1957 Johnson 18hp

delaney7943

Recruit
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
4
I recently acquired a Johnson 18hp, model FD-11k, Serial # 1642666 when I purchase an old boat for fishing purposes. I know absolutely nothing about this motor and would like to kow if parts can be purchased, is it large enough to push a 15ft boat without overworking the motor and would like to know if this was a very good engine at its prime? Any help would be appreciated especially since I am on social security and a newbee to the boating experience. Any replys could be sent to delaney7943@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance.
 

Paul Moir

Admiral
Joined
Nov 5, 2002
Messages
6,847
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

Welcome to Iboats, LDS HP!<br />Here's a little additional information on the FD-11:<br /><br />Displacement: 22.0 CI<br />WOT RPMS: 4000-5000, 18hp @ 4500RPM<br />Spark plugs: Champion J4C (replacing J4J) gapped at .030"<br />Fuel/Oil mix: 24:1 87 octane gas and TC-W3 outboard oil.<br />Lower unit oil: BRP (replacing OMC) "HiVis" or equivalent 90 weight outboard gearcase lube.<br /><br />Parts are still widely available and as far as outboard parts go, relatively inexpensive. The engine is extremely easy to work on with only a couple "special tools". The most important of those is the service manual naturally. <br />Outboard motors are happiest when they can be run full throttle (at the very least occasionally). They must have the proper propeller attached so they can reach their WOT (full throttle) RPM range. I'm pretty sure your engine would be propped correctly for your boat, but could you describe the boat a bit more? How heavy, what style of boat, what material is it made of? Can you find any numbers on the prop you have?<br /><br />The 22.0 CID engine saw long service for OMC and was a very popular engine. They even saw race duty (although heavily modified). I think they discontinued it in the 70s as a 25hp, when the new 25/35hp engine came out. Outboards generally, and from this era specifically, seem to have extraordanary life spans. It's far rarer to find one that has worn out than one that has been abused to death.
 

delaney7943

Recruit
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
4
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

Originally posted by Paul Moir:<br /> Welcome to Iboats, LDS HP!<br />Here's a little additional information on the FD-11:<br /><br />Displacement: 22.0 CI<br />WOT RPMS: 4000-5000, 18hp @ 4500RPM<br />Spark plugs: Champion J4C (replacing J4J) gapped at .030"<br />Fuel/Oil mix: 24:1 87 octane gas and TC-W3 outboard oil.<br />Lower unit oil: BRP (replacing OMC) "HiVis" or equivalent 90 weight outboard gearcase lube.<br /><br />Parts are still widely available and as far as outboard parts go, relatively inexpensive. The engine is extremely easy to work on with only a couple "special tools". The most important of those is the service manual naturally. <br />Outboard motors are happiest when they can be run full throttle (at the very least occasionally). They must have the proper propeller attached so they can reach their WOT (full throttle) RPM range. I'm pretty sure your engine would be propped correctly for your boat, but could you describe the boat a bit more? How heavy, what style of boat, what material is it made of? Can you find any numbers on the prop you have?<br /><br />The 22.0 CID engine saw long service for OMC and was a very popular engine. They even saw race duty (although heavily modified). I think they discontinued it in the 70s as a 25hp, when the new 25/35hp engine came out. Outboards generally, and from this era specifically, seem to have extraordanary life spans. It's far rarer to find one that has worn out than one that has been abused to death.
 

delaney7943

Recruit
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
4
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

Hi Paul and thank you for your reply. The boat is a Crownline Runabout, length 15', beam 70", depth amidships 32" and weight is about 385 lbs. I am a rather heavy person, 300#, and the person who goes with me the most is about 280# so you can see why I worry about the motor. Where does one find these "special tools" you mentioned as well as parts for a motor this old? Do you know where I can find the manuels as well? Again, thank you for your reply.
 

Paul Moir

Admiral
Joined
Nov 5, 2002
Messages
6,847
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

It should do just fine with that boat & load. It's probably got a 9" or 10" prop on it already, which is what you would want. See if you can find any numbers on the propeller - you may have to remove the nose cone, drive pin and thrust washer to find them. You can make any engine suit any boat by changing propellers.<br /><br />For working on an 18hp, there aren't many "special tools" you need. You need something for pulling the flywheel to work on the ignition system. Many here (myself included) use automotive 'harmonic balancer pullers' because they're cheap and easily found. You need torque wrenches (inch-lb and ft-lb) for torquing flywheel nuts, head bolts, that sort of thing. There's a couple other specific tools for specific situations, but they're all easily found, fabricated, or worked around.<br /><br />Parts abound. Much is still available from the dealer for very reasonable prices. Almost as much is available aftermarket. Iboats sells a number of these aftermarket parts, as well as NAPA autoparts, and 1000 other web based stores. Parts that are very expensive or not available (say, the flywheel or some bracket or another) can easily be purchased from a junkyard, online or otherwise, or even ebay. The 18hp was sold for many years and it was very popular.<br /><br />Manuals can be purchased from maxrules.com, kencook.com, theoutboardwizard.bizhosting.com, or marineengine.com. There's a couple aftermarket manuals but they aren't nearly as good as the factory ones. If you want to save some money (that manual is very thick & expensive) you can get a CD from acmeoutboards.com.
 

delaney7943

Recruit
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
4
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

One last question for the moment. The previous owner installed an electric fuel pump in the line coming from the tank. I have been told this is not a good thing to do. Is this acceptable or should I find a two line tank and install it correctly? Thanks again.
 

rwise

Captain
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Messages
3,205
Re: 1957 Johnson 18hp

The bad thing about an electric fuel pump is it requires a battery. I have the 2 line tank on my old boat and have had no problems with it. You could also fit a pulse fuel pump from a newer engine. (all the info you need to do it is here on the board)
 
Top