1956 Johnson 30 / Starter won’t turn flywheel completely

[Nate Lair]

Hey again! So one issue I’m running into with this motor is that when I give power to the starter, the flywheel might go around once or twice and then the motor can’t turn it any farther. (I’m being very careful to not burn out the starter or solenoid.) the only explanation I can come up with is that the starter is just old and can’t crank like it used to. It spins fine with the plugs out but once there’s compression it’ll only go around once or twice. Any advice is welcome!!

 

[racerone]

I say ----Don't spend any money on this motor until you do a complete teardown.

 

[Nate Lair]

I say ----Don't spend any money on this motor until you do a complete teardown.

Too bad :/ was hoping this would be a more straight forward project… oh well

 

[oldboat1]

well, poor cranking could be faulty/corroded wiring, weak battery or starter in need of attention. Try hooking up your truck battery (pos lug on the starter is on the case, neg is the mount). Have your battery load tested at an auto parts store. Clean all wire connections with sandpaper until shiny -- incl battery cables. Twist the battery cables a bit. If you hear crunching, there is interior corrosion -- replace wire(s).

 

[RBoyd1971]

There are many things that can cause this. The top two are a bad starter and or bad wires. Had one recently that had high resistance on the battery leads and was completely fixed after replacing them. They had been in salt water and turned to red dust inside the insulation. As far as the starter, take it apart and clean it while checking the brushes. Lube the bushings that support the armature. I've seen a leaking head gasket cause this too. Will suck water in and hydrolock it. That would be obvious by removing the plugs and having a look.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Do a compression test?
Dirty inside starter?
Does the starter get hot? how about the battery posts and cables?
If the bearings are corroded, that can cause hard turning too.