1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

[jbjennings]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

try laingsoutboards.com, call the 1-800 number. He'll fix you up I'm pretty sure.
JBJ

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

had to call the guys at Sea Way marine all the way in Washington State to find the prop cap and plastic float for the carb, but the good news is i found the parts i needed fairly cheap and they will have them here in three days. I cant wait to get started rebuilding this engine.

 

[ooldschooll]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

How bout some pics john.We love to see projects like that. Gets us through the winter. good luck .​

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

is the discoloration on the exhaust manifold normal ^^^^^^^^^^

If i put this engine on the back of my 12 alumacraft how fast do you think it will go. I hoping for like 10 mph's or so. But anything is fine.

 

[ooldschooll]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Here is a videos I believe is of a 5.5 on a 12 footer. It looks like they are doing at least that much. I would think you should get close to that kind of perfomance.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvDqCEQQc4&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6HOD2SZLT0&feature=related nice pics, there is a way to convert the old two line tank to a modern one line. your motor looks good enough to do that. good luck

 

[F_R]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

It is normal for the paint to burn on the exhaust cover during the first five minutes of starting the motor the first time. There is fire on the backside of that plate and it is only water-cooled along the edge (where it isn't burnt).

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Good photos. But that's not a '57, it looks like a '54. The 57's were red.

Also, as an FYI I lend my '61 E5.5hp with a 12' aluminum boat to my neighbours kid in the summer and he does 22kmh on it according to his gps. He planes it nicely but he only weighs maybe 90 lbs or so.

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse

i have already begun that process. I have already removed the intake manifold cover and plugged the left side with the rubber hose and the new fuel pump is in the mail. Thanks for the info on the year, I was going off my grandma's memory and she thought it was 1957, but she is getting up there. It a CD-12 if that narrows down the year.

 

[mchin]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

I have run several omc 5.5s on both a 14' alum boat and a 13' gheenoe and I was always thinking I should be going faster, but the best I could top out was 12 mpg, a light load and a doelfin helped. The reason I thought that I would go faster was because I was comparing it to a 79 6hp johnson, which seemed to be very similar, except rpm is 4500, where as the rpm of the 5.5 is 4000. 9-12 mph is what I was averaging with the omc 5.5. Great motors and fun to work on.

 

[wbeaton]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Something is amiss with the year. CD-12 is a 1955, but your cowl decals are to a 1954. Either the model number is actually CD-10 or someone put a 1954 cowl on your motor. For interest sake, what is the serial number?

 

[ooldschooll]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Johnson 5.5 HP

Year Model 1954 CD-10 CD-11 1955 CD-12 1956 CD-13 1957 CD-CDL-14 1958 CD-CDL-15 1959 CD-CDL-16 1960 CD-CDL-17 1961 CD-CDL-18 1962 CD-CDL-19 1963 CD-CDL-20 1964 CD-CDL-21 This might help​

 

[mchin]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

it was quite common for the exhaust cover to get toasted, in a past issue of the antique outboarder, someone wrote an article on grinding away at one of the sidewalls on the cover so that it too would get cooled, preventing the burnt look. all of my 50 omc 5.5s have the burnt look. I'll look for the article and try to post the image of where to cut.

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Well guys i have good news, rebuilt the carb and water pump and ignition system and sprayed some starter fluid in the carb and turned the throttle to wide open and pulled it once and she fired up nicely. now i just have to install the mikuni fuel pump and buy a gas tank and i will be running good. the serial number is CD-12

 

[wbeaton]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

CD-12 is the model number. What is the serial number?

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Ok i have done everything as far as rebuilding the engine. Now i have to convert to a fuel pump and i know how to do but i have one question. I am having trouble finding a single fuel line connector that mounts on the tiller arm. I have searched this site and a few others with no luck. And once i find the part do i need 1/4 in gas line or the larger size? THanks

 

[Johnrude122]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

when i was removing the power block one of the screws rung off in the block. I wasnt really worried about it because it wasnt near the drive shaft. Anyway i put it all back together the other day and cranked it and it ran good but the screw that had rung off was right near the ducting for the cooling system and now water leaks out of the side of the block. Its not under a whole lot of pressure so i think it may not be a big deal. The engine is still pumping out plenty of water. I have tried a few different things to remove it with no luck. My grandad said he has some easy out i can try but i dont believe that they will do much since the bolt/screw rung off flat. ANy ideas guys. thanks

 

[DJ]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

when i was removing the power block one of the screws rung off in the block. I wasnt really worried about it because it wasnt near the drive shaft. Anyway i put it all back together the other day and cranked it and it ran good but the screw that had rung off was right near the ducting for the cooling system and now water leaks out of the side of the block. Its not under a whole lot of pressure so i think it may not be a big deal. The engine is still pumping out plenty of water. I have tried a few different things to remove it with no luck. My grandad said he has some easy out i can try but i dont believe that they will do much since the bolt/screw rung off flat. ANy ideas guys. thanks

This takes PATIENCE. You have to carefully drill out a hole in the center of the bolt and use an appropriate "Easy Out" on the bolt. A little heat helps. PATIENCE.

Get rid of those Autolite plugs. Use the appropraite Champions. J4J's if I remember right.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Just a warning: if the easy-out breaks off, and it usually does for me, then you are screwed since the easy out is too hard for a normal bit to drill through.
Something to think about......:redface:
BTW, a machine shop could get it out easy. I drill 'em out and retap them, myself. You have to be darned careful to center your bit, as was said. I wish I could find a set of left-handed drill bits---I hear they're handy for this exact thing.
JBJ

 

[F_R]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

The fuel connector is part number 376154, from a dealer. It fits right in place of the duel line connector. It is somewhat pricey, so look for a used one.

Don't even think of putting an easy-out in there. They spell disaster 95% of the time. In my opinion, they should be banned from the planet. If the screw itself wasn't strong enough, why should a skinny, fragile easy-out be? Their valid use is for removing screws that have been wrung off while installing them. Drilling screws out is an art. It starts with the first one and takes many more to develop that art. Here is your start.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1957 Johnson 5.5 sea horse Pictures added!!

Yep, the fuel line connector is pretty universal...and retails for $36 plus from OMC/Bombardier. Ouch. Let the bone yard search begin...that's what I do.