Re: NO RPM
Hello poreboy.<br /><br />The vaccum cutout is not a vaccum advance. There is no use of a vaccum advance on an outboard. It's there as sort of a rev limiter for a run-away condition, where you have the throttle closed and the engine is running at high rpms. IE, a high manifold vac condion. It'll work as long as the only source of ignition is the spark plugs.
<br /><br />I suspect you're dropping a cylinder. I noticed you replaced points and condensors, but not ignition coils. These coils are well known to develop cracks in their insulation over time. Often when this happens, you loose spark in one cylinder. Other times though, the coil only arcs over at higher than idle rpms, so when you check spark at pull start speeds, everything seems fine.<br /><br />It's pretty easy to figure out if your dropping a cylinder. Simply disconnect one of the spark plug leads and ground it out. Then run the engine, and see how it operates. Then replace the lead and ground out the other, and run it. If there's any difference, you're dropping a cylinder.<br /><br />I hope this helps!<br /><br />PS - go easy on Solittle, it's really annoying to try to read all caps, and it's a long standing tradition on the internet to read that as shouting.<br /><br />EDIT: Setting up the throttle timing (link&sync) is covered in the service manual, and it's a little lenghty to describe here. Especially without pictures. You can sometimes find service manuals on ebay for a fraction of the price of new. If you can't wait, sometimes you can borrow them from your local library. But lync&sync doesn't affect full throttle operation, where the carb butterfly and the spark advance are both up against their stops.<br /><br />EDIT 2: I just noticed a couple OEM service manuals on ebay for a '68 40hp johnson (same/same). One $10, other $12. Search for 'Johnson 40 manual'
