72 Johnson 65 hp.. I'M STUMPED

[johnnyo34]

I have a dilemma with my 1972 Johnson 65hp.. I just bought this boat not long ago, & I changed oil in the leg to service it, went out on the lake & found out I had no neutral or reverse. but it did troll in neutral & when I pushed forward on the lever it dug right in & planed out. So after a "no fish" fishing trip I loaded the boat & came home. Came on the forum here & found out that I had the wrong oil in the leg for an electric shift.. Incidentally the motor started right off as soon as I turned the key, barely even turned & fired right off. So I drained the leg, flushed it out & refilled it with type C oil for electric shift. Put the muffs on, started it up, & I had neutral, forward, & reverse. Yesterday went on the lake again.. turned over a long time before it started.. as soon as I pushed on the lever to go forward it died.. started again (had to choke it quite a bit) & put it in fast idle, pushed forward & it went at a slow speed, if I pushed to make it go faster died again.. symptoms that the gas tank valve isn't open. I even took the cap right off same thing.. Anyway once when I choked it, got a lot of blue smoke out of the exhaust.. too much oil?? wrong mix?? there was some fuel in the tank when I bought it & I added fuel, today I pulled the cowl off & found the orange plastic tube had a crack in it, but I presume it's only a breather tube.. put the muffs on, & it fired right up.. pushed ahead on the lever & it speeded up, works fine, I took the aluminum plate off the front of the carbs, & see where there are drain screws on the carbs. should I drain them. the plastic hose that goes to the top carb seems to have a bubble in it like a carpenter's level, not totally full of gas, is this important?? I did take the line off where it says FILTER, screen looked real clean, pumped the bulb & fuel came out so I put it back on..(I did this before trying to start it)
Sorry about the long post just trying to be specific.. Oh, & by starting it so many times on the lake the battery went dead, had to paddle to the dock, ouch , hard on a 76 yr old man lol...

 

[johnnyo34]

Re: 72 Johnson 65 hp.. I'M STUMPED

I've been working at it today, & I think I've narrowed it down to fuel supply between tank & motor I can pump the ball tight, but as soon as I lift the hose & ball up from the tank the bulb goes soft & I have some gas seepage where the hose hooks to the tank. But in the process I've discovered a bigger problem.. There's a plate on the side of the motor that has 3 parts to it with 19 7/16" bolts in it.. There is water leaking out the bottom of the middle gasket..(there are 3 gaskets in total).. I can get all the bolts out except the bottom 2.. What do I have to do to get them out.. Not enough room for the bolt to come out, it hits the bottom of the botto cowl.. Can that cowl be dropped down a bit so the bolts come out???
thanks in advance..
John

 

[CharlieB]

Re: 72 Johnson 65 hp.. I'M STUMPED

An outboard that seems to run fine on the hose yet fails to perform once in the water is generally an indication of a dirty carb, the jets are restricted and not flowing enough fuel once the motor is in the water and exhaust back pressure is raised . Careful cleaning of the carb should cure this.

Water leaking from the exhaust cover gaskets do require dropping the lower cowling to remove the bottom bolts. The exhaust divider plate should be checked for straightness and make sure that it is not have any holes corroded thru it which could allow any cooling water to spray into the exhaust ports. Replace both inner and outer exhaust plate gaskets.

 

[johnnyo34]

Re: 72 Johnson 65 hp.. I'M STUMPED

Thanks for your reply.. is it a big job to drop the bottom cowling? I see 2 bolts at the front of the motor, but there are 3 on each side at the back.. do I have to take out the 3 on each side?? I don't have manual to see how to drop the bottom.. Can I check for straightness just with a straight edge, or should I take it to a machine shop?? Also if it's not straight, can it be planed, Or would it have to be replaced??
John