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1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 50 HP ProblemsNeed Help

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boating misfit

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" Hello,
I'm new to the b


" Hello,
I'm new to the boat world and have gotten my hands on a 1958 Dorsett El Dorado with a 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 50 HP. Beyond drinking gass like it's Koolaide, the engine starts and runs but has idle and performance issues. The fuel pump seems to be working fine and pumps fuel. We bought a book to learn how to adjust the carb (2 barrel type) to help our rough running engine. Only one of the low idle screws seemed to have any effect and the high speed adjustment did nothing. Our performance seems to be getting worse as we work on this, neither of us are terribly mechanically inclined. There is also this oily sludge leaking from what appears to be a factory built pen hole right next to the top gear fluid screw. Which is odd considering all oil is mixed in with the fuel. This all probably doesn't make much sense but does this sound like a carb, fuel pump, water pump issue? I found a new carb for this engine for about $160 so I can move on that if necessary. Oh, our gas oil mix ratio: 24/1, or a tad worse (its a 6 gallon tank ~ 24 litres, so we prob put in 22 litres of gas and 1 litre of oil, so 22/1). We had the compression checked and all is well. Anybody have any ideas.
Thanks "
 
" Hi Guy's; Have you check

" Hi Guy's; Have you checked the Points & condenser, has the motor been sitting around or has it been running and it's getting worse? where is the sludge comming from? Did you put fresh gas and oil in the tank, do you know what the compression test results were? Did you change engine fuel lines if cracked , brittle (for the couple of bucks change if you haven't (depending on the comp. test). Give us as much history as you can. "
 
" One thing that is almost alw

" One thing that is almost always worth checking on an engine that old is the float in the carb. Often, the older ones are made of balsa wood and get too heavy to float fairly quickly. This allows the fuel pump to pressurize the float bowl of the carb which causes excess gas to squirt in through the idle (and sometimes high speed) jets.
Good luck "
 
" Hello,
I'm somewhat con


" Hello,
I'm somewhat concerned about the "sludge" leaking from the pinhole. I'm not sure if I have this pictured correctly in my mind, but I'm wondering if you don't have gear lubricant leaking out of the lower unit. Outboard motor's powerhead may not have a crankcase which contains oil other than what the fuel contains, but the lower unit most certainly does. The seals down there need to be working properly to keep oil in and water out. Otherwise, it will end up not making much difference how well the engine runs since the propeller may eventually refuse to turn. I'm not certain exactly what this particular pinhole is, so perhaps a little more description may be in order and then one of our more experienced fellows can comment about this issue. "
 
I have a parts catalog for th

I have a parts catalog for the 1958 50hp if any one is interested just return email.
 
" Stu, I can answer that &#40

" Stu, I can answer that (the other boat owner).

There is sludge leaking from 2 different places now. One is right above the prop, on the section of the motor that jutts out (back) over the prop. It is either the exhaust or the water outtake (shows how knowledgable we are, sigh).

The other is the pinhole. There are 3 pinholes (1 on either side toward the back of the engine, and 1 on the port side, closer to the front.) All 3 are directly above the water intake. Only the port/back pinhole leaks the sludge, and it has become dramatically worse; maybe 1/4 cup of sludge leaking out after we turn the engine off and pull out of the water.

I'm guessing as well it may be a lower unit issue, and I think our water pump may need to be rebuilt as well.

Very interested in other ideas.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Meanwhile, we bought a new carb and put in new plugs and at least now we can run the thing. The throttle reaction time is ridiculously slow (we gun it, nothing happens for 5 seconds, then it suddenly takes off). Also, at idle it purrs well for about 30 seconds then suddenly starts coughing and sputtering and dies unless we give it gas. We're going to try new gas first and go from there.

Any more hints, suggestions, thought are appreciated. Thanks. "
 
" I'd look to see if your

" I'd look to see if your timing is advancing properly. Perhaps it is hanging up a bit. Are you testing it IN the water or on a hose? By the way, I encourage you to at least make sure that there is no water in your lower unit before it starts getting a lot more expensive. I was hoping to hear that is was only oily exhaust, but with that much (1/4 cup)you really need to verify no water and also adequate lube level. "
 
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