'88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

Ahoy, me maties!<br /><br />At the end of last season, I purchased a 1988, 15’2” Bonito bow rider with at 50-horse Johnson VRO that was a donation to the Volunteers of America. I got a great deal on the unit, but it’s kind of like buying a pig in a poke. The individuals who donated the boat indicated that it did in fact run. (It was registered through 2004) And it has… sort of.<br /><br />The oil mixing system was completely removed and I’m mixing fuel at 50:1. We’ve set baseline timing according to the manual. I’ve got good even compression in both cylinders and good spark. Both carbs have been cleaned (there was some gunk from sitting for who knows how long) and synchronized (to the best of our ability). The fuel bulb pumps up hard. The control unit activates the primer with no problem and the engine starts well but idles a little rough. <br /><br />If I can get the lower unit engaged with out killing the engine, I can idle around in gear for a little while. After warming up a bit, I gently start bumping up the throttle to get a little more speed out of her. Generally, when given the throttle, the engine will die without attempting to increase in RPM. If I’m lucky, at a certain point, I seem to get passed a point of, what seems to be, fuel starvation and I can get her right up on plane and we take right off. We haven’t messed with the reed valves, haven't installed carburetor rebuild kits (all needle valves are sealed), haven't put a timing light on it at WOT or looked hard at the fuel pump.<br /><br />So, to make a short story long, the problem I’m having is not being able to get the engine into gear without it stalling, and once in gear, not being able to dump the throttle in order to pull up a knee boarder. She still only has two speeds. Idle and, if I can get her there, Wide Open Throttle!<br /><br />Any thoughts?<br />Thanks

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

well generally it's best to tear the carb completely down and soak it in carb cleaner then blow out all passages with compressed air. it don't matter if the needle valves seal when there's crud restricting the jets and passages. give the carbs an extreme makeover and holler back at us

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

Wellllll...since Mikey didn't say it I will....welcome to iboats Houseboy....(Mikey....where IS your manners?? )<br /><br />Houseboy, are working from a service manual to set the sync and link or just what looks good? If ya' don't get it right, it's not going to idle very well. The sync and link sets up the low end timing with the opening of the throttle plates. To much throttle plate without timing advance and it will bog out. Best adivce right no is get the OEM manual specific to your engine and work from it. Search up Ken Cook Co. It's money well spent. And Mikey is right.....carbs that have set for a while should be soaked out and new kits installed. How did you clean yours?

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

I apologize.....my manners stink today I started working on the steering on my boat and had to give up, lousy rotten thunderstorms! It's gonna be like this ALL week too. Houseboy, I was just like any rookie with two strokes and their fuel problems. Another piece of advice is to inspect the fuel lines on the motor and if the gas tank came with it to clean it out and check the pickup tube for crud. Any gums or varnish left over from spoiled gas can and will get into the tiny nooks and crannies inside a carb. Another thing.......go to NAPA and get some Seafoam and do the decarb mentioned in the FAQ's section, I bought some after hearing all the hoopla and that stuff works, and hell you can use it for just about anything!

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

Mikey....you make us proud!!! You are forgiven... <br /><br />PS...it's raining and thundering along the Muddy Banks of the great Ohio River too.....real bummer.

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

OBJ, I got a couple questions to ask you continuing in my post about "removing motor". <br />Houseboy, good luck and keep us informed.

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

Thanks for the information on tearing down and cleaning the carbs and the fuel lines. I'll get right on it. This site is a great reference. What are people's feelings about SELOC manuals?

Re: '88 Johnson 50 - Come on, Baby!

Seloc manuals are OK....the only problem is that sometimes they don't get detailed enough because they cover such a wide range of motors in one manual. <br /><br />The actual Evinrude/Johnson service manuals have more specific info on each motor. For the extra $10-$15 they cost, I'd go with the original E/J manual.<br /><br />I actually own both. Given that much of the time I'm really not sure what I'm doing, having the same procedure described two different ways in the two different manuals helps me understand it a little better.<br /><br />Cheers.