1969 Johnson 55

[Abon]

i just bought my first boat it has a 1969 Johnson 55, the Cdi and wire harness was burned so I purchased new ones. Now I can’t get it to fire up. I have 120 compression on all three cylinders. Also the guy I bought it off said it was running, that they parked it cause the prop shaft was shedded. I need help plz

 

[racerone]

Your location ?----Have you checked gear oil ?----And 120 PSI seems low for that motor.----Do you have spark?----Carburetors clean ?----Choke flappers closing when you operate switch for choke.-----More details on this " shedded " propshaft.

 

[Abon]

I replaced the prop shaft, I’m in California, and I added gear oil after replacing shaft

 

[Abon]

Your location ?----Have you checked gear oil ?----And 120 PSI seems low for that motor.----Do you have spark?----Carburetors clean ?----Choke flappers closing when you operate switch for choke.-----More details on this " shedded " propshaft.

I haven’t cleaned the carb and it looks like the spark is weak

 

[F_R]

Spark is weak? While it was state of the art in 1969, many would consider it "weak" compared to the 1/2" lightning strikes made by todays systems. Hey, at least you have spark, so that is encouraging. Have you pulled the flywheel and serviced the parts underneath?

 

[racerone]

Agree flywheel must be pulled to set the points, inspect anti reversing spring, and clean rotor and distributor cap.

 

[Abon]

Agree flywheel must be pulled to set the points, inspect anti reversing spring, and clean rotor and distributor cap.

I did that and adjusted the points and I lost all spark

 

[F_R]

Uh-huh. Anti-reverse spring re-installed correctly? Just guessing because I've seen it so often. The little metal does NOT stick down through the loop in the spring.

 

[oldboat1]

for reference: http://ww2.iboats.com/Distributor-Group/dm/cart_id.659578542--session_id.751280579--view_id.1533087

gearshift in the neutral indent for starting? Might jockey it back and forth a bit while turning the start key.

 

[racerone]

This motor is electric shift.----The safety switch is on the engine block.-----Will not crank if throttle is open too far.-----The safety switch has to do with cranking and nothing to do with lack of spark.

 

[oldboat1]

If cranking, use an adjustable spark tester to measure spark, however faint. Clean points with a piece of cardboard (match book cover is good) wetted with acetone or similar. Set to .020 unless manual calls for something different.

 

[racerone]

You can test for spark on that motor by turning the flywheel with a socket on the nut.