1977 Johnson 85 hp

[Josh Boram]

I have a 1977 Johnson 85 hp I took it off the trailer and had it running and warm when I put it into gear the motor dies I ran it on muffs and it goes ito gear fine and does not kill the motor any help would be appreciated thank you

 

[flyingscott]

Do a compression test before anything else then a spark test and report back.

 

[JDusza]

Running too lean. Starving for fuel at throttle up. Runs great in barrel because no load and no high speed running. Bet it''ll idle all day....
Next, I'd look at timing advance. Make sure you're advancing spark when asking for more power..
J

 

[Josh Boram]

Thanks for the replies I did find a pretty good fuel leak last time I tried to run it the hose on the bottom carb was all rotted on the end I believe I have it fixed there also compression is 80-85 on all cylinders and spark is good that I can tell

 

[Josh Boram]

If you get it in gear quickly every so often it will throttle up on the water and the boat takes off and runs great

 

[F_R]

Adjust your idle speed (idle RPM). Sounds like it is just too slow. There is a screw on the throttle linkage (on motor) to adjust it. You may have to readjust the throttle cable after setting the idle speed.

 

[Josh Boram]

Ok will do is that a normal compression reading and would the carb sucking air through that leak in the fuel line also cause issues also how far would you adjust that idle screw

 

[racerone]

My tester would show around 120 psi on one of those in good condition.---And does spark jump a gap of 7/16" on all 4 leads ?

 

[Josh Boram]

I just rented a compression tester from auto zone for most engines they said and my spark tester just shows that there is a spark it just doesn't show how strong how do you recommend testing to see if it will jump a 7/16 gap

 

[racerone]

??---Tape 2 pieces of some wire to a stick.---Have a 7/16" gap between them.---Stick one end in the plug wire and clip the other end to the engine block