1969 Johnson 55hp

[Hab]

Thanks racerone, I wasn't real sure if they could cause problems once they shift. Good to know. Thanks F_R, I was hoping someone would say that. I couldn't see that it was critical, but i still wanted to worry about it for some reason.

 

[Hab]

Update: I Have managed to get a an auto coil and auto points with condenser to work for the ignition system. After several timing adjustments the ignition system is working. Compression is about 120 on all 3 cylinders. I have cleaned the carbs and went through all 3 with a rebuild kit. Low idle adjustment is set at 5/8" of a turn out from seated. I have also replaced the fuel lines from tank to carbs, and added an inline filter on the tank side.

Current state: Engine will start well and idle well, with minimal issues. On muffs I can run through the gears and idle it up and down. In the barrel or on water it will idle good and take the throttle, with a little lag. If i put it in gear while in the barrel or on water it stalls almost immediately.

I'm kind of at a loss as to why the power is not available under load. The ignition system could still be suspect. I'm using a standard cheap auto coil. The original ignition system should put 30kV to the plug. I may not have that much voltage, but it will idle and throttle up with the lower unit submerged. I just dies when I put it in gear.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[oldboat1]

Set the idle adjustment 1/8 turn richer (c.clockwise) and see if it will stop the stalling. Repeat if needed.

 

[Hab]

Thanks oldboat1. I went and bought a new 45kV coil, and that seemed to help the ignition a lot. I could see good hot flashes on the spark bulb even during the daylight. I was still having power issues, and figited with the low idle adjustments. I noticed that only on the # 2 carb did the adjustments have any appreciable impact. I could run the other idle screws all the way in or out and the engine didn't seem to notice. I figured something wasn't right.I took the #2 off an cleaned it again, replaced the core plug, it looked like it had been mashed in several times before. That seemed to help a little. I decided to take of #3 just cause it was easy. Turns out #3 wasn't even getting fuel. Got that cleaned up and re-installed and the engine roared at me like it hadn't before. Thinking i had it solved i buttoned up all the loose wiring and installed the plenum and silencer. Got the cowl back on and started testing. Well it went right back to having no power. so I pulled all 3 carbs this time. #1 had some fuel, #2 had a lot of fuel and #3 had no fuel. I know this is a float and needle seat issue, but ill be darn if i can figure out why #3 is closing off. Anyway I'm about there. Hopefully, I will only have to pull the carbs off a few dozen more times to get it right.

 

[racerone]

Replace all the hoses at the carburetors.----Make sure passage ways to float valves are clear.----Is the rubbing block on the improvised points in the same location as the factory block ??

 

[Hab]

Hi racerone, I replaced the last 3 fuel lines, the ones between the 3 carbs. i also put the old float valve and needle seats back into carbs 1 and 3. that seems to have gotten it. As for the breaker plate. Currently the points are set to open about 10 degrees before top dead center. The original johnson timing was closer to TDC, but their breaker plate had (2) sets of points that acted like a trigger for the powerpack. I only have one set of points and a condenser crammed in the same space. I'm going to go run it out on the water this next weekend. once it passes those tests, I'll get some final pics and thoughts for here and my hull thread.

 

[racerone]

Position of the rubbing block may have something to do with proper timing !!----What is the maximum advance timing now with this set of breaker points ?----Wrong timing will do damage.

 

[Hab]

Position of the rubbing block may have something to do with proper timing !!----What is the maximum advance timing now with this set of breaker points ?----Wrong timing will do damage.

Well.......I dont know what the exact advance is. We sort off guesstimated that the factory advance was about 10-15 degrees. we added about 10 degrees on the breaker plate. at the current advance stop positions it about 20 degrees at full throttle, and about 10 degrees at idle.

 

[boobie]

Edit.....

