1977 85 HP Outboard issues

[WNYSoldier44]

Hey everyone so heres my dilema. I recently purchased a 1977 starcraft trihull boat that came equipped with ( what i beleive) is a 1977 85hp johnson. I do not know what model it is out of the 3 that were made that year. The only sticker I have been able to find says 1977 85 hp spark advance 26 degrees.

Heres my issues, I bought the boat for 200 dollars. All in all its not in bad shape at all, besdies the motor not turning over. Ater hours of working on it, I noticed that my starter, ( see attached picture where I removed it), the bottom bushing and bolt were beyond loose. I read that when installing you are to get 2 wrenches and turn simuntaneoulsy so ensure a snug fit without cracking bolt. Seems the previoius owner just turned and cracked. After trying to holf th boat as straight and snug as possible, I was finally able to get her to somewhat turn over and get some noise. My main reason for this was due to when I turned it over, I hear a click click click as if the battery were dead, which it was not. So what can my next option be? Replace the starter? Replace the bolt and resoder? Or am I not evne close to trying to diagnos this thing my self.

 

[northface]

Re: 1977 85 HP Outboard issues

A few possibilities I can think of. 1) There might be a safety switch that prevents the engine from turning over if the throttle is too far opened. Sometimes the adjustment is off and the engine won't turn over. But a clicking sounds more like a solenoid to me. Have you tried using a jumper cable directly to the starter to see if it will work.