1959 johnson impeller help

[jpcurran]

Hello, I recently rebuilt my 1959 johnson 10 hp motor. I replaced the impeller kit with a new one and set the impeller in with the rubber impeller curving the correct way. I finally got to try to start the motor today, however, when I started it I had the bottow of the motor placed in a cooler 8-10 inches deep probably. The motor fired up, which I was extremely proud about, but no water was coming out of the water out take site so I shut the motor off immediately. Should I try the motor in a trash can so that it is deeper water? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Haffiman]

Re: 1959 johnson impeller help

You need water at least 5-10" above the split between leg and gear case.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1959 johnson impeller help

yup. These older motors don't have a self priming pump, so you can't run them on muffs. You need to run them in a test tank with water filled up to a couple inches below the main exhaust port. I you still don't get water after that, then shut it off and go through the cooling system again. I the impeller is correctly installed, then the copper water uptake tube may not have been seated into the grommet on the top of the water pump housing properly when you put the lower unit back on. It's a pretty common mistake, but easy to fix. Here are some vids of motors like yours running in a test tank to give you an idea of what to expect. Keep us posted.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYuaEtIUpmI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZS65TTxxZ8&feature=related