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Power loss on 1959 Golden Jubilee 5.5HP

S

Stevew586

New member
I finally got my motor running and took her on the lake for a trial run and try to dial the carb in. It ran quite nicely for about 20 - 30 minutes. I was getting about 8.5 MPH out of her pretty steady. I went through an area that was a little weedy then came out of it and made a gradual turn and started to loose power. It dropped down to about 6 MPH and held that speed all the way back to the dock (1/4 mile or so). It never dropped below that speed. The motor didn't have quite the same "note" it did when I first started out. Almost had a laboring sound. Not missing or anything, just a lower sound, if that makes sense. My first thought was that I picked up some weeds in the prop. Checked that out real well when I got home. Nothin on or behind the prop.

Things that I did were carb rebuild, ignition rebuild, new plugs and wires, new lower gear seals and oil, cleaned gas tank and fresh gas/oil mixed 24:1 using rec fuel. Started on second pull.

BTW, she was fun to run...

Anyway, any thoughts on the change in power?

One more note, suspecting maybe a loss in tank pressure I did try to pressure up the tank while I was running and it was pretty solid already. Couldn't pressurize it any more.

Steve
 
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So, you and racerone are referring to the shock absorber then?!?

Just a side note, I took it out a second time and had a similar response. Seemed after about 20 minutes of running at top power (about 8 MPH) it settled back to about 5 or 6.

I'll have to take a look at that. Is there a way to test it? Is this an available part?
 
If it is broken, the lower end of the bearing housing right above it likely will be worn from friction/overheat. You can also measure the length, but offhand I don't remember what it is supposed to be. You can also clean the inside hole real well and get it out in the sun and peer inside to see if you can see if it has broken. Finally, even if it has expanded that doesn't necessarily mean it is broken. Sometimes they will expand just from abuse. If the spring isn't actually broken, you can just pound it together again with a hammer.

They are available, but pricy.
 
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