This is a little involved, so please bear with me.
My brother and I were on our annual fishing trip to the St. Lawrence River last week, and the owner of the camp gave us a '56 Johnson 15HP that appeared to be in sad shape. The starter cord was dangling out of it and frayed to the point of almost breaking about halfway along it. The starter would pull about 10 inches of cord, but would not rewind or engage the flywheel. The throttle linkage was stuck, as was the engine itself, and the low-speed carb adjustment. The guy said it had worked when he put it "away" but it had been many years. When we got home and opened it up, there was an old mouse nest built of fiberglass insulation stuffed around the carb, and a wet, smelly mass in the back around the plugs. Messy, to say the least.
I cleaned out the old nest and the smelly stuff and took a closer look. The starter needed the plastic "dog" loosened, the spring hooked back up, and the cord replaced. The flywheel could be rocked a bit, so I gently did so for a while, eventually increasing the travel until it moved easily through about 3/4 of a rotation. There it stopped, until I pulled the plugs, laid it down, and poured about a tablespoon of oil into each cylinder. After it sat for about five minutes, it turned all the way over easily.
The throttle was the same way. After working it for a while and applying a bit of oil where I could get it easily, it started to move easier and easier. It still isn't "easy," but it's usable. Same thing for the low-speed carb needle, except that I didn't use oil there. It's still tight, but it can be moved.
Figuring the coils were probably shot, I popped the flywheel. Imagine my surprise when I saw two almost new-looking coils in there! I pulled the points and cleaned off the corrosion I found, and carefully set them. The plug wires looked as good as the coils, but the plugs were rusty from that wet, smelly mass. I didn't have any J6-J plugs to replace them with, but I did have a good supply of spare J-8s for one of my tractors (I'm a farmer), so I put in a couple of those.
Then I drained the lower unit. I had expected to see something resembling glue, but instead I saw thinnish oil - and not enough of it. I filled it with new gear oil.
The next step was a fifty-gallon barrel, and the pressure tank from my '54 10HP Johnson. (Had that one for years. Runs great, except that it seems to not like the new ethanol gas when running slow. But that's another thread.) After about six pulls, it fired but quit. A bit of adjustment, and a couple of more pulls, and it fired right up. Pumped water like a champ, better than the ten-horse, and I just replaced the impeller on that one. Ran smooth as silk, after I played some more with those carb adjustments.
But now I have a dilemma... I have two pressure tank Johnsons, but only one pressure tank. It's not a case of running one at a time, because we have two boats, one 14 ft. aluminum, and one 13 ft. aluminum. What I do have is three good one-hose tanks, so I need to do a fuel pump conversion on one or the other.
But I have a secret weapon in my choice of which to convert. Many years ago another brother acquired what looks like a 12 or 15 HP Gale-built Sea King of unknown vintage. I never got that going because there were just too many missing parts, but it does have some that have been useful with that ten horse from time to time. It has an integral tank, so no fuel pump. What it does have, however, is a bypass cover that looks like it will fit on the 15, and if a screw plug is removed that cover will take a fuel pump. The Sea King is in my barn, and the 15 is in my garage at the moment, and I haven't tried the cover to see if it will actually fit, but it sure does look like it. The bypass cover on the '54 ten-horse is very different.
Finally, I'm getting to my question. Assuming the Sea King cover will fit on the 15, which fuel pumps might fit on that cover and work with the 15? I see a number of different pumps here and there, but I don't know which will fit and which won't. Also, once I do the conversion, should I simply plug the current pressure supply, or should something else be done? (yes, I know I'll need a different line connector on the motor end.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My brother and I were on our annual fishing trip to the St. Lawrence River last week, and the owner of the camp gave us a '56 Johnson 15HP that appeared to be in sad shape. The starter cord was dangling out of it and frayed to the point of almost breaking about halfway along it. The starter would pull about 10 inches of cord, but would not rewind or engage the flywheel. The throttle linkage was stuck, as was the engine itself, and the low-speed carb adjustment. The guy said it had worked when he put it "away" but it had been many years. When we got home and opened it up, there was an old mouse nest built of fiberglass insulation stuffed around the carb, and a wet, smelly mass in the back around the plugs. Messy, to say the least.
I cleaned out the old nest and the smelly stuff and took a closer look. The starter needed the plastic "dog" loosened, the spring hooked back up, and the cord replaced. The flywheel could be rocked a bit, so I gently did so for a while, eventually increasing the travel until it moved easily through about 3/4 of a rotation. There it stopped, until I pulled the plugs, laid it down, and poured about a tablespoon of oil into each cylinder. After it sat for about five minutes, it turned all the way over easily.
The throttle was the same way. After working it for a while and applying a bit of oil where I could get it easily, it started to move easier and easier. It still isn't "easy," but it's usable. Same thing for the low-speed carb needle, except that I didn't use oil there. It's still tight, but it can be moved.
Figuring the coils were probably shot, I popped the flywheel. Imagine my surprise when I saw two almost new-looking coils in there! I pulled the points and cleaned off the corrosion I found, and carefully set them. The plug wires looked as good as the coils, but the plugs were rusty from that wet, smelly mass. I didn't have any J6-J plugs to replace them with, but I did have a good supply of spare J-8s for one of my tractors (I'm a farmer), so I put in a couple of those.
Then I drained the lower unit. I had expected to see something resembling glue, but instead I saw thinnish oil - and not enough of it. I filled it with new gear oil.
The next step was a fifty-gallon barrel, and the pressure tank from my '54 10HP Johnson. (Had that one for years. Runs great, except that it seems to not like the new ethanol gas when running slow. But that's another thread.) After about six pulls, it fired but quit. A bit of adjustment, and a couple of more pulls, and it fired right up. Pumped water like a champ, better than the ten-horse, and I just replaced the impeller on that one. Ran smooth as silk, after I played some more with those carb adjustments.
But now I have a dilemma... I have two pressure tank Johnsons, but only one pressure tank. It's not a case of running one at a time, because we have two boats, one 14 ft. aluminum, and one 13 ft. aluminum. What I do have is three good one-hose tanks, so I need to do a fuel pump conversion on one or the other.
But I have a secret weapon in my choice of which to convert. Many years ago another brother acquired what looks like a 12 or 15 HP Gale-built Sea King of unknown vintage. I never got that going because there were just too many missing parts, but it does have some that have been useful with that ten horse from time to time. It has an integral tank, so no fuel pump. What it does have, however, is a bypass cover that looks like it will fit on the 15, and if a screw plug is removed that cover will take a fuel pump. The Sea King is in my barn, and the 15 is in my garage at the moment, and I haven't tried the cover to see if it will actually fit, but it sure does look like it. The bypass cover on the '54 ten-horse is very different.
Finally, I'm getting to my question. Assuming the Sea King cover will fit on the 15, which fuel pumps might fit on that cover and work with the 15? I see a number of different pumps here and there, but I don't know which will fit and which won't. Also, once I do the conversion, should I simply plug the current pressure supply, or should something else be done? (yes, I know I'll need a different line connector on the motor end.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
