1965 Johnson Super Sea Horse Ignition Timing

[abdknsn]

A buddy of mine and I are trying to get an old Glasspar boat working for the summer. It's got a 75 HP Johnson Super Sea Horse model # V4AL-17S. To my knowledge, this motor is a 1965 model year. We have it running, and out of the water it revs great. In the water, it's a different story. It never achieves enough RPMs to get going to full tilt. Seems as when we use our hands to advance the timing with the cap, it picks up and runs better. We've adjusted the linkage to give us full advance and this is the position in which it runs best, but not right. We see the dot on the flywheel indicating TDC and the start mark at the distributor. We suspect the timing belt is off a tooth or two, but we've not been able to find base timing marks on the distributor. Can anyone help us with this issue? A simple photo or explanation of the mark location would be excellent. This is a $150 purchase from craigslist and it seems to be a pretty decent boat. I should note, setting the two low speed adjustments on the carb to full rich make it a little better. Again, the timing off could be causing the lean condition? Adding fuel manually through the butterflies doesn't make it take off, so I don't suspect fuel delivery to be an issue. I am an automotive technician, so I understand the lingo, but cars are a little easier than a 1965 outboard. Thanks for reading and any advice or information you can provide.

[F_R]

1. Look on the water cover plate on top of the powerhead. You will see a timing mark near where the belt disappears under the flywheel.

2. Look on the flywheel, below the ring gear. You will see a timing mark. Align with the one on the water cover

3. Look on the distributor mounting bracket, in the area where the belt exits the distributor pulley. You will see a timing mark.

4. Look at the distributor belt pulley. You will see a timing mark between two of the teeth. It should be aligned with the one on the bracket.

5. If all four marks are aligned, that's it.

You mention moving the distributor cap by hand. At full throttle, the distributor should be at full advance, up against the stop. If you are moving it by hand at less than full throttle, well of course it is going to affect the way it runs--for better or worse. In fact, at idle throttle settings, the speed is controlled more by spark advance/retard than by carburetor (which also affects it to some degree).

[abdknsn]

Thanks for the info. We'll check for the proper alignment this weekend. I'm going off automotive technology and have little experience with outboards. Do you have any suggestions besides timing that would cause our issue
? Why else would it rev on land, but not loaded in the water? It seems to be moving water out the outlet, the plugs look good, and adding fuel to the carbs while running on the water doesn't help. I'm open to any and all opinions. Thanks again.

[jon705]

1. Look on the water cover plate on top of the powerhead. You will see a timing mark near where the belt disappears under the flywheel.

2. Look on the flywheel, below the ring gear. You will see a timing mark. Align with the one on the water cover

3. Look on the distributor mounting bracket, in the area where the belt exits the distributor pulley. You will see a timing mark.

4. Look at the distributor belt pulley. You will see a timing mark between two of the teeth. It should be aligned with the one on the bracket.

5. If all four marks are aligned, that's it.

You mention moving the distributor cap by hand. At full throttle, the distributor should be at full advance, up against the stop. If you are moving it by hand at less than full throttle, well of course it is going to affect the way it runs--for better or worse. In fact, at idle throttle settings, the speed is controlled more by spark advance/retard than by carburetor (which also affects it to some degree).

Does this same timing procedure apply to a 67 100HP Johnson?