Unable to start and no water out the telltale

[ntirado]

Dear all: I am completely new to boating and outboards. I purchased a small boat with a 1989 15 HP Johnson J15RCEC motor. The previous owner said the motor worked well and we have no reason to believe he was dishonest.

The 1st time we used the boat everything went relatively well (although I experienced a hard time starting it cold and also after the 1st leg of our trip)...however once started the motor seemed to work extremely well.

Now I can’t start it and when it starts, water comes out the telltale intermittently (yesterday some smoke was coming out instead of water) and it dies if I let it idle.

I have ensured the lower unit is well submerged in the water and have replaced the water pump and blew air with a compressor up the water tube. I noticed that when I blew air up the tube, air came down the mid-section housing. When I covered that area, air came out the telltale.

I have also replaced the fuel pump, cleaned and re-built the carburetor. I will be changing the spark-plugs and thermostat this week.

Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

 

[racerone]

Post compression test numbers here.-----Water needs to be 6" or 8" above the pump impeller in your test bucket !

 

[mike_i]

Are you sure it was smoke coming from the pisser and not steam?

 

[ntirado]

Hi: I do not have the tool to measure compression, but will be buying (or borrowing) one hopefully soon. Hopefully I have normal compression.

I am not sure if the “stuff” coming out of the telltale was smoke or steam, but I think it looked a bit blueish, so that is why I called it smoke. I am not sure what the implications of either smoke or steam might be.

I only hope that the man who sold it to me was honest about the condition of the motor (so my faith in my fellow men is not scared) and that my current issues are due to my lack of knowledge and naivete.

 

[racerone]

If there is not enough water in the engine then exhaust will find it's way out the tell tale.----Simple as that.

 

[Crosbyman]

and in any purchased of a used motor you should do the impeller ...just in case.

your new to you motor is 30 years old and some folks are not to religious about changing impeller every few years. Depending on use I would say 5 years is a max before you inspect/replace it before some fins breakaway and clog things upside :-(



utube is your friend but it is an easy job.

 

[racerone]

Well---Post #1 says he replaced water pump.

 

[ntirado]

Thanks for all the input!
So far I have replaced the water pump, fuel pump, cleaned/rebuilt the carburetor and bought fresh fuel and mixed it at the proper 50:1. I will change the plugs tonight and the thermostat later this week...

Interestingly when I used the ear muff-looking adapter, I also got intermittent water out the telltale.

The old pump looked very nice, butI replaced it anyway. When installing the new impeller, I rotated the shaft clockwise while gently pushing the pump housing down to ensure the fins went the right way in.

I hope the telltale issue will be resolved when in deeper water, however the difficulty starting the motor is really bothersome.

 

[tphoyt]

I’m just wondering what your start procedure is as far as using the choke and the throttle position?

 

[ntirado]

I don’t have the operator’s manual, so my procedure is as explained by the previous owner: Place gear on neutral, throttle to the far clockwise position (all the way to the right), choke pulled out all the way.

 

[tphoyt]

Be sure the vent is open in the tank pump the ball until hard after you move the throttle all way to the right go back left about 1/8 turn. Goal is to move it just a bit higher than the slowest idle position.
If it doesn’t fire after say 3 pulls then move the choke half way in. Goal is not to flood the engine. This only applies to cold starts. Once the motor is warm you shouldn’t need choke at all.
Give it a try and see how it goes.

 

[Crosbyman]

Well---Post #1 says he replaced water pump.

small print...

 

[ntirado]

Yes, I have ensured the tank vent is open and the bulb/line has been primed (until it feels firm).

 

[oldboat1]

I'll guess the motor overheated. If the tell tale pushed water out when the motor was on a flusher ("muffs"), it appears the impeller was defective. Hose water pressure pushes water up to the powerhead when using muffs.

 

[ntirado]

All, thank you for your input. This has been great information to have and I am very grateful. Are there other thoughts on the hard starting issue? I hope to have a pressure gauge soon. I will post results at that time. Unfortunately, these readings will likely be on the cold motor as I can’t currently start it for warming up.

Also, yesterday I got 2 new spark plugs and they both have spark (as per one of the YouTube test videos).

 

[racerone]

" Hard to start "------When you pull out the choke knob is the choke flapper actually closed , yes or no ?----Need to post compression numbers too !!

 

[tphoyt]

Did you rebuild the carb before or after all this started?

 

[racerone]

Turn throttle to the NEUTRAL stop for starting.----Ignore marking on the grip.

 

[Sea Rider]

Is it a motor highly used in fresh or salt water ?

Happy Boating​

 

[ntirado]

Hi all; here are some additional answers The choke closes the flap.
I rebuilt the carb after being unable to start.
Fresh water use only.
The boat is a 1999 and it’s in great shape which tells me the owner took good care of it. The motor also looks relatively nice considering it’s age, so I assume it was cared for somewhat appropriately.
The tiller has no marks (I assume these have been rubbed off with use over the years).
So far we have rebuilt the water pump, rebuilt the carb, replaced the fuel pump, spark plugs and thermostat.
If anyone has an owners manual they can sell or share that would be great.
I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.