 

[Hab]

Well it seems the extra timing advance may be a bit too much. Took the boat out again on Saturday. I ran, but not really all that well. at one point I sheared the flywheel key. that was my fault anyway i didn't torque down the flywheel nut, more than hand tool tight. Also still had some carb issues, but I met a guy at the ramp that gave me some helpful suggestions. Made the needed repairs Saturday afternoon. Got the boat back out on Monday. Boat ran like a champ at low speed. barely touched the key and it would fire right up. But it was cutting out and sputtering at high speed. Managed to push the timing advance arm back and throttle up at the same time, finally managed to get it to plane out. I'm also having overheating issues. I do have my hot light hooked up, but it lights up quick if give it the beans, and eventually when trolling along. I may pull the thermostat this week before i run it again. I think ill try to move the points back 10 degrees to TDC and try it again. I think the carbs are cleaned up and adjusted to the point i can rule them out as the culprit for the time being.

 

[Hab]

Im still pluggin along with this boat. I have the majority of the fuel, ignition, and timing bugs worked out. My problem now is getting the forward controls and throttle links all correctly adjusted, as well as a major overheating problem. I probably toasted the impeller, Ive been doing lots of testing on this engine and have run it dry from time to time. The impeller does pump water up to the thermostat housing both on water and on muffs so its working to some extent. Water flows up to that point but isnt under any significant pressure. Last night I ran it to test the newest point gap setting, and it quickly overheated (hot light came on) after only maybe 1/8 of a mile run at WOT. Also performance seems to degrade once it gets hot. Ive disconnected all safetys except the anti-reverse spring and the hot light. I dont understand whey the engine performance would get worse when hot, unless per-detonation is occurring on excessively hot pistons.

 

[Hab]

Well shoot. I pulled the lower unit last night to check the impeller and sure enough, its still in great condition. So now I have a large checklist to go through, and I may have to start removing exhaust covers and the heads. Looks like Ill be making a bunch of gaskets. Anyone know where i can find the presssure control valve on this engine?

 

[racerone]

The thermostat is under the wee cover at the top of cylinder head.----There may not be a pressure control valve on this motor.

 

[Hab]

Got it. after extensive research (2-pages later in the service manual) the pressure valve is just a check valve and spring located at the top of the inflow copper tube. I think Ill rig up water hose to prove the cooling circuit from the copper inflow water tube to return copper tube is sufficiently open. I know the pump is pumping, but flow is insufficent. I guess its possible the inflow tube is clogged and the pump is pushing enough water around to fill through the return line... Maybe.... Or maybe I have enough leaking seals in the inflow line that its just not making it through the path of least resistance... anyway its a starting point.

 

[Hab]

I managed to get a section of 5/16" fuel line stuffed into a water hose. Rigged that up to shoot water up each of the Copper pipes. Water flows up to the thermostat housing. So Im gonna say the problem is with some of these seals here.

 

[Hab]

Whew... water pump parts for this thing are high.. Too high to throw parts at it to hope. I made a gasket for the underside of the pump plate and applied a thin coat of rtv where the other surfaces mated. I applied a liberal coat of vaseline to the failing seals above the top of the water pump housing. I expect that the coolant flow will improve and I will know that the problem was in the pump seals and not some where in the head or exhaust ports. Going to let it all set up till tommorrow before testing. Fingers crossed..

 

[Hab]

I made some minor improvement in the flow with my hack seal job. Now I can clearly tell i have exhaust leaks in the exhaust housing and lower unit. Probly the combination of exhaust leaks and little to no seals around the pump was contributing to the limited flow. Worked alright on muffs for around 30 minutes at idle, thermostat housing never hot very hot. Ill go test it on the water later in the week, hopefully the flow is good enough to run it out for more than 5 minutes.

 

[Hab]

I put it on the water and for the first time out the engine never overheated. I did have many other issues that were my own causing. I had removed the points and condensor to check for part numbers, wanting to order some spares. I put them back on wrong cause the engine surged pretty bad, and never really ran right. Also took apart my remote controls and i guess the forward reverse selector has a sweet spot in it. I managed to miss it on reassembly. Fixed the points problem, but still have to re-work the controls. Try again next week.