1973 Johnson 115 Timing indicator verification.

[bobsquatch]

Do any of you old salts have a trick to verify the accuracy of the timing indicator without a dial indicator. This motor has been recently rebuilt and who knows how well they did the reassembly. My first thought is to simply put a dowel into the number 1 cylinder to verify top dead center and see if it reads 0. How far off am I?

 

[boobie]

There's a good procedure in the service manual on how to do it but you'll need a piston stop. Easy to make out of an old spark plug.

 

[bobsquatch]

Yeah, I read the procedure. I was hoping over the last 40 years or so someone had found a shortcut. So what, smash out the porcelain and slide in a wood dowel in its place?

 

[boobie]

That or have a bolt welded or use epoxy to hold it in.