Erratic idle

[48tony]

I have a 1972 125hp Johnson ESL . I picked the motor up used. After doing a compression test I got a reading of 140 psi on all 4 cylinders and the motor looked clean. I brought it home and hooked up battery and fuel and it seem to start with no issue but it ran real ruff. I rebuilt the carbs and took off the intake manifold to check the reeds and every thing looked fine. after the full rebuild on the carbs and reassembly and it seem to continue running poorly. i took out the plugs and notice that starboard side of the engine bank were dry and the port side were wet. so i feel like I'm chasing a ghost with this issue whether its an electrical issue or fuel. i also changed the fuel pump with no positive results. also took a timing light and got spark on all four plug wires and it seem to be a steady light with no flicker. than i preceded with the coil wire and again no flicker, it was a steady strob.my guess is its a distributor issue. also last owner put on a brand new pulse pack and coil from CDI. Please HeLp!!!!

 

[fdrgator]

define ruff. Are you saying rough at idle? Does it seem to be missing? Or sneezing? Or overly rich? Stalls? Well anyway, it may very well be a distributor problem. Those things have a silver-wire anti reverse ring on the crankshaft, purpose of which is to keep the motor from running backwards (yes, that's possible). It needs servicing (clean & lubricate) or it wears out, producing metal dust that fouls the distributor. At best, those distributors were a pain. Check all the plug wires for continuity. Check the sensor gap. I forget what it is supposed to be without looking it up. Are you still trying to run the original surface gap plugs? Toss them and use Champion L77JC4 or QL77JC4 gapped at .030". EDIT: Sensor gap is .028". Use an extreme pressure grease VERY sparingly on the anti reverse ring where it rides on the crankshaft. Flywheel torque 100-105 ft lbs (must).