Johnson ID and Water Pump

[CooperClaude]

I have only worked on one Johnson/Evinrude, a 3 hp. I have a Johnson V-4 labeled 85ESL 756 and serial # J4314723. The motor starts only after an injection of ether or gas/oil sprayed directly in carbs. Choke works, just won't start any other way. Motor has sat up for a long time. After cranking I've let it run on hose at idle for as long as 15 minutes. Question, water comes out two small holes in back and thru propellor. Is this a normal discharge ? I'm used to Mercs. Any help is appreciated.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson ID and Water Pump

The flow of water out of the two holes in the rear of the midsection is normal, however, if it is steady the thermostat is probably stuck open and not functional. You definitely want to have a functioning thermostat.

Early outboards did not have the tell tale, Mercs included. You can add one if you want.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson ID and Water Pump

The 1975 V4 85HP motors are in the series 1973-1977 which shared two common problems when cold starting.

One is the necessity to reach 300 RPM, which requires a large fully charged battery.

The second one is that the chokes must fully close and stay that way. To determine if that is working properly, You need to be looking down the barrels of the carburetor while someone cranks the motor with the choke switch on.

The reason for this is that the vacuum created by the pistons will pull the chokes open if they are not set properly, thus reducing the desired ability of the vacuum to pull the extra fuel mix necessary for a cold start.

If you find that the chokes are synchronized but not staying closed, loosen and move the choke solenoid in small increments until they do stay closed.