TOPIC: HELP! - How to adjust High/Low Speed 1958 Johnson

Hi guys,

I'm a girl who owns this nice 1958 boat with it's original motor.

The problem is that i live in Canada and i cannot find any expert for vintage boats.

The motor is working fine except when i want to go on high speed, the motor kicks and cannot get into full speed. I started to play with the 2 carburator knobs but was not able to find the right tuning.

I think i did something wrong because now my boat smells gas and smoke is coming out.

Is there a technic to adjust the carburator (like step 1, 2 , 3....?).

Thanks in advance for your help,

Jolou

There should be no problem finding a shop that will help with that motor.----A lot depends on your location.---Set the lower one at 3/4 turn out from gently seated and the upper one 1-1/2 turns out from gently seated.

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You adjust the lower neeedle first at full throttle and then the upper one at idle speeds.

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First check and see if you have adequate spark intensity.--That is done by forcing the system to try and jump a gap of 1/4" or more and you should be able to hear the spark " snap "

Thanks for your help...

Do i gently seat the knobs before i start the motor?
or do i execute all the steps after starting the motor?

When i wanted to ride full throttle it seemed like the gas flow was not regular, at idle speed - it seems find except for the gas smell and smoke.
I think that once i find the correct setting for the carburator, this will be solved ??

You set the turns before you start the motor then go from there. Idle you can get pretty darn close with it in a water barrel, or muffs but the high speed will have to be done with a friend while your on the water.

Bob

Thanks, i will try this tomorrow...

jolou,

WELCOME ABOARD, EH.

yours, satx

You need to leave the boat strapped to the trailer & back the boat and motor into the lake. Be sure the water level is about half way up the motor leg. To judge this, put the boat deep enough into the water to the water line is where it would be if the boat was floating on the lake not moving forward. You must be sure the engine will get adequate cooling water.

Rotate the large knob clock-wise until it stops. Do not tighten it, just lightly bottom it. Back it out 3/4 to 1 full turn counter-clockwise. Start the engine and let it warm up completely. Put the engine in gear and move the throttle to full speed. While the engine is in gear at full speed, SLOWLY turn the knob clockwise to reduce the fuel and "lean out" the mixture. Listen for the motor speed to increase - give it a couple seconds to stabilize. It you "Lean out" the mixture too much, the engine will begin to falter. When this happens, rotate the knob back the other direction to make the mixture more "Rich" (more fuel) There is a very narrow spot where the motor will run best. It takes a little practice to get it right, then it will become very easy. Once this knob is correctly set, it rarely needs to be messed with - that is, if you mix the fuel and oil at the same ration for EVERY tank of fuel.

As a warning - this can be a dangerous procedure to do by yourself. It is best to have one person at the throttle and ignition switch, and another at the engine making the adjustments. Making these adjustments when the boat is out on the water can be very difficult and dangerous. Please be very careful when performing this type of activity.

If adjusting the control fails to make the engine run correctly, there are likely other problems with the engine. If the ignition coils (located under the flywheel) are old, it will never run right at high speed. Those really need to be checked to see if they are in serviceable condition. If they are old, the engine will never run correctly.

Have fun with it!

Thanks for the detailed instructions, iI will print this and bring it with me when i find the below part.

Looks like the problem of the motor is the fuel pump (the diaphragm is cracked).

Would you know where i can order this part and have it delivered in Canada?

Motor is a 1958 Johnson (Buccanner/ Gale) 35HP.

Thanks!

Where are you located in Canada that you can't find service for this motor? Almost any independent marine shop that's been in business for a long time should be able to get you that part or even have it in stock. These motors were produced for a long time and some of the parts were used into the 70's
Al
Northern Ontario

go to a napa parts dealer they can order it

Lots of helpful dealers in Canada.----Canada is a fairly big place.

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If you post your approximate location someone might steer you to a place where you can get help !

I'm located in Quebec - I found the part on on Marine Engine.com. They said that the original fuel pump was replaced with a new pump with a different shape (Evinrude Johnson).

I also found 1 original fuel pump from Ebay, not sure if the diaphragm is still good.

I was not able to find a rubber hood seal any where.

Hood seal is available here:
nymarine.ca
Peter is in Markham Ontario and has reproduced all the correct paint trim and gaskets plus a lot of other items for motors from the 40's through 70's
Al

Does your fuel pump look like the one in the picture here?


If so - then this is the kit you need to repair it. OMC part number 379777 Sierra part number 18-7801-



Do not repair it with a new old stock part that has been on the shelf for many years. Get one that is newly manufactured, as the rubber is designed for modern fuels

If the pump looks different - please photograph it & post it here. Ebay will nearly ALWAYS be your best place to go for parts. I purchase repair parts from ebay nearly every week - and I have had very good service from most ebay parts sellers. You certainly can't beat the prices. In fact, I just ordered a kit from the link to the Ebay seller.

Thanks so much for the info for the old/new fuel pump. I had ordered the original part from a seller on Ebay which i have not received yet and will try to return.

Here is a photo of my fuel pump, i entered the original part number (#304089) on marineengine.com and found out that this part was replaced with a new model part (#388685).

