1955 Johnson 5.5

[geoffwga1]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Just a thought here DT.Are you absolutely sure that your plug in the reed plate is doing it's job.You need it cut so that the manifold presses on it and hols it in place.It doesn't matter too much if it's a hair too long as it will squash up some,but if it;s not tight enough it'll leak vacuum.As I said,just a thought.
Geoffwga1

 

[nwcove]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I think this is getting overthunk

Stick with the basics here. Do you have some pics of the motor, conversion, etc...?

i thunk the same thing! keep it simple for now.....confirm strong spark and compression. as mentioned, the motor should show good signs of life with those two things and a teaspoon of premix in each plug hole. ( i use a seringe to squirt it in there...it makes it less messy and you can inject an exact amount)

 

[poida]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I recently reset the points and the carb on an old 15hp that had never run well. After doing the link and sync as per leeroys ramblings i could not get the bugger to start. I eventually put it in gear and advanced the throttle position which cracked the throttle blade open and she started first pull. Thanks to the advice on here i pulled the flywheel and adjusted the cam to have the throttle cracked open a bit in the starting position and now she starts first pull and continues running as long as you are quick to flick the choke back in. I am pretty surel someone here mentioned putting some tape around the roller.
In Neutral, put you throttle as far as it should go and make sure your carby blade is definately opening a bit, not a little but a decent crack to mcake sure that this will either fix the problem or not. Add as much tape as you need to the roller to achieve this. If the roller is not engauged at the start position then you timing may be out, one model had plasic cam that was easy to adjust but could snap i think.
If your compression is low then outboards are always a bugger to start and idle.
If your motor is not sucking then it must have a leak, crankseal etc, but i'd check the above first.

 

[poida]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Sorry, might be on the wrong thread, thought this might of been a 9.9
Still a good idea i reckon, crack the throttle blade and give here a pull.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Thanks for sticking with me guys. I really appreciate the help.

Good news: I got it started today!

I took the head off and cleaned out the cylinders with a rag. I also used a pipe cleaner to clean out the intake passages a little. The head gasket looked a little funny so I flipped it around and it seemed to line up better. I used a star pattern and was careful when I retightened the bolts. I'm not sure if any of this helped or what.

I also relocated the fuel pump to attach to the front starter assembly attachment bolt. I had to use a longer bolt to get it to stick. I redid the plumping as well, so I guess the tubes dried a little.

I set the throttle wide open, braced my foot on the table and cranked like I was driving the last spike on the transcontinental railroad. With some serious effort the motor started to turn over and now I can get it going fairly often.

Not completely out of the woods yet. The motor will run for a few minutes and then die again. The plug I put in the intake manifold is long and the manifold plate pushes it into place. There is fuel in the filter bowl when the motor quits. I'm not sure if it's fuel delivery or if the carburetor isn't adjusted well. I can't roll throttle off past the "start" point without it dying. At that point, the throttle is fully closed. Is my timing not advanced enough?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Prime the fuel bowl, then pull off the fuel line and start it, directing the line into a jar or whatever. You should see a fairly steady stream of fuel coming out. If not, or no fuel at all, the fuel pump or the modification is still wrong.

You are just burning off the fuel you have in the bowl. Other possibilities are the within the carb, but lets start with this first.

To set the linc n sync, slowly advance the throttle and watch when the carb butterflies start to open.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Can you explain the link n sync a little more? I'm not sure I understand. I set the cam follower on the armature base as far out as it will go and it still touches the link arm at a little after the "start" mark.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

You will notice that the cam that the roller rides on can pivot in and out. Looking at the motor from the front, the right bolt hole is oblong, allowing it to pivot.

Forget the markings on the tiller.

Slowly advance the throttle with the tiller handle. Watch the carb linkage/butterfly. When it starts to move stop. The roller should be lined up with the hash mark on the cam at this point. If not, loosen the bolt and pull the cam outwards so that it is not hitting. If it already hit before the mark, push the cam back in.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Ahh, ok I think I got it.

If memory serves, the throttle is opening late (i.e. past the mark on the cam). I tried readjusting the cam but it felt like it was all the way out already. I will check that tomorrow.

I adjusted the high speed needle and it seems to run pretty good at open throttle. However, I'm having difficulty with the low speed. The motor wants to die when the throttle butterfly closes, even if the throttle has still advanced the timing. Is this solved by adjusting that cam?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

There are many factors which affect the idle characteristics.

Carb cleanliness/setup, spark quality/points timing, idle speed, compression, lync n sync, etc... all are contributing factors.

Not every motor idles the same. I have 5 of some models. One of them I might be able to get idled down so I can count the revolutions. Another exact same motor, with my same setup, will only go down to a high idle.

The needles will need to be fine tuned on the water. Get them dialed in, set the idle, synchronize the ignition and fuel, and then see where you are at.

