Johnson 120 new owner questions

[sjoefl01]

I swapped for a 17 Cape Horn with a 120 Johnson. I have a couple of preliminary questions. I have read a little about the different models of this engine. I have no idea what I have. Could somebody tell me a little about it?
Model J120TLAND
S/N 03149179

I have never owned a Johnson. When I press the button on the shift handle the throttle seems to go to max RPMs. I was expecting it to disengage the transmission so I could increase the engine RPM without the prop spinning. I suspect a malfunction. I called the guy I got it from and he told me to pull the button back out and crank it in idle. It did crank right up.

The next thing I noticed was that when it was in the water and I went to reverse the boat did not want to back in a straight line even though the engine looked straight. I'll look a little closer when I take it out again. I was sick this weekend and mostly wanted to get it off the trailer to mount new rails.

The throttle handle is really hard to push. I thought it had a problem. Is there something inside that needs to be lubricated or something?

Thanks in advance for your help. It seems I have always had Mercury motors. This seems to be a different animal. I'm not sure I like it yet.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Throttle handle will often be hard to push if engine is off, its actually bad to do that if engine is off.
Also there is often a friction adjuster on the control box (throttle box)- look for that.
Itl reverse in a straight line but only if you have the conditions (tide/wind) lined up right

 

[paul1946]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

J120




































J 120 TLAN D

I think this is what you have taken from a form I found online.

Johnson 120 HP T (tilt and trim) L (long shaft) AN (manufactures code for year 1992) D (Model or suffix)

I have a 1994 120 great motor smokes like heck on cold start and likes gas.

These motors have a cold start procedure.

Look up Johnson/ Evinrude Cold Start Procedures on Iboats.com.

Good luck

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

All of your questions are relate to WHICH control modulle you have. It could be OEM or Teleflex or others.

Got a pic?

As far as the boat not backing up straight. That is a function of the hull.

 

[racerone]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

When a motor is not running it will not shift properly.-----------------Kids must not play in a boat !------Owner must understand how things work as it will save a lot of $$$

 

[V153]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

The controls should move freely whether the motor is running or not.

Please post a pic of yer control box.

 

[boobie]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Cold start procedures are in the top secret files at the beginning of this forum.

 

[racerone]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Motor must be running or prop must be turned for proper clutch dog mesh to occur.

 

[sjoefl01]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions



I was trying to give it throttle while it was running. I pushed it as hard as I felt comfortable pushing. It was bogging down so I droppped it down and sort of slammed it up and it took off. I didn't feel like I ought to press that hard on the throttle.
I also didn't understand why pushing the button in would cause the engine to go to maximum RPMs.. I have tried to attach a picture. I will have to see if this works.

 

[sjoefl01]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Would somebody explain how this mechanism is supposed to operate? I thought that you push the button to disengage the transmission so you can use the throttle to rev the motor without the prop turning. Evidently this is not how Johnsons work. Or is it an actual malfunction of the shift/throttle box?

 

[TD_Maker]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

When the throttle is in a neutral position, pressing the button will disengage the throttle linkage from the lower unit linkage. This allows the throttle to advance with the lower unit in neutral....this will help with cold starting. When the throttle is returned to the neutral position, the button will disengage and allow normal operation of the control lever.

The throttle should operate smoothly and not be hard to push. However, if for some reason your motor is tilted UP while you are operating the throttle, I have noticed the throttle stiffens up. This throttle setup does not have a tension screw. if your throttle is very hard to operate, I would suspect that a cable is kinked or perhap failing. Try disconnecting each cable(one at a time) from the motor. Operate the controls. You should be able to isolate your problem if its a cable or control issue.

 

[sjoefl01]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Thanks. That is what I was looking for. I guess that shift box has a problem. It sounds like the button should be spring loaded. For me, I pushed it in and the engine jumped to maximum RPMs with the throttle in the center position. I had to pry the button out to stop it. When I called the previous owner he said just don't push the button. Luckily the engine cranks in the idle position using the choke.
I have not had any time since I got the boat to just walk around and study things. It's been cold here and I have been sick and working a lot. I will probably have a lot of questions after the wekend.
Thanks so much for all of the help.

 

[TD_Maker]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

Yep. The button is spring loaded. The button is not absolutely necessary for the operation of the motor..it is mearly for throttle advance. You should be able to start the motor by hitting the choke button several times during the start-up process. By the way. I bet that the throttle being difficult to operate is related to the missing spring (or components) inside of the control box. Maybe something jammed in the box mechanism.

 

[cdn-pk]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

I have a 86 johnson 120HP. love it always starts, never let me down. but i do agree that it smokes a lot and likes fuel (although not nearly as bad as a 6 cycle). out of curiosity, Does you motor have a working VRO fuel/oil pump or has it been disabled and you premix?

 

[sjoefl01]

Re: Johnson 120 new owner questions

It has a pump for the oil. It seems to be working. This really sucks. I have a cold that I can't seem to shake and the weather has been terrible since I got the boat. I worked on the trailer a little yesterday but I havent been able to really shake it down. I am comforted by the comments I read about reliability of this motor. To me that is the most important thing. I don't want to get stuck out there. I was mostly excited about the Cape Horn. I like to fish and the boat I traded was a ski boat. The new one is perfect. It has no carpet and no wood floor to rot. I should be able to wash fish blood off with bleach. That is what I wanted. If I can make it through a couple of summers I may get a newer 4 stroke that is stingey with fuel. I have been bay fishing for years. I would like to bottom fish in the gulf.