58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

[TheGerm]

I've been trying to get this Motor to run good but I seem to be having trouble. I can start the motor as long as I hit the choke for a few seconds and keep the throttle up to about half way or greater. If I drop the throttle down below half I get a popping through the exhaust and it sounds like the motor is running out of fuel and then dies. I have replaced all of the fuel lines, fuel filter, spark plugs, pulled the carb off and clean all the jets, needles and seats. All of the carb gaskets look good, the float looked ok and it still floats on gas. Could I have a points problem? The points seem to look good. I'm not to sure what to do next. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Jeremy

 

[rolmops]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Hello.<br />It seems that you did the engine part except for the reeds.<br />If you have a pressure tank you should check if everything works fine there.Check if the glass bowl on the side of your engine stays full of fuel.Sometimes with a pressure tank it helps when you take the filter out of the glass bowl.<br />Or maybe you should just open up your low speed needle (the one on the top) a bit more.<br />Good luck.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Assuming you are getting good spark, have a clean fuel system and fresh gas, the problem may be your oil to gas mix/ratio. I run my '57 Evinrude Big Twin at somewhere between 30 or 40 to 1, using TCW-3 oil. I'm guessing your mix might be a little too rich. You obviously need to avoid too lean a mix, but if it's too rich you will have difficulty keeping it running and will foul plugs. Try a half gallon at, say, 35:1 or 40:1 and see if the motor smooths out.

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Thanks, I'll have to give that a try.<br /><br />Jeremy

 

[steelespike]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Thegerm,Dont mess with your Mix.<br />16;1 is recommended stick with it.<br /> Oil is the life blood of your motor.<br /> There is virtually no difference in performance<br /> between mixes.But a big difference in wear and tear!Generally if you need the choke to run<br />you still have a fuel problem.Have you followed <br />procedure to adjust hi and low speed jets correctly?<br />Clean & adj or replace your points.

 

[fireman 757]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

steelespike the recommended mixture for this engine is 24:1. I ran a 35hp '58 commercial fishing the Ohio River until 2 years ago. I still have it. I run around 32:1 with a good tcw3 oil and have had no problems. I used to run a 32:1 straight 30 weight. I did this because when these engines were built that is what they ran on. I don't recommend doing this now as the new oils are superb. The problem that I believe Mr. Germ has is there was a "cutout" swith that kept these engines from dethrottlign too quickly. Mine went bad and OMC said to just take it out and connect the wires back and bypass it. As long as you throttle down with any degree of sense it will not kick back. I hope this solves your problem Mr. Germ. The cutout switch is under the flywheel. I hope that you have a manual. Steelespike you have given out a lot of good advice and I thank you for contributing to this forum.

 

[rolmops]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

The reason why I advised to take the fuel filter in the glass bowl out is as follows.<br />The slightly larger filters of today are sealed off at three quarters height by the rubber ring that seals the glass to the metal.The result is that only a quarter of the filter has to let all the fuel through to the outlet of the bowl. Instead of flowing freely into the bowl and being pressed through the entire filter all the fuel has to press through only a 1/4 off the space it should have.<br />This causes counter pressure and the result is a lack of fuel in the carburator bowl.<br />Ps. I learned this the hard way.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Fireman has an interesting thought on the cutout switch -- could be the culprit. (I didn't know there was a potential issue with the bowl/filter either, per Rolmops discussion.)<br /><br />To learn something from combined experience, I would like to know what fuel mix ratio you are currently using, and then what you end up with. The warnings about too lean a mix are well-founded, so I don't want to go on record telling you to really thin it out (regardless of what I play around with when I'm tinkering). 30:1 is probably a pretty good bet with TCW-3 oil, but I know there is some controversy there.

 

[fireman 757]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

The popping sound an crappy idle are what indicated to me that the cutout switch was bad. Mine did the exact same thing and took me three days to figure it out. I hope that I can save TheGerm some time. Even if it is not bad I would bypass it anyway just to eliminate it as a suspect.

 

[rwise]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

something that may be worth taking a look at, mine has a kill switch on the throtle, and a over rpm switch (run-a-way cut off) one or both could be disconnected for testing, I think I would replace the run-a-way switch if it's bad!<br />Richard

 

[fireman 757]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

rwise, that run away switch as you call it is the same as the cutout switch I believe. According to OMC, before it was Bombadier, it is no longer available or needed.

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

I will have to check the cut out switch tonight. Hopefully I can find it, I'm still waiting for my manual to arrive in the mail. Can anyone discribe it so I have some idea what to look for?? I have took the flywheel off to replace the points last night, after replacing them the motor definatley ran better at higher RPM's but as soon as I drop to 1/4 throttle or lower it dies. As for the fuel mixture I'll try a new mixture of 30:1 tonight, the fuel that I had in it was 50:1 originally. <br />Thanks,<br />Jeremy

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

I forgot I did remove the fuel filter from the glass bowl and replaced it with a good quality in line fuel filter. However this did not seem to make a change in how it runs.

 

[Lark40]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

As you face the front of the engine, run your right hand below the side of the flywheel. You will find the cutout switch, which is a vacuum junction with various wires and a tube connecting into it.

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Well I tried replacing the fuel with a new mix of 30:1 no dice. The motor is still doing the same thing. I didn't get around to check the cutoff switch. I will tonight if I can find it. Hopefully my manual will arrive tonight and I can figure out how to bypass the switch. Thanks for your help everyone. I will keep you posted.<br /><br />Jeremy

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Can anyone tell me how to bypass the cut-off switch??<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Jeremy

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

TOP

 

[Lark40]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

You can bypass the cutout switch by disconnecting the wires attached to the outer stud.<br />Just tape them up and out of the way.

 

[TheGerm]

Re: 58 Johnson 35hp Runs Poorly Need Help

Thanks I have to give that a try.<br /><br />Jeremy