Help with identification of older 3HP Johnson outboard

lindy46

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Nov 27, 2008
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Yeah, you don't need an electric trolling motor. That little 3 hp will troll right down to a crawl and isn't very loud. Like Tomhath says, she'll putt-putt along all day on just a splash of gas.
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Unfortunatly still gotta have one - some of the reservoirs around here are electric only. Don't understand why some are and some aren't but I guess that's the way it goes. We've got a area where I want to go duck hunting - all marshland - and no gas motors are allowed on that at all. Got bored today since its so nice here in Ohio - 45 degrees with a NW wind - so I polished all the brass on the carb and finished cleaning it and painted a few small parts......middle of May and it feels like late October..........and people wonder why I bought property in southern Tennessee to retire to!
 

Ohiotinkerer

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I know! My mom and stepdad live in Lexington and they love to call me and rub it in like they did Sunday when I woke up and looked out the windw and it was snowing......gotta love Ohio in the spring..........not.........then I loooked at the weather for my property outside Collinwood just to torture myself a littie more......can't wait for retirement or to hit the lottery.........:D
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Got some time to actually work on things - powerhead is reassembled and painted, carb cleaned and reassembled and everything else sandblased and in primer - now lots of sanding and filling 53 years worth of abuse! IMG_2935.JPG IMG_2936.JPG IMG_2937.JPG IMG_2938.JPG
 

ssdale

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Great job. Keep imagining the satisfaction of the paint and final product. Press on!
Dale
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Thanks! Got a lot done today - lots of priming and painting. Should be able to start getting some things put back together this week. Had a hard time deciding whether or not to fix all the casting imperfections or not and decided to leave them - trying to leave things as original as possible but I'm sure there will be some people out there that won't get leaving them in. One thing I've learned working on old stuff is sometimes doing what you think is right is the exact opposite! Thanks to everyone for all the help and great comments so far - cant wait to post photos of it finished!
 

ssdale

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Looking fantastic! Real piece of history saved from the scrappers!:yo:
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Thanks so much - i love trying to save things like this - nothing made this good anymore! Trying to get the fuel tank cleaned out to I can get it fired up before I finish the tank. Screen is plugged and can't get it out to clean it. The parts manual I have shows it comes out but damned if I can figure how to get it out...........:confused:

Been having so much fun with this motor I'm looking at a Goodyear See Bee a guy has for sale........:)
 

lindy46

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Nov 27, 2008
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Petcock should unscrew from the bottom of the tank. May need a soak in PB Blaster.
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Got the petcock out with no problem but the screen is stuck inside - used Works toilet cleaner to clean the tank and got it partially unplugged but still no luck......trip to the hardware store to get a brass plug so I can fill it up enough with blaster to let it soak for a little while - hopefully it will loosen up enough with that........:mad-new:
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Well success........and failure. Took it out to the test tank, put some gas in and discovered the tank is leaking thru the bolt hole next to the petcock.....so i wrapped it with a shop rag because it wasn't bad enough to cause a problem right then and continued on. 2 pulls and it fired.......:joyous:............little more choke and another 2 pulls and it was running.......:rockon:................then it bogged down and stopped and that's when I noticed water coming out of the bottom of the head .........:mad2:..........so tomorrow i guess I get to pull the head back off to see what the hell is going on.........

At least I know it will run and the water pump is working...............
 

ssdale

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I'm no help mechanically, but here to say- take it apart again and solve the problem. We're rooting for you!
 

oldboat1

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There is a plug on the port side under the powerhead -- pn 307581 or similar. It looks like a lower unit drain screw. The plug is at the top of the water tube. If not in place, water will shoot out of the opening rather than circulating through the engine. If that plug is missing or loose on your engine, assuming you have it on your model, the motor could overheat. Think I would first check for the plug.

The tank could be patched with Marine Tex or something similar. Depending on how caustic the cleaner is, you might have some other leaks but likely repairable. And you can find used tanks if it comes to that. The tank was used for many years.

[edit. See the plug on your first pic in post 29 -- so apparently have one in place. See if it's loose.]
 
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lindy46

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Nov 27, 2008
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I had a similar tank leak on my 1947 Sportsman. I got a Por 15 Kit for motorcycles and the stuff really works. It is messy and you have to follow the directions exactly, but once done, your leak will be fixed. Expensive at around $50.
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Thanks for the info on the sealers - there was only one that I knew of and other people that had used it had bad experiences with it coming off and plugging everything up - can't remember the name but it wasn't either one you guys mentioned! I should have been more specific about the leak on the power head ,- it's coming out the bottom of the head gasket so I either have a warped head or bad gasket and I thought I checked the head before I assembled it but I guess I'll pull it back off today and recheck everything. Also gonna recheck the carb ,- I think it might have been running out of fuel so I may have a delivery problem. I never expect anything to go perfect when I work on stuff - I have the worst luck - so this is just minor details - just really happy it started and ran on the first couple trys without and unusual noises!

Happy Father's day to all the dad's out there!
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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Cylinder head warped.....took it off and could see on the new gasket where it wasn't sealing up right on the bottom cylinder so with some 220 grit sandpaper, soapy water and my ground steel plate and 30 mins of work and we should be good as new..........now onto the tank leak..........
 

Ohiotinkerer

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Apr 27, 2016
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And a hole in the threads in the mounting bolt hole next to the petcock on the tank..........this is gonna be interesting to fix.........
 
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