1956 30 hp Johnson NEED HELP

[207Rebel]

I just picked up this motor last night for my boat but honestly I dont know anything about outboard motors, I know it runs but the question I have is when the motor is in neutral should the propeller spin freely? I figure it should... however mine has no change regardless of neutral, fwd. Or reverse.. also if it should spin freely in neutral where should I start first to correct the problem? (I should also let you know it is not currently able to be started currently deciding between finding the old school fuel set up or converting it to a single line with a fuel pump... Thank you for the help!

 

[Willyclay]

Welcome to the iboats.com forum! The members here are great and can help you with any issues involving you boat, motor and trailer. You can help the experts by posting your motor's model number which helps them zero-in on the specs for your particular motor. Good luck with that great old motor!

 

[207Rebel]

Sorry new to the forum game, the model number is RD-18

 

[Willyclay]

I have been fooling with these old beauties since yours was brand new BUT never as a pro. The link below will get you to a Johnson factory service manual that covers your motor. Lots of good info!

http://boatinfo.no/lib/johnson/manuals/1922-1964johnson.html#/0

 

[F_R]

Yes, prop should free spin in neutral. Sounds like the linkage may be disconnected or broken. First place to look is behind the oval plate on the side of the midsection.

 

[207Rebel]

That's what I figured, I'm not certain what you mean by oval plate, I cant seem to find it. Could you give me a little more detail on its location or what I'm looking for? Sorry for being a pain

 

[F_R]

On the side of the motor, about half way down, you will see an oval plate held on by two screws. Remove it and look inside and you will see the shift rod connector. There are two screws in that connector, one of which must be removed to remove the lower unit (like to repair the water pump, for instance). People are often careless in how they reinstall that screw and it falls out----then no shift.

Another fairly common problem is the shift rod above that connector burns in two. In that case you would not see that rod/connector move up and down when you shift.

 

[207Rebel]

Awesome! I'll have to take a look in the morning, thank you!

 

[207Rebel]

Got home from work tonight and went straight out to take a look, after finding the cover and getting a look inside i could tell it was simply missing the bottom bolt, found one that fit and fixed the problem in less then a min. I really appreciate the help everyone, now for my next question, anyone have experience putting a fuel pump on one of these? I was going to use a mikuni fuel pump like many suggest but my question is couldn't i just use the old vacuum port? or is it only possible to make this work by creating your own? Thanks for the advice!

 

[oldfe]

If you want to convert to single line fuel several posts on how to do it. I just converted a 18hp used a Briggs@ Stratton fuel pump works great.

 

[207Rebel]

Apparently it's possible to use the old vacuum port with the new fuel pump, however I read a warning you want to make sure its gunna be able to supply the fuel needed at WOT for long periods of time... I figure a sleds fuel pump wouldn't give me any problems, should I be able to rob one off a parts sled laying around and make that work? Provided the fuel pumps any good still?

 

[racerone]

The 56 had a port to supply air pressure to the tank from the crankcase.-----Has a check valve.----That needs modification to make it work with a pump that needs a positive pressure pulse and a slight negative pulse.

 

[207Rebel]

What kind of modification? It's probably easier just to make your own port off the side of the cylinder like they suggest then I'd imagine

 

[F_R]

Make your own port in the bypass cover on the side of the cylinder and cap the existing tank pressurizing nipple.
But first--look at the bypass covers. It may already be set up for an OMC fuel pump, which was a dealer accessory when new.

 

[207Rebel]

I did take a look at the bypass cover after watching a video of someone explaining it and my cover is slightly different then the one for the OEM fuel pump but I could easily create my own thank you for the help

 

[207Rebel]

Anyone have a link to where I can get a propeller for this motor?

 

[Willyclay]

Right here at the store on iboats.com that provides this FREE forum for recreational boaters. Hint, hint!

http://ww2.boatpropellers.iboats.com/Johnson/30_HP_(1956)_Propellers/47/?cart_id=624715176

 

[207Rebel]

Appreciate that, I can get the motor to fire but it wont stay running, how do I want the high and low carb settings on this?

 

[F_R]

HS 3/4 turn open, LS 1-1/2 turns open. These will get it running, needs to be adjusted on a boat on the lake to get them right.

 

[207Rebel]

Thank you, that helps a lot, I cant seem to find the carb parts I need on this website specifically the float. Could someone post a link for where I can order one?