1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

[ChrisMA]

I recently rebuilt my 1995 70hp motor since one of the pistons was burnt. I am in the initial break-in period and the engine will no longer idle. I ran the motor today for 2 hours with double oil (VRO plus 50:1) in the tank, and replaced the spark plugs once since the engine would not start. The engine ran great, and I was cruising from 3000 to 5000 rpm during this period. Problem is now when you bring the engine to idle, it will keep slowing down until it dies which takes around 1 minute or so.

I purchased a new gas line which I am going to install, but what else could cause the engine not to idle properly, but run great at all other speeds? I am consuming oil as well as I can see the level lowered in the oil tank.

I was trying to get my timing light on the flywheel, but it does not idle long enough to check. During the "fast-start" period which seems to last around 30 seconds, the timing appears to be around 12 degrees, does that sound normal?

Basically I need to start the engine and place it into gear before the fast-start period ends.

Chris

 

[ChrisMA]

Re: 1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

I forgot to say that I removed the thermostat this morning since I was shipped the wrong one, could my idle problems be related to removing the thermostat?

 

[ChrisMA]

Re: 1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

Wow, this is a tough place to get anyone to respond. Anyway, the reason the engine was dying at idle was the double oil that I ran during break-in. I am running on pure gas and VRO-fed oil and it runs like a brand new machine.

 

[Daviet]

Re: 1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

I am glad you got your problem solved.
I am sure you noticed how fast the posts move here at times, you make a post and before you know it your post is 2 or 3 pages back. Sometimes you have to bump your own post. There are a lot of people here that are willing to help, sometimes things just move to fast, don't give up on us.

 

[Geotheoutboardkid]

Re: 1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

hi, your proplem is the low idle pickup in the carburator is clogged. go buy ourself some welding tip cleaners or use some very small wire and clean out every hole. also, take steel whool to the needle on the carburator and spray wd-40 through all your holes when your done. to prevent this from happning again run this motor out of gas if you are planning to stor for more than 3 months and buy an in-line fuel filter and put it on the line going into the carburator. good luck, post if you get stuck.
also: try to start weening the engine off the extra oil.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1995 Johnson 70hp dies at idle

On that mtr you have to have the thermo in it and has to operate at the proper temp at idle. Otherwise you get a lot of smoking and it won't idle properly.