Johnson 6 and Evinrude 15 questions

Bullie

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I have a couple questions for you guys. I recently acquired a 1989 15hp Evinrude and have been trying to get it running properly. I bought it from a guy that bought it from a guy...I am sure you guys know the story. Anyway, when the guy I purchased it from said it had been sitting up for several years. It wouldn't run so he pulled the carb for a cleaning and rebuild. In the process he broke the cam roller. He was under the impression that the pull cord couldn't be removed without taking the flywheel off. The rebuild did the trick and the little motor will just purr so I bought it.

Today I replaced the cam roller and a couple of other simple swap out plastic parts I put it in a barrel and fired her up. It ran great....until I tried to rev it up. It would rev up a little then die. It would idle fine and run at slow rpm in gear but would die in forward or reverse if the throttle was opened up. I am posting pics of the throttle cam. My best guess is that the cam is broken. The roller falls off just after the engine starts picking up speed. It looks like the cam is falling farther than it rests at idle so it is shutting the motor down.



Am I correct about the cam being broken? If so, is the repair something a complete rookie should attempt? I have a E/J repair manual on the way.

More questions on the 15. Is this normal? From reading on this site I am hoping this is unburnt fuel and oil. I drained and refilled the lube in the foot today and it looked pretty good. Just kinda black.


Should I be concerned about the ooze on the side of the motor?

Concerning the Johnson 6.... I don't know the year model but I am sure I can find it if necessary. I have been running it on a Pelican Predator but have been really disappointed in its performance. It would idle and rev up fine but would never even come close to planing the little boat off. I decided that I should go ahead and change the oil in the foot while I was working on the other motors, when I unscrewed the plugs the only thing that came out was a little water...very little. No lube at all. I filled it with lube and ran it in the barrel also. It did seem to rev up higher... Obviously the lack of lube is very very bad but would it make the motor slow? And, I am seeing a little water at the very top of the engine, I assume this is where the thermostat would be located. Someone has worked on this engine in the past and it seems like they left a tiny hole in their red ooze gasket sealer. Is this something I should worry about?


Wow...long first post. Thanks in advance for your help. This is a really great site. I have been reading a great deal in the archives. Great info.
 

F_R

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Jul 7, 2006
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That certainly is unburned fuel running out of the 15. Way too much to be normal. It should be better if you get it running right. I can't answer the cam question, but it certainly doesn't look right to me.

Somebody has had the head and thermostat cover off that 6hp and reinstalled it with the old gaskets, trying to seal it with red goop. A glaring example of an amateurish repair. Take it back apart and clean all the goop off, and reassemble with new gaskets.
 

tomhath

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Dec 5, 2007
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The cam itself doesn't cost much, less than $15. It should be easy to replace but be sure you know the proper way to remove the flywheel (it wouldn't surprise me if someone broke the cam trying to pry the flywheel off).
 
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Bullie

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Dec 20, 2014
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Thanks for the tips guys.
Concerning the 15 Evinrude. I have the fuel mixed pretty rich as the motor hasn't been run in who knows how many years. I am hoping that is the reason for the excess fuel/oil sludge flowing out the propeller and down the side. I will order the cam and wait for the repair manual to get started.

Just guessing as to the reason why the motor has been sitting so long but possibly the original owner had the cam break and not being able to get it to run, he stored it. The guy I bought it from had both the 15 and a 10hp Honda from the same original owner. The lower on the Honda was leaking water into the oil. The guy I bought it from had taken off the carb but procrastinated on the rebuild until I met him. He broke the cam roller and I am thinking that he knew the cam was also broken as he only advanced the throttle in neutral with a screwdriver. No big deal if it is something I can fix.

No opinions on the 6 HP running so slowly? Is there a possibility that it will be better now, with the lower full of lube? Kind of a silly question I guess. I will try to get it in the lake today and give it a shot as that is the best way to know. Either way, good learning experience. Interestingly, at least 2 mechanics that have worked on the little Johnson and neither of them checked the lube in the foot...

Great information on leeroysramblings... I have been reading there daily since buying the 15 Evinrude. Sure am glad I found you guys.
 

Bullie

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Dec 20, 2014
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I believe this is the part that is broken. It appears to have snapped at the circular hole in the slot. What does the screw adjust? My guess is that it could be used to open the throttle slightly more or less...
 

tomhath

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First thing to check on the 6hp is whether both cylinders are firing. It'll start and run fine on one, you can't easily tell from the sound either. Check for spark or pull the wires one at a time while it's running and see what happens.
 

Bullie

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Thanks tomhath. I have checked for spark and compression. Not with a real spark tester but just arcing it to an unpainted part on the motor. It has a spark I could see on both. That is probably not what I need to do. Might as well find a tester.
 

Bullie

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No difference in the Johnson 6's performance that I could tell.
 

AlTn

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you are probably asking too much of the 6 to plane your boat from my experience, although I'm not familiar with you particular boat
 

steelespike

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Apr 26, 2002
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Be sure the link and sync are set right.Carb opening all the way.
Choke releasing all the way.
Sounds like the 6 is on an inflatable they can be slow to plane.
Yoiu may need a tiller extension to get you more forward.
The 6 should make about 12 mph on a light reasonably fast boat.
 

Bullie

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My manual came in today. I feel like I will be able to remove the flywheel, but will anything else have to come off for me to replace the cam? I cannot tell from the picture how it will attach.

I built this motor stand today from plans (modified a bit) on this site. It holds both of my little motors well.
 

Bullie

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Be sure the link and sync are set right.Carb opening all the way.
Choke releasing all the way.
Sounds like the 6 is on an inflatable they can be slow to plane.
Yoiu may need a tiller extension to get you more forward.
The 6 should make about 12 mph on a light reasonably fast boat.

Thanks for the info. All looks well. Maybe it just isn't enough. I opened the carb up manually and it still didn't have enough oooomph to plane off. The boat is a 10.3 foot plastic model sold at ****'s and Sportsman's Warehouse. I was looking for a 9.9 when for this boat when I bought the 15 that we have been discussing. I can still use the 6 in local restricted lakes so it is not necessary that it go any faster.
 

Bullie

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After checking the service manual I see no information on replacing the throttle cam. Could someone tell me how it is attached and will I have to remove anything besides the flywheel to access it?
 

racerone

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Remove flywheel.----Then loosen about 5 small screws to seperate stator.-------The plastic cam has 2 posts that must fit into 2 holes.----Simple once you see how it all goes.
 

tomhath

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I haven't worked on that particular motor, but the cam usually bolts to the bottom of the stator plate (which is easy to remove once you have the flywheel off). Does your manual tell how to remove the plate? On earlier motors you'll see a few phillips head screws that hold it on - one on each coil and some down on the plate itself. Those should be all you need to remove, then lift the plate off.

As always, take pictures from every angle before removing parts so you remember where stuff came from...
 

Bullie

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Thanks guys. That's the info I needed. Tomhath, I am sure the manual does have some information about the plate. Electrical stuff is totally Greek to me. I was hoping I wouldn't have to mess with much of it.

I have this puller. Should it be ok to use to pull the flywheel?
 

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nwcove

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right puller, but i would upgrade the bolts that screw into the flywheel. do the research on technique also. ( top secret file)
 
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