85 Johnson 60 hp @ high elevation

[Cliff73163]

Yesterday I went out on Big Bear Lake at an elevation of 7200 ft I believe. My motors performance was awful. The primer ball would not hold a pump for more than 3 mins and then the motor would starve for fuel. Last weekend went out on a local lake and motor ran fine. My question is, is this just a symptom of high elevation use, or is it something else. If it is just high elevation use, what can I do to adapt the motor for usage.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 85 Johnson 60 hp @ high elevation

The problem would be, that if you jet for 7200 Ft., you would have to jet back for your local lake, or you would be leaning the engine out causing damage. It would be a question of where do you run the engine the most. If you do most of your boating at the local lake, you could simply go to a prop with less pitch for running at 7200. That would be much less hassle than changing jets back, and forth. As for the fuel delivery problem, you could have a marginal fuel pump, or a fuel restiction some where. Do you by chance have a pressure, vacuam guage that you could check the system with.