Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

F_R

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
28,224
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Ooog..Well the wire certainly is toast, no doubt about it. But that doesn't necessarily mean the solenoids are too. Remove the four bolts holding the solenoid cover, and lift it off. The solenoids are below it and will lift out by the wires. Then they can be tested after separating them from the melted wires. If you do have to replace them, it is not rocket science. But they do have to be adjusted.
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Read post # 6 again.:facepalm:
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Good Luck and I'm sure you will learn a lot. Do you have a factory service manual for it ?? As it would really help you.
 

Silly Seville

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
798
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

I removed the solenoids and pulled the plunger out of each one a little bit, then applied power to the blue and green separately and together. Each time the solenoid snapped the plungers back inside. That's a good sign.
 
Last edited:

Silly Seville

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
798
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Good Luck and I'm sure you will learn a lot. Do you have a factory service manual for it ?? As it would really help you.

Thank you! Yes, I feel like I have learned a tremendous amount in just a few short days. I'm really shocked by how simple 2-stroke carbs are compared to say a 4 barrel Rochester Q-jet. Also surprised by how much power these engines are rated for given their relatively small size and low weight. A service manual (the OEM if available) is on my short list to get if I continue much further with this engine. Although I hope that once I replace the water pump and get the carbs back on (providing that these solenoids are NOT in fact damaged) the engine will run great and not give me any more issues. That is my hope. If the solenoids are shot, I will not spend $300 to replace them. The engine will become a donor for someone who is needy! :D
 

Silly Seville

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
798
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

UPDATE: :joyous:

For those of you still watching...I have great news. Both shift solenoids are working as they should; so I am moving forward with the repair of this outboard. Funny thing is, all it took was rinsing out the lower unit with some diesel. I spun the input shaft by hand to get the pump to move it through the orifices. Then rinsed it again and put in some leftover Dexron III ATF I had laying around, put the solenoids back in, and wham! I can hear them clicking loud and clear...even vibrates the case a little bit. :happy: I took another resistance reading and this time, got a steady 8 ohms on each wire, and 5 ohms combined. Now I feel confident that it is worth ordering the uber expensive water pump since I believe I will have shifting ability.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this learning process! I don't care what the inboard guys say about you all...I think you're darn nice folks! :D
 

sandhopper2

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
105
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Thanks Silly For doing this post
I have the same motor on a project pontoon boat so I have been watching this thread and will keep looking back at it when I get back to working on that Motor
Larry
 

SigSaurP229

Commander
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
2,123
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Thats great new Silly, I thought you might hear them when they opened and closed. It can really be a serious PIA to feed the wires back up. I'd offer you one of mine but the only ones I have left are for a triple, and aren't big enough for what you need. EBAY can be a great source for parts on these motors, I bought a complete working lower unit for $175.00 shipped.

Don't run it in the water on ATF though it works on dry land but ATF has no water resistence to it.
 
Last edited:

Silly Seville

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
798
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Thanks for the props Sig...and no worries about the wires. I salvaged a heavy duty cable from a 240v A/C unit that had four 14 gauge conductors in it! I pulled that bad boy down through the mid section like I've been doing it for years. Used a 12 gauge solid core wire to pull it down with. I doubled up the wires for redundancy, but the sheathing on the cable is thick, so I'm sure it will outlast the outboard and me! Every connection got mechanical butt splices, plus heat shrink tubing plus liquid tape. I think I over engineered it! :joyous:

Thanks for the caution about the ATF...I had no intention of running the engine with it in there. I have the Sierra "Type C" on the way with the other parts. If you know anything about trim pumps...please see my other thread. http://forums.iboats.com/johnson-ev...pump-wiring-schematic-635118.html#post4451477
 

Jeffm602

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
31
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Hey Silly, nice thread going here. I too have an 85 Johnson hydroelec. Funny thing is is that my shift box is completely different from both of the ones on this thread. On the inside of mine it has a rocker switch with a wheel on it that rolls along the shift lever as shown in this diagram Part #48 Control Box.jpg

Question how bad was it to replace the impeller? I am needing to replace mine due to the motor sitting for many years and who knows if the previous owner ran it without water.

I have done a lot of research on this motor and found the evinrude/johnson parts page: http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=drepmuk13kfj0uak423bdffb51&catalog_id=0&siteid=1 switch it to Johnson and find your year and model via serial number. Looking forward to seeing the outcome on this motor for you.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
37,784
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

The Johnson models came with the single lever control and that switch built in.----The evinrude models came with the push button control box.----This was a marketing thing.-------The control boxes will interchane between the 2 motors.
 

Jeffm602

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
31
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

The Johnson models came with the single lever control and that switch built in.----The evinrude models came with the push button control box.----This was a marketing thing.-------The control boxes will interchane between the 2 motors.

Gotta love marketing. I may have a bad switch in my control box but I am not sure yet. I am hoping not because I cannot find the Johnson switch anywhere unless I buy the whole control box.
 

JRegier

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Messages
136
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

I got lucky, I just picked up a johnson box from eBay (my 'rude box hangs up sometimes. Not fun when starting at the dock, luckily the ropes were tight) when I popped it open it had a newer switch in it. Probably 5 years old or less.
 

Jeffm602

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
31
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

I got lucky, I just picked up a johnson box from eBay (my 'rude box hangs up sometimes. Not fun when starting at the dock, luckily the ropes were tight) when I popped it open it had a newer switch in it. Probably 5 years old or less.

Sweet good deal, I may have to make my own switch because I cant justify buy a whole box (which from what I am seeing is still not very cheap on ebay) just for another switch that may or may not work.
 

Silly Seville

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
798
Re: Is an ancient Johnson 85 V4 worth the effort?

Hey Silly, nice thread going here. I too have an 85 Johnson hydroelec...Question how bad was it to replace the impeller? I am needing to replace mine due to the motor sitting for many years and who knows if the previous owner ran it without water.

Hi Jeff. I have replaced many impellers on Alpha 1 outdrives, so the water pump replacement on this Johnson was equally as easy. There really is nothing to it. If you can assemble a sandwich, then you can replace a water pump on this engine. And I highly recommend you spend the extra $ and get the whole assembly...not just the impeller. Unless you know for a fact that your WP housing and sleeve are in excellent condition; it is well worth it to simply start with brand new, fresh parts. And don't mess around with generic parts...get the BRP stuff. I did, and am very happy with my decision.
 
Top