1957 Johnson 51/2 HP

[Mike_Berry]

I just picked up this very clean outboard. Was told it runs. Compression is 90 on both cylinders and the lower unit oil is clean. It needs a new tank since I can see rust in the bottom of it. Question is can I hook up a single line to the carb with a bulb and just prime it and pump the bulb to keep fuel to it and of course that's if it starts. I would like to fog it until I can get to it and replace the water pump and clean the carb. Thanks so much.

 

[racerone]

Yes you can put fuel to it to see if it runs.----Pull the recoil and remove inspection plate to look at the coils.-----The powerhead has to be removed to service the waterpump.

 

[Mike_Berry]

Is there a way to clean the rust from the bottom of the tank? The sides look good.

 

[Chinewalker]

Scrub any loose material off with coarse steel wool. With the top removed, a small arm can reach in there. I make a point of leaving some 2-stroke oil in my tanks if I'm not using them, to prevent rust build-up, or prevent return of rust if it's been cleaned. There are some coatings you could use to seal it up if you wished, but I haven't used them myself.

 

[oldboat1]

Thing is, you don't really prove anything if you get it to run. Bad coils will give you fire -- until they don't (cracked casings are the clue -- visible from the port that was mentioned above). The risk is pushing broken impeller bits into the cooling passages.

You can do just about everything without firing it up. Spray some fogging oil into the cylinders through the plug holes and slowly pull it over a little, then repeat -- probably not quite as good as fogging but very close.

I'll tempt you a little. They are sweet runners....