Recent content by erikpn

  1. E

    Repair hole in fiberglass stringer

    It's a foam filled fiberglass stringer. Looks like the previous owner attached a bar or something to the stringers in this boat, leaving a 1" hole in two stringers where they mounted it. How do I fill it? The foam is damp, but not saturated. I was thinking the best option is to glass it. But I...
  2. E

    No spark, checking the ignition coil..

    so its an 87 force 35 getting no spark. And from the inside spark plug boot, to the ground, there's only 210 ohms of resistance. Uh... so that's obviously a bad coil, right? Should be infinite resistance or the spark would be shorting to the block, it seems. I just don't want to throw more...
  3. E

    Can't find way to disconnect shift rod linkage

    '78 Johnson 55. How do I do this? I saw some posts saying to look under the carbs. The shift mechanism is there, but I don't see the shift rod. I took some pics, after I removed the carbs. How do I do this?
  4. E

    any difference between the blocks of a '88 50hp johnson vs a '78 55 hp?

    So... the '78 55 I just bought is destroyed. Something got inside the cylinder, it's smashed up and has low compression in the top cylinder. I see a complete powerhead from a '88 50hp on ebay. It's also a twin cylinder and looks the same. Will it just drop in?
  5. E

    Is a motor shaking/vibrating at idle normal? Video

    Thinking about buying a used late 80s/early 90s 80hp merc from a dealer. But I noticed it tends to shake and vibrate at idle while we had it on the hose. Is that normal? My old outboard does it too... but that runs like crap. Vibration stopped once it was up at higher revs. It looks kind of...
  6. E

    Is it safe to slightly overpower my boat by 5hp? How about weight?

    So... I've got a 16' starcraft nassau I use for crabbing and fishing. As I understand, it's rated for a 75hp. I was looking at a late 80's 80hp mercury. The thing is so big compared to the underpowered little 35hp I have on there now, I'm worried about how it affects balance of the boat. With...
  7. E

    Is it safe to slightly overpower my boat by 5hp? How about weight?

    So... I've got a 16' nassau. As I understand, it's rated for a 75hp. I was looking at an 80hp mercury. The thing is so big compared to the underpowered little 35hp I have on there now, I'm worried about how it affects balance of the boat. With the 35 and the 4hp kicker, plus with me standing...
  8. E

    Can anyone tell me if this Johnson 70 is a long or short shaft from the pics?

    I'm thinking about going to buy it. Owner has no idea and isn't very helpful. I don't want to drive all the way up there and find out its a short shaft that won't fit my boat.
  9. E

    What happens if I mix up firing order by switching around ignition coils?

    Anything bad? Reason I ask is because I have a force 35. It sputters and misfires at midrange. Looking at the shop manual, the white wire from the CDI module should go to cylinder one. I have no idea whether cylinder 1 is the top cylinder or the bottom cylinder, and it appears impossible to...
  10. E

    Need help popping off a flywheel

    Got the nut off my 87 force 35. Can't get the flywheel itself off! It doesn't have threads for a flywheel puller. I might try to drill and tap my own, but knowing the cheap metal it might just pull out. I've been trying to get it off using the hammer tap/prying up technique I saw on youtube. No...
  11. E

    Why is it so hard to overcome compression on pull start?

    It's just a 35hp force from the 80's. But it is incredibly difficult to pull start. I can pull it easily with the spark plugs removed. With the spark plugs in, I can still turn it over slowly even with just 1 hand. Disconnecting the plug wires didn't make any difference. Am I setting it up...
  12. E

    Starter can't crank outboard over..

    Middle of winter, so I decided to check up on my unreliable awful motor since it's been put away for 3 months. Tried to spin the flywheel by hand, and noticed it was much harder than before. I worked it loose eventually until I could turn it by hand. It's still noticeably harder than before...
  13. E

    Very small amount of water entering boat..

    So during an extended boating session, I noticed that even after gluviting the starcraft, I still get a very small amount of water entering the boat. After a few hours, I start to see a sheen of moisture in the bilge. After running the boat all day, it's almost 1 inch. It never gets high enough...
  14. E

    Retreiving a flat bottom boat?

    The bunks supporting it are almost flat and don't straighten out the boat if I am slightly canted as I drive onto the trailer. I pretty much need a second person and a dock to straighten out the boat to get it loaded on the trailer properly. Is there a simple tip or something I am missing?
  15. E

    Could be very bad idea?

    Am doing fuel testing to check for leaks in the line. Just hooked up the clear vinyl hose then stopped. I put it between the fuel pump and the carburetor. Is that a bad idea? Is the pump going to produce enough pressure that I should worry about the limited PSI rating of the vinyl hose? I could...
See more
Top