1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

[GLPmike]

Well. I needed to pull the flywheel to find out why the motor had no spark. FYI - The mator does have spark at the distributer end of the coil wire, but no spark out of the distributer.

So, after pulling the flywheel, I noticed the following. Please see photos as well.

1). The reverse spring is missing. I have been informed that they disintegrate after a period of time.

2). Wires to the breakers have been patched and taped.

3). Sparkplug wires were rigged to attempt to work in place of the correct plug wires for this motor. Looks like someone's butchered attempt to get this motor going without taking the time or expense to do it the right way.

I was lucky that nothing was stripped on the distributer end. I was able to test this by screwing in a good plug wire to all four plug towers successfully.

At this point I am even more determined to restore this motor as best I can and to get it running better than it has in many years.

Question: Could the breakers have worn down enough to the point where there was no gap?

Thanks.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Well. I needed to pull the flywheel to find out why the motor had no spark. FYI - The mator does have spark at the distributer end of the coil wire, but no spark out of the distributer.

So, after pulling the flywheel, I noticed the following. Please see photos as well.

1). The reverse spring is missing. I have been informed that they disintegrate after a period of time.

2). Wires to the breakers have been patched and taped.

3). Sparkplug wires were rigged to attempt to work in place of the correct plug wires for this motor. Looks like someone's butchered attempt to get this motor going without taking the time or expense to do it the right way.

I was lucky that nothing was stripped on the distributer end. I was able to test this by screwing in a good plug wire to all four plug towers successfully.

At this point I am even more determined to restore this motor as best I can and to get it running better than it has in many years.

Question: Could the breakers have worn down enough to the point where there was no gap?

Thanks.

Answer to question: Yes. The rubbing block wears from rubbing on the shaft (cam), especially if not lubricated and even more so if the cam deveops a film of rust from lack of lubrication. The only lube it gets is the felt wick. I'll bet the wick is worn out, right? You should replace it with a new OEM wick #510377, they come pre-saturated with lube and should have nothing else added to it.

You don't even want to know what the breakers #383655 cost. Fortunatly, you shouldn't need any. Because they don't arc like ordinary ignitions, the contacts only wear mechanically after a zillion cycles of opening and slamming shut.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Thanks.

I ordered the reverse spring and OEM plug wires yesterday. I will order the wick today as well.

Yes. I was shocked yesterday to find out the breakers are $65 each!

There is so much wrong here it's hard to say which one thing caused the no spark condition. Most likely everything contributed to it.

Thanks again.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

true.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

I will be reassembling this over the weekend.

I have Molly grease for the reverse cutoff spring, insulating grease for the plug towers, along with the replacement parts.

Question: what is the best oil to use between the plastic base and the breaker point unit?

FYI-I will be replacing all of the 18 ga wire as well.

Thanks

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

When reassembling make sure points are set properly and timed correctly. The point gap is .010 for old points and .012 for new. To see if they are timed correctly,remove amp lead to points and install a test light,rotate distributer base to full advance. Slowy rotate flywheel clockwise and light will come on as timing mark passes pointer on lifting ring, if either set fails to break at proper time readjust points.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Thanks. Just assembled it and was just about to check the timing as suggested.

I did a quick check and noticed the test lamp lights about a third ad normal when the breakers make contact. Is that normal.

Also, could you please explain where the timing mark is located?

Thanks

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Just reassembled everything with high hopes, but still NO spark??

HELP!!!

Is it possible that I have a bad distributer?

Will go back to square one and see if I still have spark off the coil wire while grounding and ungrounding the amp lead that goes to the breakers....

Thanks....

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Just took it apart and confirmed that I do have spark from the coil while grounding the amp wire to the distributer.

Checked all wires and grounds. Points gapped correctly, reverse cut off ring installed, new plug wires check, new safety switch checks okay...

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Question:

would it be possible to reconnect the amp lead to the breakers and test for spark at the coil end with my spark tester while hand turning the crankshaft while the key is in the on position?

Is this safe and should I worry about damaging anything.

I would like to confirm that the breakers and the connection to the amp is working correctly.

Thanks

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Just took it apart and confirmed that I do have spark from the coil while grounding the amp wire to the distributer.

Checked all wires and grounds. Points gapped correctly, reverse cut off ring installed, new plug wires check, new safety switch checks okay...

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Put your ohm meter leads on the disconnected wire going to the breaker points and ground. Hand-turn the flywheel slowly while watching the meter. Should go from zero to infinity four times per revolution.

Wanna hear my guess? Did you put the prong on the anti-reverse terminal through the loop on the anti-reverse ring? If you did, tch. You wouldn't be the first one. That grounds it out and there will be no spark. The loop needs to be able to move back and forth between the terminal and the plastic wick holder.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Thanks. I will try the meter in a bit.

I did install the ring in between the wick and post as in the diagram. The ring rests on the bottom of the shaft and greased it with Molly lube as well.

Will send results in a few minutes.

Thanks again

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Question:

how tight should the ring be around the shaft? Right now there is quite a bit of play. It rides about 1/8" off the shaft.

Also I noticed that my setup does not have as much room between the plastic wick holder and the post as your diagram. I may have 1/4" on each side of the spring coil. Is that enough?

Thanks

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Question:

how tight should the ring be around the shaft? Right now there is quite a bit of play. It rides about 1/8" off the shaft.

Also I noticed that my setup does not have as much room between the plastic wick holder and the post as your diagram. I may have 1/4" on each side of the spring coil. Is that enough?

Thanks

Maybe I don't understand. So it isn't even riding on the shaft but laying loose in there? That isn't right.

1/4" is fine, but I don't know why the difference.

The way it works is friction makes the ring want to rotate with the shaft---till it bumps up against the plastic wick holder, then the ring stays in that position while the shaft rotates inside it (reason for the moly). However, if the motor tries to run backward (and they will), the ring rotates up against the terminal and kills the ignition, stopping the motor.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

I figured. That part out but what happens if the motor goes and reverse and the ring grounds out the terminal. How is the motor restarted?

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

I figured. That part out but what happens if the motor goes and reverse and the ring grounds out the terminal. How is the motor restarted?

Obvious. Starter cranks the motor in the right direction, ring goes back against the plastic, ignition returns. All within the first couple of degrees of roatation.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Right. I forgot that the starter works independently from the ignition system.

Spent too much time in my cold garage yesterday.

Will try again today.

Thanks

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Is it critical to get exactly four hits per revolution?

It appears one of the breaker holders is out of wack and I am having a heck of a time trying to get all four to go 0-inf. In one rev.

Thanks

 

[F_R]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

Is it critical to get exactly four hits per revolution?

It appears one of the breaker holders is out of wack and I am having a heck of a time trying to get all four to go 0-inf. In one rev.

Thanks

Well it is critical in order to have a smooth running engine. But even if it were a hit-and-miss situation, you should have SOME sparks at the plugs.

BTW, how wide do you have your spark tester gap set? Don't expect too much.

 

[GLPmike]

Re: 1968 Johnson 65hp v4 - Pulled flywheel - Surprise!

I was able to get the points set where it is very close if not right on...

So, I put it together and gave it a try. It took a couple of turns but I did get a healthy white/blue spark at the tester off of #1.

When I moved on to 2-4 nothing.. When I went back to #1, you guessed- nothing!

I think the reverse cut off ring is the culprit. I did make it snug around the shaft and observed it moving freely when I hand turned the crankshaft.

Any other ideas what it could be? If it is the ring, how do I prevent this from happening?

Thanks