Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

[N6575T]

Howdy ...<br />I have just purchased a 1962 Glastron 16 foot Starfire with a 40 hp Johnson Sea Horse O/B motor that I assume is also from that era. I must check data plate on transom area bracket for serial # and model # , but I believe the first digit on the Johnson is letter " B " ( BDL ??-23 ??) <br /><br />Anyways, the boat has an electric key start,with choke button on boat instrument panel. <br /><br />There is a large un-labelled lever on the front of the Johnson motor by the Transom that can either be in the horizontal or vertical position. <br /><br />Two 6 gallon metal portable fuel cans connect via rubber fuel lines and primer ball .<br /><br />My questions is to engine starting procedure:<br /><br />Do I first place the lever in the vertical position ( fuel **** open ?? on the Johnson itself, then pump the primer line until hard, then go to the key switch and press the choke button while turning ignition key to " Start ? " <br /><br />Pardon me for this very basic question, but I am totally new to O/B's, having gotten this ole boat through individuals no longer able to advise me because of sickness. <br />I am using a 50:1 mix of oil/gas. <br /><br />Thanks !

 

[Mark42]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

The lever may be the tilt lock. Check it out by trying to lift/tilt motor with the lever in both positions. If it is the tilt lock, you will know it.<br /><br /><br />Otherwise:<br />1) be sure engine is tilted all the way down and in water or with flush muffs on it.<br />2) pump up primer ball until it is hard. <br />3) press choke button for a second or two.<br />4) Lift high idle lever if it has one<br />5) crank engine until it fires or 10 seconds. If it doesn't start, let the starter cool a minuite and repeat.

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Originally posted by Mark42:<br /> The lever may be the tilt lock. Check it out by trying to lift/tilt motor with the lever in both positions. If it is the tilt lock, you will know it.<br /><br /><br />Otherwise:<br />1) be sure engine is tilted all the way down and in water or with flush muffs on it.<br />2) pump up primer ball until it is hard. <br />3) press choke button for a second or two.<br />4) Lift high idle lever if it has one<br />5) crank engine until it fires or 10 seconds. If it doesn't start, let the starter cool a minuite and repeat.

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Thanks a million Mark! <br />I love that '62 MFG you have and I see you are from New Jersey as well ? <br /><br />Frank

 

[Crazy]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Ya I'll second that , that is one sweet looking boat . Do you have any pic's of it , that you can post ?

 

[Mark42]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

N6575T,<br /><br />You are welcome. I am located in Warren County about 15 miles from the Deleware Water Gap. Where do you go boating?<br /><br />Crazy,<br /><br />Thanks, pics are here: http://photobucket.com/albums/v437/mark42/

 

[ED21]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Isn't the choke on the old motors a real choke, not a primer? If so, hold choke closed while cranking when cold. Other than my 2 cents you should be ready to go.

 

[Dave Abrahamson]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Hey Frank.<br />Looks like your C-150 and boat/motor are about the same vintage....give or take a year or two.<br />I like those old straight tails. Taildragger?

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Hi Dave and Mark! <br />I keep the 1962 Glastron up in the Hudson //West Nyack NY Marina as I live only a small bit down the Hudson from there on the NJ border below the Tappan Zee Bridge. Would have liked to probably keep the Glastron in a Lake as opposed to the Hudson, but if I did that given the distances from me to any Lakes in this region, I'd be using the boat very infrequently I think. <br />And Dave--- you are right! ..My Cessna 150 is a 1960 straight tail model 150, with tricycle gear still on it, although a friend of mine turned his 1960 Cessna 150 straight tail into a mini Cessna 180 and removed the nose gear and made it a tail dragger. <br />And Ed, I'll be sure to hold the Choke closed in this colder weather when starting it up on the Glastron. <br />Looks like here in NJ we are in for an extended period of lousy rainy and windy weather right through the weekend and further . <br /><br />Frank

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

I figure you've got a RDL-23 there, which is a '61 Johnson 40hp engine. There were a few diffent choke setups on those carbs, I'm not sure which one you have. If there's a solenoid strapped to the bottom of the carburetor, it's electric only. If there's a large round casting on the side of the carb with a cylinder coming out of it sticking straight down and a metal line tying it to the back of the engine, then it's a heat/electric choke.<br />The heat/electric choke should operate automatically if it's set up right. The choke button is there as an override. If it's an electric-only choke, then you'll have to manually hold in the button while starting the engine.<br /><br />Hope this helps!

