6 hp johnson sea horse

[river_rob]

Help!, after having my perfectly good 1989 15 hp Yamaha permanatly borrowed ( read as stolen ) I was gifted an older 6hp Johnson Sea Horse to use. The motoe has been sitting for about 7 years as the lower unit was/ is leaking. Apperantly it was in good working order before that. It is a long shaft and was used as a kicker on our friends sailboat. I use my motor 5 or 6 times a year and can't justify the price of a newer model.
the model number reads 6RL79E.
I would guess its a 79 bu

[AlTn]

1979..yes...marineengine.com has diagrams of your engine..google..Leeroy's Ramblings..6hp. maintenance and repair for a source of more info

[river_rob]

1979..yes...marineengine.com has diagrams of your engine..google..Leeroy's Ramblings..6hp. maintenance and repair for a source of more info

Thanks for the info, having had a look at it in the light of day I am use it to apprentice as a marine mechanic, at what point do you think it's not worth fixing?

[the machinist]

If you can do the work yourself & the motor turns over & has any compression at all with no corrosion to speak of, they are usually worth putting some time & a few dollars to bring life back into them.

That motor was not really changed from 1966 to 1979 & is pretty easy to work on. And yours has the newer electronic ignition which is usually easier for the novice to maintain. There was a gap in the 6hp production until 1984 with some changes then (mostly in the lower unit & mounting system).

[AlTn]

drain the lower unit..how much, if any, water was present?

[river_rob]

If you can do the work yourself & the motor turns over & has any compression at all with no corrosion to speak of, they are usually worth putting some time & a few dollars to bring life back into them.

That motor was not really changed from 1966 to 1979 & is pretty easy to work on. And yours has the newer electronic ignition which is usually easier for the novice to maintain. There was a gap in the 6hp production until 1984 with some changes then (mostly in the lower unit & mounting system).

Thanks, it looks fairly clean, wiring, hoses, etc. the plugs look fine, there is good compression, the starter rope is not returning to the spidle, seems sticky, I can rewind it by hand, I'm going to clean the carb today and get some gas through it, I am going with a 25 to 1 mixture, is that right for this model, figure safe than sorry if it fires.

If I can get it to barrel start and if there is water flow and cooling then I'll look at the lower unit. appartently it is taking on a bit of water, that doesn't concern me as much as any discharge that might hit the lakes or rivers,

Again, thank you for your imput.

Robert

[river_rob]

drain the lower unit..how much, if any, water was present?

There was a bit of water and zero lub in the lower. I flushed it with new 90 and there was a bit of noisture but no filings coming with it, then I filled it. Well see if it holds, the case seems fine, what is the most likley cause for loss?, I ran new gas thru it, cleaned the carb and will let it sit a day before ptting new plugs in, It wanted to but just fell short of firing on a few pulls but the plugs were/are really bad. If it doesn't fire with new plugs and the lower end is suspect it's going back to where it came from before I get in too deep.
thanks for your input

[river_rob]

There was a bit of water and zero lub in the lower. I flushed it with new 90 and there was a bit of noisture but no filings coming with it, then I filled it. Well see if it holds, the case seems fine, what is the most likley cause for loss?, I ran new gas thru it, cleaned the carb and will let it sit a day before ptting new plugs in, It wanted to but just fell short of firing on a few pulls but the plugs were/are really bad. If it doesn't fire with new plugs and the lower end is suspect it's going back to where it came from before I get in too deep.
thanks for your input

Fired up fine with new plugs, ran it in the barrel for a few hours with the prop removed and in and out of gear, water pick up is fine and there was clean lower unit oil when finished.
I'm running at 25 to 1 and its blowing a bit of smoke, and will only run smooth on the Rich setting, coughs on Lean, is the 25 to 1 right or should it be 50 to 1 if anyone knows,
thanks
Robert

[river_rob]

Thanks, it looks fairly clean, wiring, hoses, etc. the plugs look fine, there is good compression, the starter rope is not returning to the spidle, seems sticky, I can rewind it by hand, I'm going to clean the carb today and get some gas through it, I am going with a 25 to 1 mixture, is that right for this model, figure safe than sorry if it fires.

If I can get it to barrel start and if there is water flow and cooling then I'll look at the lower unit. appartently it is taking on a bit of water, that doesn't concern me as much as any discharge that might hit the lakes or rivers,

Again, thank you for your imput.

Robert

Fired up fine with new plugs, ran it in the barrel for a few hours with the prop removed and in and out of gear, water pick up is fine and there was clean lower unit oil when finished.
I'm running at 25 to 1 and its blowing a bit of smoke, and will only run smooth on the Rich setting, coughs on Lean, is the 25 to 1 right or should it be 50 to 1 if anyone knows,
thanks
Robert

[Tim Frank]

50:1

[river_rob]

50:1

Thanks, I'll clean the new plugs and correct the mix, that should cut down on exhaust a bit

[river_rob]

Okay it fires, runs and is looking like its holding lower gear oil, should be able to get it on the water next week. If it holds up and I feel lucky how difficult is it to convert from long to short shaft, and where might I get the replacement gaskets if needed?

Any help would be great or am I opening a whole new can of worms?

[Tim Frank]

.... and will only run smooth on the Rich setting, coughs on Lean, ....

Not sure what you mean here.
There is a needle valve that you turn CW to lean the mixture or CCW to richen it....
There is no "Rich setting" or "lean setting" per se.
Try right in the middle.

[AlTn]

might be as well off just to buy a short shaft 6hp..they go for around $ 250 - $375 around here...sell or keep the long shaft as a parts donor...the way these "vintage" parts keep going up in price, I'd suggest keeping it

[tsack]

how do i rebuild the lower unit and replace the water pump on a '66 6hp johnson seahorse? It will be first time working on a lower unit (other than changing the lube) so need lots of help.

[nwcove]

start a new thread of your own...you will get much better results!!