1986 Johnson V4 Outboard Trouble

" When connected to hose out o

" When connected to hose out of water, RPM will hit nearly 55, but when in the water it bogs down and will not reach a higher RPM than 20. If anyone can help please reply. I don't really know that much about outboard motors, but would rather check and clean everything, before having to buy new parts. Also the motor will crank everytime out of the water, but after ran for a 20 minutes in the water, the engine would not crank again for nearly an hour. It would turn great and try to ignite, but would cut off. "

"Matt.... Any 4 cylinder engin

"Matt.... Any 4 cylinder engine, or any engine for that matter could hit a high rpm on a flushette, out of the water, as there is no exhaust back pressure being applied. NOTE - In the future, I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT attempt to race your engine to a high rpm when it's on a flushette as it's a very good way to experience the nerve wracking happening of having a connecting rod come flying out the side of the crankcase.

However, when in the water, the exhaust must push the water out of the exhaust housing (the long portion between the powerhead and the lower unit)and that takes some horsepower. I suspect that you've got fouled/gummed carburetors which are restricting the fuel flow to the cylinders... a common problem, especially if the engine has been sitting a month or more.

However.... before tearing into those carbs, take a compression check of all cylinders. The reading should be in the area of 100lbs and even on all cylinders. Then check the spark. The spark should jump a 7/16" gap on all cylinders (with the spark plugs out). Next check the timer base assy (under the flywheel) to make sure that it moves right up against that small black rubber bumper when you advance the throttle (with the engine not running).

If all of the above is as it should be, then, as mentioned above.... I'd suspect that your carburetors need cleaning. If you do this work yourself, be sure to make notes as to what jets go where (there's numbers on all of them).

Joe "