Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

[pandabear]

Hi
I have a Johnson 50 VRO 1988, Having problems where it idles fine,but when I engage the drive it stalls. i have renewed fuel and manually mixed the oil 50-1 in the tank. I have had a marine mechanic check/clean the carbs, replaced the reed valves, adjusted the tickover, removed the VRO pump and replaced with normal fuel pump. I have never used the VRO system and the oil tank was removed before I bought the engine, I have allways pre mixed the fuel/oil in the fuel tank.
Now the mechanic seems to think its the crankshaft seals, could this be the problem or has anyone got any other ideas.

PB

 

[rolmops]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

Does the engine stall when it is on the muffs or when it is in the water?
My gut feeling is that you should set it at a slightly higher idle, say 900/950 rpm and see if it still happens

 

[pandabear]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

when its in the water have not tried it on muffs.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

your idle should be 650 - 750 IN THE WATER AND IN GEAR. there is no back pressure on the exhaust when it is on muffs. if that doesn't work, check compression and spark.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

A few things to look at. When were the carbs last rebuilt? May be time for a bath and rebuild. Check to see if the timer base (starboard side, under the edge of the flywheel, linked to the throttle lever) moves smoothly without sticking when you advance the throttle.

Take the airbox cover off & observe whether the throttle plates are parallel.

Also, the timer base should start it's travel *before* the throttle plates start to open, else she'll fall flat when you try to accelerate.

 

[EN2]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

Make sure the linkage from the throttle bell crank to the timer base hasnt become disconnected. Sometimes the plastic bushing cracks away and the ball on the end of the linkage pops out.

 

[bigmarksr]

Re: Johnson 50 VRO 1988 stalling when gear engaged

check spark plugs for proper plug. I have an 01 50 hp and it would not Idle in gear. also if you look at the throttle linkage, you will see two marks, one on the cam that moves the carb linkage, and one that moves the spark advance. make sure these are properly aligned. I bought this motor used, and after I adjusted the linkage, and replaced the plugs, the idle problem was gone.