The 5.5s are usually very good idling motors. You are getting there!

 

[OptsyEagle]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

If memory serves, the throttle is opening late (i.e. past the mark on the cam). I tried readjusting the cam but it felt like it was all the way out already. I will check that tomorrow.

Push back in your choke knob. That is what your problem was above. With the choke not in use, you should be able to adjust the cam to the correct position.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Push back in your choke knob. That is what your problem was above. With the choke not in use, you should be able to adjust the cam to the correct position.

I remember thinking to write that as I read his post as well but forgot! Good point. Ive done that myself Im embarrassed to say.

 

[OptsyEagle]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I remember thinking to write that as I read his post as well but forgot! Good point. Ive done that myself Im embarrassed to say.

I didn't read it in a book either.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I adjusted the cam as far out as it would go and it still doesn't reach the cam follower at the hatch mark, so I put a couple spacers on the shaft upright to make up the difference. I'm not sure why it wouldn't reach. In the online tutorial, the pictures of the linkage show a small rubber drum on the cam follower. It's a later model than mine but I wonder if that part was supposed to be there. My motor didn't have that piece.

Either way, the motor starts up pretty good now. It idles alright and seems pretty reasonably responsive. I have the needles dialed in about as well as I can determine. I disconnected the fuel line from the outlet on the pump and started her up. About five seconds after turning over, the outlet nipple started to squirt fuel. Not exactly a steady stream, more what I would characterize as a small leak. I don't have a good picture of what the flow rate is supposed to be.

All in all, I think it's time for me to get out on the water and putter around. I think I may have accomplished all I can do in my garage.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Took the boat out this weekend and dialed in the outboard settings a little better. I screwed both needles in quite a bit to get the motor to run smoother. The tide was flying out of the bay and we had to paddle back one time

Finally, after a little bit of a learning curve, I got the needles dialed pretty good. The idle sounded ok and throttle response was a lot better. My girlfriend gave us a push off the dock, I dropped her into gear and gave it the business. Off we went, at a decent clip. I didn't crank the throttle wide open having never done this before, but we were cruising along. About 20-30 seconds later though, I could feel the motor start to flag. I gave it more gas but to no avail. The motor quit,

I think the fuel pump may not be delivering enough fuel so I'm going to revisit that. I have just started a new job, so this will be back to a weekend project. Thanks guys!

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Maybe I missed it-long thread.

But, have you thought about your upper and lower crankshaft seals?

My 1957 7 1/2 gave me fits until I looked at them. The upper was OK but the bottom was gone.

You need pressure, in the crankcase, to make these little OMC's run as they were designed, which is sweet.

The 1957 now runs as clean and smoother than anything new I can buy today.

This forum got me thinking about every aspect of how that engine was designed to run.

 

[twocyclemania]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

I skimmed over the over 100+ questions and comments so forgive me if I mention something already addressed. You may be experiencing a problem similar to mine. I'm currently working on my 85 2.0 Johnson. The motor is like new but will not run. I've redone the carb and ignition and a new head gasket: long story short it has no compression. I've been soaking the piston for weeks. Pulled the side exhaust cover and I believe one of the two rings is stuck from lack of use, corrosion, or electrolysis. Both were stuck when I started out. I was ready to tear it down the other day when it started for the first time and ran but not for long (like 10 seconds). I believe I may have one of the two rings operating (partially?) and it's finally giving me enough compression to give a hint of fire. What I'm getting at with this explanation is that maybe one or more of your rings are stuck and you're in that 'twilight' of half a@@ed running like me. Just a thought!.

 

[derrTderr]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Maybe I missed it-long thread.

But, have you thought about your upper and lower crankshaft seals?

My 1957 7 1/2 gave me fits until I looked at them. The upper was OK but the bottom was gone.

You need pressure, in the crankcase, to make these little OMC's run as they were designed, which is sweet.

The 1957 now runs as clean and smoother than anything new I can buy today.

This forum got me thinking about every aspect of how that engine was designed to run.

Tell me about it!

Your analysis is spot on. My powerhead gasket is torn and needs to be replaced. The crankshaft seal is also missing. The springs and washers are there, so is the old rubber o-ring but the plastic bushing that makes everything ride flush was broken into pieces when I removed the powerhead.

I know Liang's sells the powerhead gasket but I can't find any repair or replacement kits for that seal. Any ideas?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Marine Engine Parts Search Results - MarineEngine.com
Evinrude Johnson OMC 0303347 - O-ring @ MarineEngine.com
Evinrude Johnson OMC 0303355 - Gasket @ MarineEngine.com

All in stock. The 55 just has an oil slinger on the top of the crank, no seal.

 

[naturelover]

Re: 1955 Johnson 5.5

Have you replaced the impeller yet? Might be a good idea if you've got it down that far already...

If you need some pictures of the seals for reinstallation, there are some in my Gale thread in the other outboard brands thread.