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1960 johnson super seahorse 40hp starting problem,possibly timing

T

tomlbby

Member
I inherited this motor and am just trying to get it running to sell or trade.Has 110 compression,cleaned carb,points,condensers and coils replaced and set to .20.the starter is weak but will fire occasionally and cant keep running.Im wondering if i set the points wrong.i have no manual and dont really know much about outbords.i set the points by sitting between the 2 lines on rotor and just past the imprinted top words.should i have set them with each cyl on tdc?and does the throttle advance need to be syncronized with points?im confused.
 
There should be lots of information readily available.-----Lots of tutorials on as well.-----------Perhaps post at the ---aomci------website as lots of grey haired experts there.
 
Its a spare motor to my boat and the better half said i cant dump any money into it right now before xmass.was hoping to find help on here how to set points on it.someone must have worked on one of these or owned one.
 
I did pull the plate,one of the wires came right off,so i snipped about 1/8th inch off them and screwd the wire in to coils nice and tight before reinstalling on plate.im getting great fire but it doesnt seem like the advance plate and the throttle arm on carb are in sync with each other.you can turn advance arm on outside of motor compartment too fast and the arm on carb never goes wide open.the motor will start sometimes but wont stay running or im doing some wrong.
 
ive installed updated new coils so they dont have laminant on them.when i took the plate off to replace coils,one of the plate screws was missing and the other was really loose
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Also grab the armature plat and if it wiggles up anfd down you need to get a new mount bracket and ring. It should move nice and smooth with zero slop up and down. Clean the points and feeler guage with rubbing alcohol. Even a little skin oil will cause the points to foul rather quickly.
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very little if any movement on plate now ive replaced missing screw and loose one
 
Wow that is pretty complicated,Im gonna have to write it all down and read over it till it sinks in.im a picture type learner.sounds like mine is way off.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
I just got to thinking when you had the flywheel off did you look close at the shear key? If it has even a little crease in it it will throw the timing way off. You must also torque the flywheel nut to 105 ft lbs torque before you fire it up.
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I did look at the shear key and it was questionable to me if it were protruding enough to hold flywheel pinned in one spot.anyway to verify that?i have some keys but not sure i have one excactly like the one installed so i didnt replace it.If it wasnt holding wouldnt it not have great spark?or attempt to start at all?
 
It cost nothing to post questions on the ---------aomci---------Lots of top notch help avaiable there.------Costa nothing.
 
