New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

[tnltracy]

Greetings all,

New here, and have been doing a bunch of reading. I figure it's time to post and introduce myself (my motor, really).

Just picked up a classic (1962 Wolverine?) boat, see my post here.

Anyway, the motor is an RDS-20 1958 (with the thermostat). In overall pretty good shape as it was gone through a couple years ago. It wasn't properly winterized last year and so the carb appears to be gummed up now, so I'm preparing to do a rebuild. A few wires not attached, or incorrectly attached as well, which seem to not effect operation. Electric choke is not connected, and I believe the kill wiring to shut down the engine is not connected either. As I read more and go through the wiring templats in the Clymer manual I'm learning a bit more.

Anyway, I'll post pix real soon, and add here with any key questions, but here's a few for starters:

With carb rebuild, there's no float with the kit available here. What's the likelihood I need one? And where would I find one. Carb is not yet off, so I don't have a visual.

Any tips on determining if I need to rebuild the fuel pump? This has the sediment trap type, I guess at a minimum I can clean that, but wondering if I should get a kit for that as well?

There's a lever of some sort on back of engine which seems to press on 'relief valves'? for each cylinder. It appears to have once connected to a lever at the top of the engine, but I don't see what it would have connected to. Any insight on what this is?

Thanks all!

 

[rolmops]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Welcome aboard.
Nice engine.
The float on these engines is made of cork so you will probably never have to replace it.
As for the the fuel pump,if it pumps fuel you are ok.Just disconnect the hose on the outlet and if it spits a good amount of fuel when you pull the starter you are ok.
It is always a good idea to clean out the sediment cup and remove any water accumulation from there.Unless the filter and rubber seal are in bad shape you can just use the one that is in there.
The compression relieve valve is connected to the pull starter on the front end just to make manual starting easier. It is not essential

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

You should be able to get a float through your local OMC/BRP dealer. Check also here at Iboats and a few of the places that some of the members will probably recommend.

The valves on the back of the motor are compression relief valves. The piece of stainless flatbar that runs up and into the recoil starter is part of a mechanism that opens the valves when hand starting. Basically all it does is to lower the cylinder compression momentarily so the motor is easier to "pull start."

Your motor did not come with a fuel pump as a stock item. Instead a "Johnson Fuel-Master System" could be purchased separately. If the motor has that installed, consider it a bonus. I don't know, however, if rebuild parts for them are available. If you end up having to convert the motor to a modern fuel pump, the following link may help - it is intended for the Evinrude Bigtwin & Johnson Seahorse models (not Super Seahorse), but you may be able to do the same thing to your motor.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=205628

I happen to have an original owner's manual for your motor, so perhaps I can help you to sort out the wiring - the image below is of the wiring diagram from that manual.

Also, here's a quote from the owners manual on setting the compression relief valves:

"The gap in the compression relief valve tappets should be set at 0.018 to 0.025 inches (cold motor) using a feeler guage. To adjust the gap, loosen the hex lock nut and turn adjusting screw in or out as necessary. Tighten locknut securely and recheck gap. Be sure to adjust both valves."

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

laingsoutboards.com has the carb kit, and the float separately.

 

[F_R]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

The '58 came both with and without a fuel pump. The one you have (with thermostat) has a fuel pump. It is 50 years old. If it still has the original diaphragm in it, it would be wise to replace it. Kits are available here at iboats.

The cork float is coated with shellac to keep it from absorbing gas and sinking. Ethanol gas dissolves shellac. If you buy a OEM carb kit from a Johnson or Evinrude dealer, it will include a new float which I THINK is made from a black fuel proof material. They are gradually changing them over.

Make sure you have the correct (magneto) ignition switch with two "M" terminals. Some dingbat may have installed a battery ignition switch and that is why it isn't hooked up. Happens all the time.

 

[tnltracy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Thanks for the additional info, and that wiring diagram, that will be very helpful. New question on the wiring: the diagram shows a generator, which I'm not sure is really there on my motor. Would it be visible, or is it under the flywheel with the coils/points?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Unless someone added one, you don't have a generator. It would look like the starter, but on the other side, and would have a belt driving it. Just ignore the generator wiring in the diagram.

They weren't much, anyhow. If your Johnson is running right, it won't put much demand on your starting battery, anyhow. They start up easy when cold and instantly after the first run of the day.

Great outboard!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

One other thing. The starter solenoid for your outboard is mounted in a small box that is midway along the cable that plugs into the rectangular socket on the engine. If you don't have the cable and box, then you'll have some additional work to do to get a solenoid installed so you can use the electric starter.

Note: Those plugs and cables are pretty hard to find these days, and they have a nasty habit of getting dirty and not making a good connection. If you have yours (I do hope so), clean all the connectors on the cable and the engine really well. It's a crummy job, but it's essential. Also, open up the box and clean all the connections inside. Remove the nuts on the connectors, one at a time to prevent confusion, and clean the connector and the rest of the metal parts until they are bright. Half the problems people have with the starter, choke, and kill switch are related to a lack of cleaning of all these terminals.

 

[tnltracy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

I do have all of the electronics including solenoid. They look pretty good in fact, but I will go over the contacts and clean them up.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

I do have all of the electronics including solenoid. They look pretty good in fact, but I will go over the contacts and clean them up.

Oh, good! That's a big help. I'll bet you'll be on the water soon.

 

[F_R]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Understand that the wing nut screw that holds the cable onto the motor is the ground connection. It has to be clean and tight too.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Good reminder. Also, check the wiring where it goes to the connector inside the cowling. For some reason (probably a poor choice of wire) those wires' insulation often fails near the connector. An oily environment is probably the cause. Look at each wire seperately, from the connector, back to where they connect to something on the engine. Mine had one of the kill switch wires with decayed insulation that shorted to the housing. It took me a while to figure it out when the engine didn't run right.

The outer cable can also have problems near the connector. If the outer insulation on the cable has deteriorated, but the insulation on the wires is still good, do a very good job of taping up the cable with quality electrical tape to prevent further deterioration.

Also, since you don't have a generator, you'll notice some unused connectors and room for a fuze that isn't needed, inside the solenoid box. It's a little confusing if you aren't aware that there's unused connections in there.

 

[tnltracy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Picked up an OEM carb rebuild kit from a local Johnson dealer today. Problem is it did not contain any instructions. Anyone have a copy they can scan and email me?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

you have a PM

 

[tnltracy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Here's a picture for all of you wondering how it looks:

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

fantastic find!!!!!!!!

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Ditto. That's really a keeper.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

That's a really neat lookin motor! I was wondering what a '58 35hp super seahorse looked like.... That one appears to be WELL taken care of.
I hope you get a really good "transom shot" of it running when you get it all fixed up.
Later,
JBJ

 

[tnltracy]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

It's ALIVE!!! Carb rebuild definately made a huge difference. No surprise, especially having seen what the inside looked like. The float was literally stuck to the bottom of the bowl, which explains the fuel spitting out the overflow when we had the engine running.

Rebuilt it, reviewed and cleaned up all the wiring (several were not connected including the kill wiring and choke solenoid) and it started right up second try and ran like a champ.

I'll go through all the adjustments of needle valves and cam/ advance tomorrow, hopefully with time for a brief run as well.

Thanks to everyone who has helped out!!

 

[The-Machinist]

Re: New (to me) 1958 Johnson Super Sea Horse 35hp

Make sure you keep a sharp eye on the temp. during your trial run. If you dont know when the water pump impeller was last replaced, It would be a good idea to pick one up.