1960 johnson 18hp no power

[dbechtel71]

hi again. my 1960 johnson 18hp has no power whats so ever. ive put new coil points condensers. new carb rebuild kit. im seriously frustrated. has good equal spark and top cyl has near 90 psi. cant get to bottom cyl to check compression. also after sitting for not even day or two the fuel turns a light brown and has different smell. the gas is fresh.

 

[dbechtel71]

the brown fuel is not coming from the tank that has fresh non ethanol blue tinge fuel. it seems that when i give it full throttle it is either getting too much fuel or not enough. very frustrated. i cant afford a new boat or motor

 

[lindy46]

So does it idle OK? By no power, what do you mean? Not developing full rpm's? It may only be running on one cylinder. If you're sure you have good spark (jumping a 5/16'' gap with a snappy blue-white spark), then you need to check compression on that bottom cylinder. Where are you seeing "brown fuel"?

 

[dbechtel71]

i feel that it is idling ok but after watching some videos on youtube of similiar engines im thinking that it could idle a little better. yes it does have that snappy blue white spark. my next step is buying a compression test kit that allows me to get at the bottom cylinder. there is not enough clearance to get my current tester in there. and the brown fuel i noticed was leaking out of the fuel connector from tank to engine. and also after i had it unplugged from tank i would pull it over and noticed the fuel bowl turning color and the foul odor. i changed the fuel pump as the other one did the same thing thinking maybe it was that.

 

[dbechtel71]

the fuel smells like its 10 years old but its not. it starts out blue but again after sitting in the fuel pump bowl ets it starts to turn brown.

 

[F_R]

Sounds like what the old leaded gas did back in "The Day". It turned brown and formed gum and stank terribly. My guess is the new unleaded is dissolving that stinky gum. Might be why it won't run also.

 

[dbechtel71]

ive cleaned out the carb blew out the fuel pump etc and still does it. its reacting with something

 

[jimmbo]

How much old Varnish is in the fuel tank?

 

[dbechtel71]

no varnish at all.

 

[dbechtel71]

it just seems to be coming from the fuel pump since it fills up the filter bowl. like i said i noticed some brown fluid leaking from the fuel connector and it was the same nasty smelling fuel.

 

[dbechtel71]

its just not making any sense to me. im gonna get a compression tester that will fit. ( any ideas on what to use? where to get it) and rule out low compression as a cause in the bottom cyl

 

[F_R]

ive cleaned out the carb blew out the fuel pump etc and still does it. its reacting with something

Exactly. That's what I was suggesting. There is gum / varnish somewhere in the system nd the fresh gas is dissolving it.

 

[lindy46]

Did you install new fuel lines?

 

[dbechtel71]

yes all new fuel lines. im now thinking that the fuel pump has old varnish in it and thats what is causing it. if it is then its both of the fuel pumps because i changed it out already. now only problem is i cant take the pump apart to clean it as they dont make kits for them.

 

[dbechtel71]

can i spray carb cleaner in it and let it soak?

 

[kbait]

Both of the fuel pumps? Hmmm..

 

[Rook66]

Both of the fuel pumps? Hmmm..

Yeah I was wondering the same thing.

Go to E-bay and type in 0388685 for THE Fuel Pump. You can get an original equipment pump for about $100 bucks or a replacement pump for about $15 bucks.

 

[lindy46]

I wouldn't worry about the brown fuel until you've checked compression. If compression is OK, then time to revisit the fuel system.

 

[Tim Frank]

You mentioned seeing the "gas change colour in the fuel bowl".
Is that a model that has a core filter within a glass bowl?

If so, did you change the filter? It could be the culprit,

But as above....verify compression in cyl. #2 before moving on to any other things.

 

[dbechtel71]

Well both cyl have 90 psi I think. Problem is I bought harbor freight comp tester and that showed 60 but the older one I have shows 60 idk. I put fresh gas and yet another fuel pump and it still is doing same. My next question is would it run at all if I switched plug wires?