Need help troubleshooting a 1979 johnson 35

[kolkovich34]

so here's the story first. i got the motor from my old man. it's been sitting year and half to maybe 2 years, not 100% sure on that. first thing i did was take it in to somebody because i wasn't too sure what i was looking at. he cleaned the points on the carb, cleaned out old gas, put new oil in lower unit and did some splicing and re-wiring of some old wires, also got compression of 140 and 145.

so the first time i took it out, it ran just fine, didn't have any problems. ran about 1/2 hour or so without any issues. 2 weeks after, i went to take it out again and it started out fine, but about 1/2 way through my adventure it started to act up on me. it was acting like it was starving for fuel. i could fire it up, but couldn't put it into gear before it died on me again. hit the primer bulb, fired up, same thing...etc...etc...did this a few times. so needless to say, i had to row back about 3/4 mile to the dock.

this past weekend, i took the boat to my brother to find out what could possibly be wrong. pulled the carb off to find out the lower bowl wasn't even getting any fuel. the fuel line going into it was shot, actually about 90% severed where the hose clamp was. sounded like rice crispies when u bent it. got a new hose and put that on, seemed to run fine, but just ran it with a garden hose and the suction cups, so didn't run it very long.

got it home and put it in the lake and it seemed to be fine again just sitting in idle. put it into gear and gave it throttle and it went for a good 20 seconds or so and than it started puttin' out again, almost like it was starving for fuel again. got it home, checked the fuel pump and the that seemed fine, tightened all my hose clamps to ensure no leaks occurred. i started it again and just let it run at idle and it ran for about 30 seconds and petered out again. the fuel line is brand new, i'm using a mercury gas can with the johnson connection on it with 50:1 fuel. brand new plugs gapped about .025. not sure what to do from there and i sure don't want to waste anymore money trying to get it fixed since i feel i got ripped off by my previous service place.

please help, wife and daughter can't wait to go out fishing!

thanks,

mike

p.s. sorry for the long post

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Need help troubleshooting a 1979 johnson 35

It very well could be that the old, broken down fuel line between the pump and carb has contaminated the carb with bits of broken off "stuff". It simply will not work with any tiny bits of gunk clogging up the jets. All of the fuel lines on the engine need to be replaced, if they haven't been already, and the carb needs to be cleaned (again). There is a screen type filter in the intake of the fuel pump that can be checked.
Also make sure the fuel tank is vented properly, and see if the problem is affected by pumping the primer bulb before it stalls.

 

[kolkovich34]

Re: Need help troubleshooting a 1979 johnson 35

so i re-read my work slip from when i took the motor in. it doesn't even say they cleaned the carb out, they just 'adjusted' carb. so i guess that's where i'm gonna have to start. all gas lines were replaced

 

[kolkovich34]

Re: Need help troubleshooting a 1979 johnson 35

i have an update, i had a friend come over whose kind of a gear-head, i know my share but not to his extent, and we pulled the carb off and apart. here, we found out that where the bowl hinge is located, that the point that is activated by gravity, wasn't even falling back down. it actually had some white residue on it. we cleaned up the whole carb, sprayed everything, points were good and already set and tuned, took it out about 2 hours ago and it ran like a top.

now......i have 1 other concern. there are 2 port holes that are facing the transume that are located near an access panel that has 2 flat head screws. i have the suction cup hookups for a garden hose and i noticed that there was gas come out of these holes as it was running, it's very slow and a very little amount, but any idea as to what this could be? the 2 holes are located about midway down from the bottom of the motor and are facing the bow of the boat and are vertical positioned about 1-1/2" apart and maybe about 1/2" in diameter.

 

[kolkovich34]

Re: Need help troubleshooting a 1979 johnson 35

can anybody please help me? any advice?