SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

[sashko1]

Hi,

yesterday I picked up this 1980 Johnson SeaHorse 4.5hp (2-cylinder, 2-cycle) from a guy that stated that the motor ran fine 3 years ago and then it was left untouched since.

Well, (being naive) I thought it would just require some carb cleaning and spark plug replacement to make it fire up for starters. Motor I must say looked very clean inside.

Came home and despite my wife rolled her eyes I put the motor in a barrel, put some fresh 50:1 gas and pulled the start rope. At first it looked like it was going to start because the motor (kinda / sorta) ran for about a second and then died. At least it wasn't completely dead there was some internal cylinder firing going on I believe.

Well, I took apart the carb and it was very clean, but still I cleaned it with some carb cleaner and thin wire through holes. The float was not completely parallel though in a closed position, so I leveled it up by bending the float metal piece just slightly at the hinge.

Put it back together. Spark plugs seemed to be very clean (????)

Pulled several times still the old same - appears that it wanted to catch but without luck. Then I really advanced the ignition by placing the cam follower roller all the way to about 4/5 of the surface length of the cam follower plate and she started on a 3rd pull and ran reallllly fast, so I throttled it down to lower RPM and she died again. After I couldn't make her start again. Spark plugs were getting very wet (I re-dried and re-checked them several times). Each time I would dry the spark plug and put it back the motor would behave "better" but gradually worsening.

Some things don't make sense to me though. I think my ignition / fuel link is out of sync. The marks on the twist grip throttle are gone and can only be slightly visible. I could recognize the "START" marking on it, but when I align the mark on the twist with the "START" position the roller of the cam follower is way more than a half way up the cam plate. I noticed there are two marks just at the beginning of the black plastic cam plate, what are those for? Roller must align with them at some position? At what position?

How do I sync this link please????

By the way, compression is 60# on both cyls after 3 pulls on wide throttle.

Please help me? Please?

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

On the left side of the carb you'll see the end of the throttle shaft coming through the carb about an eigth of an inch. As you twist the throttle handle, watch that rod end. It should barely start to turn (open) as the roller reaches the first of those two marks on the cam. You an make a tool from a small alligator clip and a short piece of wire that can be gripped onto the end of the rod and the wire attached to the clip. When the rod begins to move, it'll be easier to see it move with the short piece of wire sticking upwards. You can adjust the cam by loosening the two small bolts underneath it.

 

[sashko1]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

Thank you. Why is the "START" position ignition timing so advanced for this motor?

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

Chances are that the throttle grip has been worked on, or, someone's been messing with the ignition plate cam. Those locations for "slow", "start", "shift, are not very accurate to begin with (in general).

 

[sashko1]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

I see. Thank you for support. I will be replacing the head gasket tonight. I read somewhere that 60# compression is not good?

 

[oldcatamount]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

If you do replace your head gasket, lay a piece of fine emory paper on a piece of heavy glass and sand the surface of the head so to take out any warping. Use a figure 8 motion and be patient. Your compresion is a tad low but since the cylinders are close to being even, I'd doubt the head gasket needs replacing (but, it wouldn't hurt to change it). When you get the motor up and running, mix a little Seafoam or Engine Tuner in with the fuel/oil mix. It'll help free up sticky rings and burn out some built up carbon deposits. That might just help your compression a bit.

 

[sashko1]

Re: SeaHorse 4.5hp cylinder flooding, out-of-sync???

Will do. Judy want to make it run consistently.