Another problem...I give up!

[poolecw]

My 1984 Johnson 150hp has been sitting up for a few years. I'd run her with the water hooked up about twice a year. This year, I decided to start getting the boat out to the lake some. I made two very successful trips last month. Then, trouble started up. The week of July 4th, I never left the boat ramp with it....It wouldn't idle. It would only run with throttle at fast idle. This weekend, I ran a pint of Seafoam through it and it idled well at home. After using the Seafoam, I noticed oil or an oily type substance coming from all the water discharge areas of the lower foot (not the tell tail). Is this normal?

After deciding that the Seafoam treatment did help the motor with the idling issue, I decided to head up the lake. At the ramp, I run into another problem. Now, the motor will shut off when I put it in gear. I fooled around with it for at least 30 minutes. The only time that I got it in gear, it felt like it was bogging and the buzzer alarm would go off.

My dad bought this boat new in '84. So it has a lot of sentimental value for me, but I don't to keep throwing money and time into it if its a lost cause.

Any advice on what to check out on a motor that shuts off whenever you try putting it in gear?

 

[coolbri70]

check the spark plugs and do a compression test

 

[poolecw]

check the spark plugs and do a compression test

Funny you should mention the spark plugs. While troubleshooting at the boat ramp, I noticed the boot from a spark plug wire was pulled off a spark plug. I put it back on but never saw an improvement. I took the boot off earlier that day to find out the spark plug part number (got six ordered and will change out)

 

[F_R]

The glop you saw on the water is the glop you put in it (Sea Foam), plus the unburned fuel and oil coming out as a result of not running properly. Get it running right and it will be much cleaner, but not totally----that's normal.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Likely the engine is not firing on all 6 cyls. That engine will seem to run fine or 3 or 4 or 5 cyls. You need all 6 contributing when it's under load (in gear.) There are two good tests to check for spark: the cyl drop test and checking for spark with an inductive timing light on each plugwire.

 

[poolecw]

I will change out the spark plugs today and see if there are any improvements. Maybe it will be something simple like that. I just hope that there's not a carb rebuild in my future.


I've read some older posts on this forum where people describe the same issue (cutting off when put in gear). It seemed that in a lot of those cases, changing out the inturruptor switch fixed their issue.


As for the glop still coming out, should I run another bottle of Seafoam through it?

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

I've read some older posts on this forum where people describe the same issue (cutting off when put in gear). It seemed that in a lot of those cases, changing out the inturruptor switch fixed their issue.

The shift interrupter kills spark to one side of the engine for a split second while you shift (which makes it easier to take the engine out of gear), so a good indication of that acting up is the loss of spark on all 3 cylinders on the same side. When it's working properly you don't even notice it.

As for the glop still coming out, should I run another bottle of Seafoam through it?

IMO you shouldn't need any more.

 

[poolecw]

Good deal guys. Thanks for the help. I'm going to check for spark this evening after work and then go ahead and change out the spark plugs while I'm there.

 

[pn]

dont forget to check compression like coolbri mentioned earlier. if spark and compression check out i'd do the carbs, hate to loose an heirloom due to maintenance, if you decide not to, then atleast drain your float bowls to see if you have gas/oil going to the carbs.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Not aware of a shift interrupt switch on an 84 crossflow.

 

[fireman57]

If you haven't removed, soaked, and cleaned the carbs that is the first thing I would do after checking compression.

 

[poolecw]

I removed the spark plugs last night and here's what they look like... They all appear very oily. I did run Seafoam through it a couple days before.

 

[fireman57]

Seafoam is wonderful stuff but it won't clean your carbs. You have to take them off, dismantle them, soak them overnight if you can in a good carb cleaner, then blow everything out with compressed air.

 

[poolecw]

I took it back to the lake with new spark plugs. After backing it off into the water, it crank and idled just fine. As I idled around in gear, it seems fine. Then as I advanced the throttle to get up on plane, the boat seemed to not have enough power to get up. It kept "bogging" and the entire boat seemed to shake. So it seems to me that all cylinders aren't firing. However, at idle, I can't detect anything.