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Wow Mark... some nice job you did on that MFG. Looks great! <br />Loved that website you have there, too. Great pictures. <br /><br />My Glastron's gel coat( RED) is so chalky they can harvest an entire year of blackboard chalk from it for the local elementary school ) <br /><br />Frank

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Hi Paul! <br />Thank you for the help here! <br />I checked and indeed it is an RDL -23, meaning it is a 1961 Johnson 40 hp. I wonder if that was the original motor that came with the boat from Glastron in 1962 ?<br />I know the boat was bought in early '62 and it could very well have been made in late '61 but marketed as a 1962 model year. <br /> <br /> To me it appears that it is the heat/electric type choke, with a cylinder protruding from the carb itself and a line tying it to the back of the engine, so I guess that big button labelled " Choke " on the dash is the over ride button for the choke. Of all things, I left my keys to the boat at home when I dashed up there to double check the engine data plate . But next time up to the dock I'll have to give it the old college try and first attempt start up just by turning key to start without engaging the Choke button first and see if she catches that way. If not, I'll do the next attempt with choke button pushed in while cranking. <br /><br />Frank

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Ok..here's my thoughts.... <br />On my '69 evinrude, the carb choke set up is as follows:<br />On the carb is a bi-metallic choke actuator mounted on the left side when facing the carb. From this, leads a tube to the rear water jacket area where it would collect heat from the hot air around the casing when running, thus slowly turning the choke off.<br />The second flavor of choke mechanism, is a solenoid, also on the left side, and entering at the underside of the bi-metallic (round housing). This solenoid is actuated by a momentary switch on the dash, allowing the operator to manually activate the choke for as long as he/she feels like holding the switch. This is an all or nothing type of choke activation. <br />On top of the carb, is a toggle lever arm which allows you to turn the choke from OFF to AUTO to ON. With all of the choke mechanisms in place, it would normally be set to AUTO. If for some reason the bi-metallic temperature choke failed, or the manual solenoid didn't work, you could set the lever to the ON position manually. Same goes for the OFF position if you wanted to force the choke system to be inactive.<br /><br />To start my motor, I first open the vent valve on the gas tank and then prime the carbs with gas via the bulb in the line. I seldom find the the automatic temperature choke is activated enough to work right(perhaps not adjusted properly, may need to adjust the cover plate). I always leave the lever on the engine set to AUTO, and manually over-ride it by pressing the choke switch on the dash. I will hold the manual choke switch on the dash until I can hear that the engine seems to idle well without it. Perhaps 30 seconds to a minute at most.<br /><br />I realize this is pertaining to an Evinrude, but you may find the set up is very similar to yours.

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Thanks AMD for your explanation on the choke features of " Auto-On-Off " and procedure on starting your engine. I think that most likely in starting up in colder weather is going to require pushing in that choke button while cranking until the engine idles well . <br /><br />Frank

 

[Solittle]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Should he be runnin with a 50:1 oil mix?

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Solittle - thanks for pointing that out, I missed that one!<br />N6575T, the fuel mix for your engine is 24:1. I don't think the 50:1 has been harmful since your engine should be fully jeweled. Have a look at the oil mix faq in the FAQ Forum for more information (not the FAQ at the top of this page).<br />Other things:<br />Use 87 octane gas mixed with TC-W3 rated oil.<br />Use OMC/BRP 'HiVis' or other brand SAE 80/90W outboard gearcase lube in the lower unit.<br />Use Champion J4C plugs gapped at .030". J4J has been replaced with J4C.<br />Decarb your engine. Check out the FAQ forum for that (roscoe's post).

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

Solittle - thanks for pointing that out, I missed that one!<br />N6575T, the fuel mix for your engine is 24:1.<br />**********************************************<br /> OH....... Ok... Paul. <br />Heck, I've been using a 16 oz bottle of the TC-W3 rated 2 cycle oil in each of the 5 gallon can(s).So I should be using one bottle for both cans . The Dock Fuel Pumps only have 91 octane and unfortunately they frown upon bringing plastic fuel cans up to or on the mooring dock<br />as I wanted to. My intent was to fuel up a 6 gallon plastic container at the local Amoco or Texaco station with 87 octane fel and drive it to the mooring dock and fill the boat fuel cans as needed. But recently, I was forced to take the 91 at the fuel farm.

 

[N6575T]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

So , for a 1961 Johnson 40hp, I'd be using a 24:1 oil/gas mix ? <br /><br />And, I'm forced so far to use 91 octane fuel in my two gas cans in my 1962 Glastron O/B bought from the fuel dock pumps as carting in a seperate plastic fuel container like I used to do with 87 octane is no longer allowed by marina personnel. <br /><br />So what is the ideal fuel /oil mix for that scenario in my 40 hp 1961 Johnson ? <br /><br />Frank

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: Starting Procedure for Newbie 40 hp Johnson O/B

OH....... Ok... Paul. <br />Heck, I've been using a 16 oz bottle of the TC-W3 rated 2 cycle oil in each of the 5 gallon can(s).So I should be using one bottle for both cans .

Thats sounds like you were planning to use half as much oil? Going from 50:1 to 24:1 implies you should be using twice as much oil as you have been. The older motors required more oil. 24 parts gas to 1 part oil.<br /><br />Prior to 1964, the least amount of oil recommended was 40:1 .... It is always best to err on the side of caution by using too much oil, rather than too little.<br /> Topic: C. Fuel/Oil mix- Most Motors Covered Here... <br /><br />(I'm not an expert on this topic.... read the FAQ to ensure I am not leading you in the wrong direction)