very different '58 35hp Johnson outboards. One has a thermostat in the top of the cylinder head under a plate held in by three screws. The other has no thermostat, plate, etc. The two engines use two different impellers (the thermostat engine has two water tubes running to it's water pump rather than the single one). The non-thermostat, single line pump uses impeller kit 379767, while the thermostat equipped, dual line pump uses impeller kit 379768. The two engines look very different too.

Non-thermostat (this is a '57, the '58 catalog doesn't show it well):
http://old-omc.de/j_1957/seite_05_to_12.jpg

Thermostat:
http://old-omc.de/j_1958/seite_05.jpg

The first order of business is to check for good spark on one of these. The new plug wires are a good sign. You should be able to make the spark jump about a 1/4" gap if all is well. You can be reasonably sure the points are set at least close to correct if you have good spark. The original coils had a common failure where the insulation on them would crack and cause the ignition coil to arc over. Fortunately coils are cheap and plentiful.

Depending on which flywheel you have on there, adjustment of the points may require removal. Some have an access window. Certainly any component replacement to be done there requires removal though. To get it off, the center nut and the three bolts holding the starter ratchet must be removed. The flywheel is held to the crankshaft by a tapered fit, so an able puller must be employed to remove it. A beefy automotive "harmonic balancer puller" equipped with three grade 8, 1/4"-20tpi bolts about 3 or 4" long can do the job, and are fairly inexpensive. Here's mine set up so you can see how it's used:

The centre bolt torque is 65ft/lbs but it's not uncommon to see them overtorqued to the later 105ft/lb spec. That of course requires a lot more force on the puller to get the flywheel to pop off.

I would urge you to get the original factory service manual. It's by far the best, even though it assumes you already know a fair bit. Second comes the ABOS outboard service manual (no longer published but still can be had on ebay and such), third in my books (har har!) comes the Seloc one.

The original factory service manual is pretty pricey as it's a book that covers all models. It's available from kencook.com, marineengine.com, theoutboardwizard.bizhosting.com, and a few others. An inexpensive alternative is the service manual on CD from acmeoutboards.com.
Sometimes this manual also turns up on ebay too, though it's somewhat rare. Try searching:
(Johnson, Evinrude) manual 1958
The parts manuals you find contain exploded diagrams and part numbers, which are not in the service manual. These can be valuable but are not a substitute for the service manual.

Seloc is available from Iboats, etc. There is a torrent of it kicking around.

Any outboard ignition keyswitch can be used. These are often referred to as for "magneto" or "CDI" ignition systems. If you have a choke solenoid (and I suspect you do), you may wish to use a keyswitch with the "Push to Choke" feature rather than having a separate choke switch.

To add to your list of parts, I would go ahead and at least pick up a couple new gaskets for the fill/drain screws on the lower unit. These should be replaced every time you fill or drain it. Unless they're obviously bad or missing, I would pressure test the lower unit while it was off for the water pump service to determine if it leaks. This can be done with a bicycle pump and a rubber tire valve stem carved to thread into the fill or drain screw hole. Pressurize slightly to no more than 5psi and listen for hisses. If doubts abound, cover seal areas; the driveshaft, shift shaft, prop shaft, prop shaft seal carrier, shift rod pivot screw and lower unit cap seam with very soapy water and watch for bubbles.


Glad to hear you got away with the shifter pivot screw education without too much grief!

 

[Mic1227]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

Thank you three gents so much not only for taking the time to read my rather long post but also taking the time to share all that great info!!!!!d What I have decided to do is put all motor work on hold till I pick up the second boat and make a choice on which is better of the two and go from there. That time will not be wasted because I will use it to start on some interior work.
I have already learned alot from this site and also from all three of your replies. I am going with factory service manual because I think the extra info more than covers the extra price, I never thought about the ign switch with the choke right in it but going with that for sure, never knew there was two different 58 motors with those major differences so thanks for that also and all the other things you guys answered for me. Geez after reading those post I'm starting to get smart enough to know how dumb I am!!!:% Heck maybe I better get rid of these and get a paddle boat!!
On that shift pin I just kinda made sure the hole in the pin was lined up correct and took a screwdriver with grease on it and put it on the shift pin to slow it down coming back out to allow me time to get the screw in quick, took about four or five tries then went right in, about five minutes total if that might help someone.
One more thing ( sorry my post seem to get so long) on the flywheel puller thanks for that too, my dad has the same puller so that works out great. I will keep you guys posted on any progress and get more info on the 40 hp when I get it. Thank you all again and have a GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!!! ( guess i am not suppose to say christmas anymore but i am old school an that ain't gonna change!!!!)
Mike

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........

MERRY CHRISTMAS, not changing either.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: 1958 Johnson 35hp questions..........


I went a little overboard too. With the search function in it's currently crippled state, it's better to be safe than sorry though. Perhaps they'll find the time to fix it over the next year or two...

When you get the service manual, it'll be a lot more clear. It sounds to me like you've got some mechanical background. If so, you'll find working on one of these old outboards very rewarding. They're fairly kindly to the home wrench.

And a very merry Christmas to you and yours to!