I found this part in a Johnson dealer and installed it yesterday.
I went for a quick ride and it seems to work well.

As you will notice on the photo my fuel pump does not have the sediment bowl attached to it.
Do i need to install a new sediment bowl?

Also i'm looking for a low smoke oil to mix with the gas. I don't like the smoke and smell coming out of my motor.
Do you know if a type of oil exist that would be compatible with this 1958 motor?

Someone told me to add Lead Substitute to the gas - saying that these old motor run better with lead.

Thanks!

Thanks I will contact them.

Synthetic oil will smoke less than TCW3 but it just doesn't smell right in my opinion! I mix good quality TCW3 at the original mix (in the case of your 58, 24:1 is recommended) in all my motors and there is some smoke at idle but at speed it isn't that noticeable. You never have to add lead (or lead substitutes)to these motors, back in the day marine gas was unleaded or "white" gas. Unlike 4 stroke engines 2 strokes do not have valves and don't need the protection that lead provided by cushioning the seats and over time lead build up on internal components can cause poor running in 2 strokes. Once unleaded automotive fuel was mandated all 4 stroke engines had hardened seats so they would not be damaged by the valves closing onto them. If you can get ethanol free fuel in your area use it exclusively in you outboard as ethanol attacks a lot of rubber components and as an added bonus sucks up moisture which renders the fuel useless. If you can't avoid ethanol it use Stabil ethanol treatment which neutralises most of the effects and keeps the gas good for up to 6 months. Personally I use Shell V-Power in all my marine and small engines as it is ethanol free here in Ontario.

OK - your motor uses a smaller fuel pump than I was thinking.

So did the engine run better with the used pump from the shop?

As for Lead substitute, no do not use it on your engine. These engines did not require lead in the fuel, in fact, the manufacturer advised against using leaded fuel. Leaded fuel is important for old 4 cycle engines that use intake and exhaust valves in the combustion chamber. The lead helped to lubricate the moving parts. Your engine does not have these parts, so no lead needed. Leaded fuel can actually harm a 2 cycle engine by causing deposits to form in the combustion chamber and on the exhaust ports.

Keep in mind, that when your engine was built, the oils available for 2 cycle engine operation were very basic oils for car engines. The fuel to oil ratios shown in the owner's manual and inside the hood of your engine were based on mixing gasoline with 30 Wt. non detergent motor oil. The modern TCW oils for water cooled 2 cycle engines are superior to the old oils - therefore less oil is needed to do the job. I can not say what the proper ratio for your engine would be - but I believe 32:1 (1 part oil to 32 parts gasoline) would be adequate. Don't take my word for it though, ask a reputable shop what they recommend for the engine.

What would you recommand for a good TCW3 oil?

Is the 24:1 based on the manual owner? Shouldn't I use less oil today since the quality of the oil today is different?

One more question I go to Esso to get my gas and don't know if I should buy the the regular (less expensive) or the silver or gold?

I will also get some Stabil ethanol

Your help is really appreciated! thanks again.

It is actually a new modern pump that replaced the old part number.
Johnson dealers have it in stock.
And yes the engine is running much better.

If it is nice tomorrow i will go for a ride and adjust the carburator High/Low speed. I will then be able to see if everything is ok.

Can you please let me know if i should change the sediment bowl?

Lot's of question... but i'm learrning thanks to all the help i receive from the nice people on this forum.

Old outboard oil was simply SAE30 with a dye added to it to make it blue, any modern TCW3 is much better than the oils of the past, personally I use any store brand (Canadian Tire, Walmart etc) or shell Nautilus if it's on sale. The original mix for your 1958 as stated in the owners guide is 24:1 which is what I use in a similar 57, lots of people say you can cut back to 32:1 or even 50:1 as there was no real difference between this powerhead and the 1960's models that used 50:1 as soon as TCW oils were introduced. Do what you want it's your motor I will continue to mix at the original mixes especially in the little motors that use bushings on the crankshafts. As for Esso fuel it all contains 10% ethanol regardless of grade so regular is fine HOWEVER you will over time experience all kinds of problems even using stabilizer with ethanol fuel. Check to see if Shell in your area sells V-Power and read the pump as it will tell you if it is ethanol free or not. I just got back from Tomahawk Wi. and not only is Shell offering ethanol free fuel so was BP. Another source for ethanol free fuel is the local marina often the dockside pumps have regular grade fuel without ethanol but it is usually priced about the same as premium at the road stations. I can't stress enough how harmful ethanol is in small engines in general but it's down right destructive in the old stuff unless every rubber component has been changed in the fuel system.

Wow! all the info is amazing - i'm so lucky to get all this help - thanks again.

Is there a way i can know for sure that the new fuel pump i ordered is the correct one?
The reason i ask is that i'm not certain that the previous fuel pump installed was the original one.

My search for the new pump was based on the old pump # 304089 and was refered to Evinrude Johnson #388685.

My motor is a 1958 35 HP Buccaneer/Gale.

Can the wrong pump affect the perfermance of the motor?
At high speed i reach about 16mph.