Thoughts? could it be the power packs? How would I test these?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Sitting for a few years..... The carburetors are definitely fouled, gummed, clogged, jets are restricted, etc. Running a engine with carburetors that are not in new condition will result in having the engine run lean which will result in scored pistons along with the cylinder walls.

You've been advised a few times in these postings to rebuild the carburetors... strong suggestion = do it!

Start (always) with the trouble shooting basics... Check compression (what are the psi redaings of the individual cylinders?)... Check the spark with all of the spark plugs removed. Rig a spark tester whereas you can set a 7/16" gap for the spark to jump which should be a strong blue lightning like flame, a real SNAP! Nothing less will do. Note that checking spark by using the spark plugs is a waste of time! No tester?, build the following:

(Spark Tester - Home Made)
(J. Reeves)

You can use a medium size philips screwdriver (#2 I believe) inserted into the spark plug boot spring connector, then hold the screwdriver shank approximately 7/16" away from the block to check the spark or build the following:

A spark tester can be made with a piece of 1x4 or 1x6, drive a few finishing nails through it, then bend the pointed ends at a right angle. You can then adjust the gap by simply twisting the nail(s). Solder a spark plug wire to one which you can connect to the spark plug boots, and a ground wire of some kind to the other to connect to the powerhead somewhere. Use small alligator clips on the other end of the wires to connect to ground and to the spark plug connector that exists inside of the rubber plug boot.

Using the above, one could easily build a spark tester whereas they could connect 2, 4, 6, or 8 cylinders all at one time. The ground nail being straight up, the others being bent, aimed at the ground nail. A typical 4 cylinder tester follows:

..........X1..........X2

.................X..(grd)

..........X3..........X4

Thousands of parts in my remaining stock. Not able to list them all. Let me know what you need and I'll look it up for you. Visit my eBay auction at:

http://shop.ebay.com/Joe_OMC32/m.htm..._sop=12&_rdc=1

 

[poolecw]

Sitting for years...yes. However, I would hook the water up to it and run the motor several times per year.

I did perform a visual inspection on the carbs and they look like new. I don't think that the problem is with the carbs. I took my spark plugs out tonight just to do a visual on them. All of them were soaked in a fuel/oil mixture. These are brand new plugs that were replaced last week.

 

[fireman57]

Well Joe, we tried. poolecw if they haven't been cleaned after sitting for years what harm is it in giving them a good cleaning. It's amazing the small amounts of varnish and crud that can partially block a passage and make it appear a spark issue. You said you visually inspected them and they looked fine. I assume that you could see through the high speed jet and it wasn't clogged. You said it bogs/runs erratically (the high speed idle comment) but you seem to refuse to eliminate a cause of the problem. If someone told you to change this or that part out and it cost 200.00 you would do that. This is something that you can do for free and eliminate a possibility. It would be nice to know if it was fuel or spark. If these carbs are clean then we can concentrate on the spark issue.

 

[poolecw]

I failed to mention in my last post that I DO plan on giving them a cleaning. I will most likely start next week when I can order and get the rebuild kits in. I know that this will be a very slow go for me, so I wanted to check for other quick fixes before having to go that route.

 

[fireman57]

You might not need to kit each one. Take them off and soak them then run a very thin wire through the low and high speed jets. One is right behind the drain plug and you can't see it but you can at least run a wire through it. The other is behind a screw on the top of the carbs. Also make sure the holes in the pickup tube are clear.

 

[poolecw]

You might not need to kit each one. Take them off and soak them then run a very thin wire through the low and high speed jets. One is right behind the drain plug and you can't see it but you can at least run a wire through it. The other is behind a screw on the top of the carbs. Also make sure the holes in the pickup tube are clear.

Thanks for the tip. That will be a Friday evening/Saturday project then. The manual says not to soak them. Should I just spray and let sit a while or soak them?

I guess I'm a bit spoiled. my mom's uncle and cousin ran a dealership and shop in south GA. Whenever I had a problem, I would go see them. Now that I've moved off, I've having to learn to do it for myself.