1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

[unionbricky]

ok guys, got 2 problems im working on,

the first is,
got dual carbs, non adjustable jets, freshly rebuilt,
i was very thorough on setting the float hight and droop wen i was reassembling them,
but after installation at the dock, it took alot to get her started, i choked it and imediatly fuel came out, and the top carb continues to leak fuel out of the venturi at the front, its not a lot of fuel, but theres a puddle and it drips off.
at first i thought it might have been water for some reason, but after closer inspection it was fuel, the motor is hard to get restarted but
the motor will idle but erratic once restarted, the bulb stays hard as well,
before i rebuilt them it ran great at WOT but didnt dare shut it down oin the water, or it would be along time to get her going and in gear again,

now wen i opened the float bowl, the one float was way out of range, and prolly never shut the fuel off, so i know thats were the flooding came from before,
but dammit, i know the floats are right now,

now the question, do the black floats, almost like styrofoam floats get waterlogged?
they didnt seem heavy wen i tore them down, but there wasnt any fuel in the bowls as i normally run the carbs out of fuel before i leave the boat docked so they could have dried out.



second problem ill address next,
i think i got a weak shift cable, no matter how much adjustment i take out of the trunion it wont go to reverse unless i do it by hand, seems theres not enuff travel to shift it, now its just to were the dogs want to engage, and it bumbs, i have to nudge it in and she is fine to stay in gear,
theres a little slop in the plastic linkage from the were the cable connects, on the arm, below the cable to the other shift link thats on a horizontal rod that connects to the shift rod,

at the shift rod, theres not a lot of throw at the rod end, so in all the levers,

am i just loosing travel in the play, or could my cable be bad?
it doesnt seem to get a lot of travel wen shifting to reverse like there is going forward.
i took the controls apart to see how much that traveled and it doesnt seem the same as what happens at the motor.

 

[Ben_36]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

On the shifting... check the housing on the cable to ensure that is not seperated some where that is allowing the enter cable to move with out moving the shifter. when shifting to foward the housing of the cable will stop at the break and on reverse it will seperate and will not engage.. Take for instance a choke cable on a small gas engine if the housing is loose the choke will not work. As for the other problem I will let someone else give you suggestions.

 

[unionbricky]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

good idea,
i know exactly what your saying,
im gonna run down there and pull the cable, if i have to replace it i need a length on it anyway,
bad part is getting under it lol to take the cable clips off lol

 

[unionbricky]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

any takers on the carb problem??

 

[mafhuntfish]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

You also might want to check the reed / leaf valves in the intake. I just redid both carbs (with new floats) on my '77 55 HP & it was still spitting gas out of the bottom carb real bad. Pulled both carbs off & found a small bolt had gotten sucked through the carb & was stuck in one of the valves & had it propped open. I gently removed it & problem solved.

 

[unionbricky]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

well it doesnt spit out the carbs like its getting blowback, even at higher rpm,

we decided to pull her out and bring her home and give her a better lookover, since i likely have to replace the shift cable anyway, dont wanna sit in the channel and do it.
gonna bring her home tomorow, im gonna pull the floats and see whats up, i cant see them getting soaked, but i guess stranger things have happened.

 

[P 0 P E Y E]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

When you rebuilt the carbs, did you change the float needle and seat? A hanging up needle can case flooding. Seen it.

What was the reason for taking the carbs apart?

On most carbs, I have checked the float level and drop but rarely have had to adjust either.

The floats rarely lose buoyancy but you could test them to see if they float in a cup of gas.

When I do carbs, I always test the float before putting the carb back on by blowing into the fuel inlet to see if air goes in and then turning the carb upside down and seeing if the float, needle and seat are all working properly.

I would suggest that you double check your work. See if you may have accidentally put the gasket in wrong or got the float hung up. Take your time and find out what is is.

I have flubbed up many a carb job, I just found my own dumb mistake before the customer.

 

[unionbricky]

Re: 1977 55hp johnson flooding at idle

ya replaced the needle and seat,
i rebuilt them because it was flooding and wouldnt run after a shutdown,
found one float was way out of range, float wasnt closing at all,
i tested each by flipping and blowing in the inlet, holding finger on the feedthru for the bottom as well, no air escape on either,

i tore them down last year, but didnt use a kit, just a good cleanout, gaskets and needle looked good, but i could tell this year the rubber has had its day, and needed replaced.

what gets me is last year i reset the floats, and then wen i tore them down one was not closing, i dont get what would make it get out of range like that.

i thot maybe i switched the bowls, but thats impossible,
but maybe its not?
does the fuel feed thru the top and down to the bottom, or the other way?
i know which is top and bottom carb body, because oif the manual choke and throttle linkage,
one bowl, casting #-1 is the top, and -2 is bottom if i recall correctly,
bowlk one has the feedthru to the top of the carb from the bottom of the bowl from the main jet area, while bowl 2 has this not cast into it, the vane is there, just wasnt cast open like the other,

i ordered a real johnson service manual for this should be here tomorow or wednesday, maybe the carbs are backwards?
i kept them as they were wen i got the motor, but the previous owner wasnt the sharpest knife in the drawer.