1973 Johnson 85 hp. hhheeellllppppp mmee

I have a 1973 johnson 85 hp motor. I can't get the boat cranked without spraying gas/ether into the carbs. The motor also seems to not be running on all cylinders. I have brand new spark plugs. The are all wet with gas, some more than others. Just cleaned the carburetor inside out nothing could be clogged. I don't have the solenoid hooked up at the time. I have just been tapping the right wires together to get it cranked. If you anything that could help me without me taking it to the shop it would be awesome.

Re: 1973 Johnson 85 hp. hhheeellllppppp mmee

I am not going to try to guess what your problem is but I believe you might want to stop spraying either into the motor. It has no lubrication quality's and strips all the oil in the cylinders away. If you ever get any on your hands I'm sure you have noticed how it strips the oil right off your hands immediately.

Re: 1973 Johnson 85 hp. hhheeellllppppp mmee

This engine at its age is in major danger of being tired about the rings and pistons.

I would perform a compression test to determine the condition of the combustion chambers. Check the top of this fine forum for tips on a test.

If you don't have a compression tester I would shine a light in each spark plug hole and look for pitting caused by deterioration of piston rings or foreign objects. look at the piston tops. If you see damage, borrow a tester.

Now that the plugs are out, spray some of that ether in the interior of each plug to clean them off wipe them clean.

hit the fly wheel with the palm of you hand on the teeth, does it make a sound like it wiggles from side to side? sort of a dockie-dockie-dockie sound? if it does you have worn bearings.

Test for spark on all for boots.

We had a work barge with this engine, The motor had high hours and bad rings in no. 4 cylinder. Once we had it running, it ran for a whole season of work. Hard starting but it ran. Sounds lkie it may be time to start looking for an engine.

Re: 1973 Johnson 85 hp. hhheeellllppppp mmee

forgot to ask.....is this your boat, that you have ran and now does not start?

Or is this a new to you boat?

If it is a new to you boat, the motor may have sat for a long long time, sank, or been beaten beyond it's limits.