TOPIC: What else can happen??

There was a reason I didn't run the lake at Kosh this past weekend, the '58 Johnson RDS20 just wasn't running right, anyone with any experience knows the feeling, something is just wrong.
So today I pulled the top to change coils and points, well...sorta. Got ready to pull the top off, I use my torque wrench to pull the cap so I know the ft. lbs. when she's about ready to ping.



Pulled about 60 ft. lbs. and let it sit for about 20 minutes to work, put some more torque on the wrench and it never went over 60. Did this over about 5 hours, a little at a time and still never got over 60. Something goofy here so I just started pulling on the wrench and the cap is coming up real slow but stiff. Finally raised it off by hand only to find that the cap separated from the center, metal just broke apart.



Looking at it I see some PO modified it somehow, tapped and threaded holes for some reason and really weaken the area. So now I have a problem, the center of the cap is solid on the crankshaft and no way to pull it off. I decided to take the Dremel and cut a slot to weaken it.




Got the rest of the soft stuff off and now the hardened steel inner (race?) was cutting through and then the 35 year old Dremel went kapoot. Go figure! Have to visit Harbor Freight to pick up a $25 special to finish the job. I do have a spare cap for this puppy. If you look you can see that the PO or whoever worked on it didn't even tighten down the coil screws.






Thinking someone might have used locktite on the crank.

Youch and I thought just shearing the key off was bad!!!! Well if they did use locktite you're probably going to have to heat it to loosen it. Should help it pop anyway. PO obviously didn't know what they were doing.

Bob

I wish it was just a sheared key. Today I pull off the coils et al and cut off the scrap metal. Good learning experience for anyone else here.

Who would have thought trouble was hiding. Guess it’s hard to know true history unless you get to talk to the person you buy it from and also if you know them or their handy skills. It’s in good hands now.

And this my friends is how it's done.

Yay, well done!

Bob

My "spare" flywheel was the wrong part number so I found another on ebay for $22. free shipping in state.
The new Harbor Freight rotary tool worked perfect.

With our short summers, I can see why you are wasting no time getting your motor Sea worthy as soon as possible. Sounds like a decent price on that flywheel. This hobby is a great excuse for a new tool every so often.

If Harbor Freight doesn't have it you don't need it.

Got the "new" flywheel in the mail today from ebay. Perfect fit and right part number. Gave me a good opportunity to put in new points et al. Surprised to find that the torque on the wheel is only 60 ft. lbs. Turned the motor over and it fired so I shut down right away. Won't have time to do a water test until next Tuesday. Honey-do list is getting long. It cost the same for the guys free shipping than what he asked for the wheel.

Put a hose on the LU today and fired up. It ran for about 40 seconds and then sputtered to a stop. NO GO NO MO.
Checked the point gaps through that little hole and everything was good, fuel delivery good also. Pulled the flywheel to find that the wheel spun on the crank. Sheared the key. Guess I should have expected that since the old wheel was cracked and whacked. The old key was "welded" into the keyway. Took hours to drill and punch it out, harbor freight rotary tool back to the rescue. Found another key on eBay.
I guess I nailed the title of this thread.

Well whatever was done wrong to that motor over the years is getting fixed now. It might as well start behaving lol. When we cross paths in August , it will be purring like a kitten.

Be sure you "lap in" the replacement flywheel to the crankshaft taper. I would use fine valve grinding compound for that task. The crankshaft taper must be perfectly smooth to seat against the internal taper of the flywheel. Any material welded-onto the crankshaft from the old flywheel is unacceptable. Otherwise it'll continue to shear flywheel keys.

You should be able to pick up some valve lapping compound (i.e. "Clover" brand or equivalent) at most auto parts stores.

Permatex makes a version of this:

www.amazon.com/Permatex-80036-Valve-Grinding-Compound/dp/B0002UEOMS/ref=sr_1_8?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1528774713&sr=1-8&keywords=lapping+compound

Here's the Clover stuff which is now a Loctite brand, read the comments on each and you can decide which you'd rather use:

www.amazon.com/Loctite-1777012-Grinding-Lapping-Compound/dp/B00O542WDK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Last thought, the crankshaft and flywheel must be dry and oil-free before mounting. Use no grease or oil on the tapered surface.

HTH...........ed

Great info. I have a flywheel to swap in the fall so I can covert to electric start by installing the same model and year from a blown electric start motor with the teeth. I can now better understand how bad mismatched surfaces allows way more stress to transfer to that key.

Thanks for the info. I did not do that. I'll be stopping at AutoZone today anyway. Should be able to pick some of that up...…..

Note, I did pick up a tube of lapping compound from AutoZone, the Permatex stuff. Never used it before so didn't know what to expect. First surprise was when I used the cap to puncture the seal on the tube,...gusher....didn't expect it to be so thin. Smeared some on the crank and then put the flywheel on, spun it back and forth, around in circles etc. you can feel it getting clean. Cleaned it all up with a damp cloth and compressed air. Now that wheel seems to sit tight and lower, can turn it on the shaft without any binding at all.

Oh, Cal, sorry to see the mess you had. but you are THE MAN to get it fixed! Nice job!

Glad to hear it cleaned up that easily. Will make it a lot easier to keep the flywheel key intact!

Congrats on taking one more very important step towards a fun summer of boating........ed

Ed. need some more advice. Put the motor in water today and it starts right up but could not adjust the idle. Two things which puzzle me. 1st. there is a small hole on the front of the block that leads directly into the crankcase. This thing is wide open and when idling (roughly) it spits out unburned fuel and exhaust. Really spits when it chugs. I looked at my parts Gale motor and this hole is plugged. I 'm thinking that this hole should not be open. OPIN?
2nd. the rod that connects the carb throttle lever to the spark advance was moved and I wondering if that should be contacting the advance lever at the same time the throttle is in the start position and the little cam follower wheel is lined up with the brass plate mark.

Thanks.

Problem solved! Tried plugging the hole and got a backfire that just about blew my garage door off.
I tapped the hole and ran a copper vent tube to the drop leg Re adjusted the carb link to the timing advance and now she runs like a baby.

I finally got on the water today (despite numerous interruption texts from Dr. Go and LStriton. More fun on the water.

Got the motor running satisfactory, not perfect but OK for now. Nother problem crops up. Motor revving like crazy but not going very fast. At first I thought I had a spun prop. changed it and same thing, went to a third prop and same thing. No way could I possibly have three bad props so there has to be another explanation. Got back on the trailer and headed home, took some measurements on the transom. 20" for a long shaft, motor prop was not engaging deep enough in the water and was cavitating. Couldn't see that while driving. Started cutting 5" out of the transom @ 1pm. 3:30pm finished.
Pictures not in order but now I have a 15" transom. Saved the "plug" I removed just in case I want to swap motors in the future and add the extra 5" back.