Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

[bhold]

Hello everyone, great forum here...glad I found it. <br /><br />I got my first fishing boat and it came with a 1959 Johnson 35HP motor, model RDS21, serial #1917414. I do not know much about outboards, but have worked on a few cars, so it can't be that hard...and I should be receiving my Clymer manual anyday now. I would like to keep this motor running, and have no idea how well it has been maintained, but I am assuming not very well. Can anyone suggest what type of maintainance I should perform, and where to find the parts? So far I have read about the impeller and gear oil...what type of gear oil is used with my motor? I have also read that a 32:1 mixture using TCW-3 oil and 89 octane gas is recommended, is this correct? I have a few days free next week and would really like to get this motor in tip top shape for the summer, but have no idea where to start. Any help from the experts here in getting me started would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JB]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Howdy, Boat'n'B.<br /><br />OMC recommended 24:1 mix for that engine. Use 32:1 at your own risk. 87 octane is fine.<br /><br />Gearcase oil is standard. You can get it at any Wal Mart.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[dkondelik]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

'mornin' boatinB,<br /><br />here's a couple of links that might help:<br /> http://www.precisionserv.com/Outboards/Revitalization.htm <br /><br /> http://maxrules.com/fixtuneitup.html <br /><br />Good Luck<br />HAVE FUN!

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Thanks...so i should use a 24:1 mix then, glad I asked. <br /><br />Thanks for the links klondike, very useful info.<br /><br />Does anyone know if my motor charges the battery? Previous owner said he had to charge the battery every night. Thanks.

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

my 35 Jonny is a manual start, my guess is if its electrical start, it should charge ... but I dont know for sure<br /><br />water pumps are tough to get for them, I dont know why, maybe im not looking in the right places - but they are good running motors, good stuff

 

[rolmops]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Hello.<br />Unless it has a belt driven generator on the side of the engine and a rectifier in the solenoid box it will not charge anything.<br />Your model # implies that it is a manual start not an electric, so you do not need electricity for either running or starting.<br />These engines are self contained magneto systems that provide electricity for the ignition system exclusively.You can buy a trickle charger for your battery and unless you run some heavy duty power consumers in that boat you won't need anything else to charge it with.<br />Enjoy

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Thanks guys, the engine is an electric start, and also has the pull start. My worst fear is trying to start the thing after a day (or night, with lights on) of fishing, and it won't start. I have not tried to start it manually yet, so don't know if I can depend on the pull start to get me back to shore. The only things that require power besides the motor are a fishfinder and the lights. The previous owner has all of these connected to a single Sears car battery, and said that he would just hook the battery up to an automatic charger after bringing the boat home. The only problem with that is where I am storing the boat has no electricity, so it would be difficult to charge the battery after every outing. Should I keep this single battery setup, or get another battery (deep cycle?) for the fishfinder and lights, and use the sears battery for starting the motor. I don't know if a generator is available for my motor, but am willing to guess that it would be cheaper to just get an extra battery.

 

[dkondelik]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

'mornin' Boatin'b,<br /><br />i think you have a good understanding of your situation. unless you have a "special" source, the additional battery is the way to go.<br /><br />Good Luck<br />HAVE FUN!

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Another battery is definitely cheaper and better. The original generator only provides about 10 amps. Get yourself a deep cycle. Don't worry about starting capacity - your starter only draws about 40 amps, so you don't need a 625 cold cranking amps battery. I use a surplus telco UPS AGM battery. Charge up your car battery and store it on board for emergencies, it'll soon be wrecked if your using it in deep cycles.<br />A 35hp is a bit of a bear to pull start, but the electric starter is a luxury.<br /><br />PS - Keep your batteries charged! If you keep a >50% charge on them they'll last a *lot* longer.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

I forgot to add, each start will cost you about 0.1 Amp Hours (average 10s crank), so you should be able to get 500 starts off of a 50Ah battery. Of course running lights will shorten this.

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

one thing about those Johnson 35's ... mine at least ... they are equipped with a nifty little gadget called a compression release .. makes it a singin string rather than a suffer string to pull<br /><br />mine starts real easy, well, it did 12 years ago, lol, time to break that old girl out again, hang her on Hydrophobia and get the ten horse working as a back up<br /><br />I wonder if it would over rev the ten to crank it up when the 35 is doing its thing, lol, make it a 45 horsepower boat <br /><br />Stranger things have happened!

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Decided to get another battery (deep cycle) for the lights and sonar, and start the motor with the sears battery. I guess I will just try to trickle charge them when needed. Got a Pennzoil lower unit lube kit at wal-mart, the specs for the fluid are SAE 80W-90, API GL-5 Performance. Will this be ok to use in my motor?

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

I know the specs call for "type C" gear oil, but I could not find it anywhere. Will the pennzoil high viscosity stuff be OK? Also, how hard is it to change an impeller on a 1959 35HP Johnson. Thanks again to everyone for their help, I have been learning alot, and probably saving a few bucks as well

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Yup, that's the right stuff. Type C is OMC brand stuff, and is available from Johnson/Evinrude dealers.<br />Cheap car batteries really hate to be discharged at all. If you really want to use the car battery to start the engine, you ought to carry jumper cables so you can start off the deep cycle battery when the car one dies.<br />The impeller change is pretty straight forward. The gearshift disconnects behind that window on the leg. You have to completely remove one of the coupling bolts (you'll see what I mean). Sometimes the driveshafts get corroded into in the crankshafts.<br />You sound pretty handy. Consider getting yourself a manual. It'll pay it's own way & save you from grief. It's easily the best thing you can buy for your outboard and yourself.

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Thanks Paul, I got a Clymer manual on the way. Guess its time to do a little wrenchin'. Thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[bhalsdorf]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

I picked up a generator on e-bay for $30 and got a regulator at NAPA for $20. So added charging to my 1958 35hp for $50. The charging doesn't really kick in til after 2,000 RPM but at least I never have to worry about forgetting to charge my battery before I go out.

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Bill H, would you happen to know the part numbers of the items I would need. I am guessing I would need the generator, pulley, belt and regulator??? I have seen a few on ebay, but none said they were for a 1959 Johnson 35HP. Are they all about the same thing? Thanks.

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

Well...I drained and refilled the lower unit lube today. Either nobody had done it for a long time, or I have a problem. The stuff that I drained out was very thick and creamy, with a sort of dark tan color (looked kinda like that liquid makeup stuff the wife has). Filled up with half a quart, so i drained it again, and used the rest till it overflowed from the top hole. I guess I will run it this weekend and drain it again to see what it looks like.

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

how big of a job is a reseal for that Johnson? does it require specialized or expensive tools to do the job?

 

[bhold]

Re: Questions about 1959 Johnson 35HP

I have no idea, I have never done it...and hope it is fairly simple to do if it is needed. I am thinking the fluid might just be really old, does that color point to water intrusion?