1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

so i read the how to in the johnson manaul... however its vauge and confusing. i dont know much about points or two strokes. that being said is there any possible way to set the timing on this dang thing w/o the special timing tool? i read the gap between the points and contacts should be .020... is that open or closed?

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

look at the Sticky...Top Secret Files...scroll down to Universal Magneto Troubleshooting...that should cover your questions

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

Hi richard. You can't/don't adjust the timing on these old two strokes as it is set by proper placement of the flywheel using the woodruff key as reference. The points themselves should be set to .020" using a feeler gauge when the oblong crankshaft cam opens them to their maximum aperture. This roughly correlates to the letter "O" or "P" that is stamped into the TOP of the crankshaft cam, however this is only a rough estimate. You'll be able to see when the points are open to their widest point. The points should be completely closed at the low point on the cam and open to .020" at the high spot on the cam. The link below can walk you through the entire job. Best of all, once you can fix your own magneto you'll be able to repair the "universal magneto" on any other OMC motors from this era. You can get a "tune-up kit" which contains points and condensers right here at iboats for about $20. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...on 3 HP 1952-1967 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/columns/max/index6.htm

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

The points do set the timing, and although the magnets , breaker cam, and flywheel key set up fixed non-adjustable relationships between these parts, the points gap does affect the timing. Using a feeler gauge to set the maximun points opening to .020" will get you close enough for the engine to run however. The problem with this is that the timing could be off by up to 10 degrees or more using this crude method. Additionally, with a twin (2 cylinders) it is important to have both points set to open exactly 180 degrees apart, and again, the feeler gauge method will be close enough for the engine to run, but not optimally.

There are 2 marks on the side, or bottom of the flywheel that line up with a mark on the magneto plate. One flywheel mark is for cylinder #1, and the other for cylinder #2, it's 180 degrees away on the oposite side. I remove the coil wire from the points, and use a battery powered test light wired to the points and ground with alligator clips and fed through the holes in the magneto plate. Then I put the flywheel back on ( no need to bolt it on, as it will be on and off several times) and rotate it until the light just goes out, indicating that cylinder's point have just opened. Check to see it the mark on the flywheel is lined up with the mark on the magneto plate. Adjust the points to get it correct by removing the flywheel and moving the points. More points gap is more advance, less gap retards the timing. Remove the test light from #1 points, reconnect the coil wire, and then remove the coil wire from #2 points and repeat.

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

well i set the timing at .020 on the feeler gauge and she runs smoothly, i eye balled the sync for the points and i feel its pretty close since itll idle in the "shift" position. i do however desire better preformance, what guy doesnt. if i want to advance my timing with a bigger gap and mind you im doing this via feeler gauge, what gauge should i use to advance? just looking to broaden my power range hahaha. and thanks for the help!

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

in fwd...throttle at wot....is your throttle plate perfectly horizontal in the carb throat?...you're not gonna gain much playing with the point setting

Re: 1959 Johnson 18 hp fd 13 timing.

+1. Adjusting the timing, such as it is, won't really do you any good. However, my '66 20 hp which is virtually identical to your motor pushes my 14' tinny along at about 20 +/- mph and gets on plane in under 10 seconds. It really helped when I raised the motor to a better height. These old OMC motors have sort of an odd leg length of 18". They're longer than modern "short shaft" motors which are 15", but shorter than a modern "long shaft" which are 20". This causes them to drag a bit on most standard size (15") transoms. To make up for this lots of folks use jackplates and/or simply clamp the motor up as high as you can on the transom. Ideally, you'd like the anti-vent plate found just above the prop to be level, or 1"-2" above the keel (bottom) of the boat. It takes lots of trial and error, but should be able to pick up a few mph and get on plane a bit more quickly by dialing in the height, trim and tilt. You should also be able to run in much skinnier water, if that's impportant to you. Here in FL, guys brag about how shallow they can get at speed. There are lots of hot rod skiffs down here that use jackplates and can easily run flat out in < 6". Do a search here in the forums for all kins of cool DIY jackplates. You really only need a few pieces of aluminum angle and some Stiainless Steel hardware. You can get it all at lowes/HD. It can easily be built in a day with another day spent dialing everything in on the water. If you want to buy a fancy one, check out Bob's machine shop for all kinds of cool toys.