1968 33 HP Johnson water discharge hole question???

[chastjo]

I need help.. I bought a 1968 33 hp johnson motor and im trying now to find out if the water pump is good or not before i go put in water or not... I cant find anywhere online where the water discharge portal holes are suppose to be located on the lower unit to know if everything is working properly or not.. I have the propeller and all in a large bucket filled with water but when i crank it up i dont see water shooting out anywhere?? is the hole around the prop area or is it suppose to be coming out somewhere else?? can somebody please help.. thanks

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1968 33 HP Johnson water discharge hole question???

Water should come out the thumb-sized hole in the rear of the motor leg. Should be a pretty good flow, too. Make sure the bucket's water level is ABOVE the bulge at the seam between the lower unit housing and the exhaust housing or it won't pump at start-up.

It's a good idea to plan on replacing the impeller anyway unless the previous owner can document that it's been done recently.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1968 33 HP Johnson water discharge hole question???

+1. Here's a vid of a motor from this era operating and pumping water properly. Make sure you only ever run the motor in a test tank with water filled up to about 1-2 inches below the main exhaust port. Don't worry about the smoke and/or oily water in the vids. That's perfectly normal for these old motors. It will be greatly reduced on the open water. You may also want to submerge the motor a little more than in the vids.

1956 Johnson 30 hp & 1956 15.5' Lyman Boat - YouTube

1957 Johnson 10hp Outboard Motor - YouTube

 

[chastjo]

Re: 1968 33 HP Johnson water discharge hole question???

Got it on water and started running fine... water was shooting out exhaust hole.. got going down lake and then starting spurting and would die out like it wasnt getting gas.. could crank back up and could fine a sweet spot on speed were it would run but when i gave it more throttle to run faster it just sputted and died again.. took lower shaft off to check impeller and is fine.. took carb off and cleaned it also.. was a little clogged up so dont know if that was problem or not.. now on the drive shaft we noticed an o-ring was missing on top of the impeller housing.. dont know if that could have been the problem or not.. but here's my question now.. how is this oring stay in place without pressure pushing it up the shaft.. im going to post the link and the oring thats missing is part #57.. Can somebody please tell me does that play a major role and how do you keep it in place without it going up the driveshaft?? Thanks

Johnson Gearcase Group Parts for 1968 33hp RXE-16R Outboard Motor

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1968 33 HP Johnson water discharge hole question???

That O-ring goes in the indent at the TOP of the driveshaft, just below the splines. Keeps water from getting up into the crank.
Your sputtering problem could be a number of things. Certainly a dirty, clogged carb could cause it, and a rebuild would be in order. Also, have you checked compression? If this is a new to you motor, that is the first thing I'd check. Then I'd check for good spark to both plugs. If that is all good, you could have a fuel pump problem. Try pumping the bulb in the fuel line when it starts to sputter and die, and see if that helps. If it does, you could have a weak/failing fuel pump.