sugardaddy
Recruit
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2008
- Messages
- 4
Last summer, after buying used boat (That had not been used for a year), took for 1/2 hour cruise before motor , a 1997 Johnson (Model J40TLEUC) died. I was fiddling with the emergency cutoff and motor abruptly stopped running. I believe there was cooling water coming from the hose through the cowl prior to the problem. There were no alarms for VRO or overheating prior to the problem.
But, the engine seemed to be seized. I was able to start it up one more time after fiddling with the shift rod controls, but then it died again. The next day, the flywheel would not turn more than 1/2 inch each way using a screw driver as a lever against the flywheel teeth. Motor is now in my garage and I finally started work on it.
With the advice of a local boat dealer in Blue Springs MO, I have removed the plugs and looked for filings - don't see any. With more advice from boat dealer, I removed the lower unit to see if the crankcase gears might be seized and not the powerhead. I am able to put the crankcase in gear and turn the prop which turns the main shaft. But, the flywheel still seemed to be seized, so I got a little brave (or stupid) and used a large wrench to try to turn it first clockwise and then counter-clockwise. It turned very hard at first, then gradually seemed to get easier. I can now turn the flywheel freely but there is still some resistance even with the plugs removed. I can feel some compression during each turn. I don?t hear any grinding noise.
Before I put the lower unit back on and haul this thing back to my boat, I am hoping to get some advice from this forum. It seems that last year, I read someone on this or another forum, to add a small amount of lubricant through the spark plug opening. Should I do this? Is there a chance that some carbon buildup is present and if so, is there an additive I can put directly into the power head to clean it? Should I connect a battery and try to see if the starter motor will crank the engine (It wouldn?t budge it last summer when the problem started). Can I do a compression test in its current state and by manually cranking? Is there any other advice or procedures that I might try. As you can tell, I am not a motor mechanic, but I do have the 1997 Service manual and am willing to learn. Thanks.
But, the engine seemed to be seized. I was able to start it up one more time after fiddling with the shift rod controls, but then it died again. The next day, the flywheel would not turn more than 1/2 inch each way using a screw driver as a lever against the flywheel teeth. Motor is now in my garage and I finally started work on it.
With the advice of a local boat dealer in Blue Springs MO, I have removed the plugs and looked for filings - don't see any. With more advice from boat dealer, I removed the lower unit to see if the crankcase gears might be seized and not the powerhead. I am able to put the crankcase in gear and turn the prop which turns the main shaft. But, the flywheel still seemed to be seized, so I got a little brave (or stupid) and used a large wrench to try to turn it first clockwise and then counter-clockwise. It turned very hard at first, then gradually seemed to get easier. I can now turn the flywheel freely but there is still some resistance even with the plugs removed. I can feel some compression during each turn. I don?t hear any grinding noise.
Before I put the lower unit back on and haul this thing back to my boat, I am hoping to get some advice from this forum. It seems that last year, I read someone on this or another forum, to add a small amount of lubricant through the spark plug opening. Should I do this? Is there a chance that some carbon buildup is present and if so, is there an additive I can put directly into the power head to clean it? Should I connect a battery and try to see if the starter motor will crank the engine (It wouldn?t budge it last summer when the problem started). Can I do a compression test in its current state and by manually cranking? Is there any other advice or procedures that I might try. As you can tell, I am not a motor mechanic, but I do have the 1997 Service manual and am willing to learn. Thanks.