well i got it to runs after taking the flywheel off again to check everything i found that the shear key was toast.i installed another one and put it back together.It runs now if i hold the throttle alittle past start.However it got pretty warm so i shut it off and checked the thermostat and it works fine.i then went after checking the water pump,it shows some wear and the seals do too.is there a kit for rebuilding them?
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
I just got to thinking when you had the flywheel off did you look close at the shear key? If it has even a little crease in it it will throw the timing way off. You must also torque the flywheel nut to 105 ft lbs torque before you fire it up.
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thanks kimcrwbr1,you nailes it.the shear key was bad.starts up fine now with the controlls just past start.had it running long enough to realize the water pump was moving water so i shut it down and dissasembled lower end.impeller shows some wear but i think the majority of the problem is the seals leaking by.very oily water.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Sync and link can be tricky on those motors. Engine sync is easiest with the flywheel off so you can see the mark on the cam easier, Anyways there is a pointer on the intake manifold just off center of the carb to the left of the roller. With the engine off in forward gear line the mark on the throttle cam up with the pointer on the intake manifold. The throttle butterfly should be fully closed on the carb and just begin to open as you advance the timing. You can tape a long strait paperclip to the throttle butterfly lever to get the sync exact. Just go from slow and watch the throttle shaft you want it close as possible. To adjust the link there is a collar with a screw on the linkage from under the flywheel loosen the screw on the collar and put your controls at WOT. Then with one finger push the throttle butterfly fully open and then push the collar up tight to the swivel pin and tighten the screw. Not to tight the collar may be brittle being so old broke a few of them. Then check your work, From slow advance the throttle the butterfly just begins to open as the mark passes the pointer and the throttle butterfly is full open at WOT. Do not let the link bind up at WOT the throttle lever for the butterfly should almost touch the stop on the carb.
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at wot should the timing plate hit the stop(the stop on the motor not the one on the carb butterfly),got it to run but only when i turn trottle to just past start.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
The plate should hit the stop on the motor about 3/4 throttle (fully advanced) and the collar opens the throttle butterfly the rest of the way. How are you adjusting the slow needle? Preadjust the slow needle out 1 1/2 turns from lightly seated. You may have a vacuum leak these motors will idle down to a crawl. Do a cylinder drop test as they will run pretty good on one cylinder. At engine idle pull a plug wire and put it back on you should hear the same reaction on both cylinders. If it stalls it is only running on one cylinder. Also the enigne needs to be at operating temp to dial in the slow needle. The head should be hot enough you want to pull your hand away but dont have to.
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not sure how to adjust the low speed idle.mine has 2 rods on the exterior of carb.when facing it one is in the upper left side of carb(think it say rick and lean beside it),and the other knob is coming off the bottom of carb bowl and says front on it.it looks like that one had a rod from it going to a knob on the upper right side of carb.i thought the knob coming off bowl was the fuel cutoff but not sure.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/j...manufacturer=Johnson&section=Carburetor+Group
Your carb has both low and high needles #41 and #70. The low is center on top of the carb and the high is bottom of the float bowl. The screw on the end of the needles expands the end of the needle to the lever. turn the lean knob clockwise to its stop and loosen the screw and then turn the knob counterclockwise to stop and tighten the screw. just keep doing that until the needle seats in the carb then you can count the turns out 1/2 a turn at a time three times then center the knob stop to stop and tighten the screw. 1 1/2 turns out for the slow needle and 3/4 turn out for the high speed needle and center the knobs.
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that makes more sense to me,a buddy thats been helping me was convinced the lower needle on the bowl was the fuel shutoff,he kept turning it on me and said the motor wouldnt start without it 2 to 3 turns out of seat.i went along with it as the motor seemed to only want to start when he messed with it,pure coincedence by the sounds of it.it seems like there used to be a linkage rod that went from the high speed jet that says front on it,up to a knob on the upper right side of carb.i can barely read it but the needle on top left of carb i think says ric one way and lean the other.Does the rod between high jet and knob have to be there?
 
this is a spare motor and i dont have a dime in it yet,was hoping to get it running some to sell or trade for stuff i need for my boat but i cant and wont botch it back together and stiff someone.im listing it locally for 150.00,even with the water pump issue the powerhead is great and the lower gear look really good.seems fair to me with disclosing waterpump issue.
 
tomlbby said:
this is a spare motor and i dont have a dime in it yet,was hoping to get it running some to sell or trade for stuff i need for my boat but i cant and wont botch it back together and stiff someone.im listing it locally for 150.00,even with the water pump issue the powerhead is great and the lower gear look really good.seems fair to me with disclosing waterpump issue.
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when i removed the lower end to get at water pump the driveshaft stayed up in motor,how do i get the drive shaft out of motor so its easier to install lower end?
 
the key was laying on top of the inside lower unit when i pulled it off.i was able to get the drive shaft out of the cranck by using kroil and taping it with wood.was stuck pretty hard.Im hoping the last guy there couldnt get the drive shaft out so they tried reassembly that way and key fell out on assembly.i have it back together now and might fire it up sunday and check it.might try to pull plug wires and crank it with starter,not sure if i could see water flowing like that or not,maybe even open up thermostat housing too and be able to tell that way before i put fire to it and burn it up.
 
yup,turned clockwise,turned flywheel to align,went together nicely,may have to readjust the shiftrod block bolts as when shifting to reverse theres a tad more slop before it ingages but still shifts fine sitting with no cables installed.
 
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