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1958 Johnson RDS-20 35hp rebuild
- Thread starter Shaugh
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I'm still fiddling away on this thing... lots of little projects to do before I can take it out... And some fun stuff....
This is what happens when you hand a perfectly good boat to a "fisherman"... The kicker bracket was part of the original boat... cleaned it up and It works pretty good...
The good news is I didn't make any new holes...
This is what happens when you hand a perfectly good boat to a "fisherman"... The kicker bracket was part of the original boat... cleaned it up and It works pretty good...
The good news is I didn't make any new holes...
Maiden voyage yesterday... unfortunately the drain plug leaked.... Had to come in quicker than I wanted. Looking at the engine when I was trying to adjust the carb it seemed to be bouncing around too much.... but I did make a short video:
https://youtu.be/xDj6ywV5Tug
Closer inspection revealed a broken front motor mount.
I've never done this before. Anyone have a "quick" way to do it ? On first look I have to tear it down to the giblets in order to get it out ?
https://youtu.be/xDj6ywV5Tug
Closer inspection revealed a broken front motor mount.
I've never done this before. Anyone have a "quick" way to do it ? On first look I have to tear it down to the giblets in order to get it out ?
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Pull your rear exhaust cover as well and inspect all mounts.
As far as adjustments go. If you bought an OEM carb kit to do your carb it would have come with new packing washers for your adjustment needles.
Not uncommon for those to need to be re-tightened once or twice to retain good tension on the adjustment needles.
Packings should be adjusted on the tighter rather than looser side to retain your initial and final adjustments.
I run mine on the lean side at idle once warmed. This requires that I richen a 1/4 turn for good cold starts. By doing this the engine smoothes out noticeably once I return to the leaner idle mixture setting....just a thought.
BTW - I talked to the fellow I tried to put you in contact with and he said he hasn't heard from you yet?
As far as adjustments go. If you bought an OEM carb kit to do your carb it would have come with new packing washers for your adjustment needles.
Not uncommon for those to need to be re-tightened once or twice to retain good tension on the adjustment needles.
Packings should be adjusted on the tighter rather than looser side to retain your initial and final adjustments.
I run mine on the lean side at idle once warmed. This requires that I richen a 1/4 turn for good cold starts. By doing this the engine smoothes out noticeably once I return to the leaner idle mixture setting....just a thought.
BTW - I talked to the fellow I tried to put you in contact with and he said he hasn't heard from you yet?
I figured I'd wait till I had a reasonably functional boat, and then maybe we could meet up somewhere ? So to replace that front mount should my general plan of attack be to detach and inspect all the mounts ? Will that get me enough room to squeeze a new one on the front ?
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Not sure. Statement was made so that you would inspect all mounts. Once you find one mount broken it is a good idea. From the photo it looks like the nut is missing. Is the mount broken as well?
I may be able to get by the warehouse and take a look at mine and see if I can help in the procedure.
No sense in waiting until you have a perfect running boat to meet the guy. In our previous lives we never met anyone with perfect running boats anyway! We always entered at a time where an authorized dealer had run out of options, ability and talent and the end result was a PO'd customer. That's when we usually met folks!
I may be able to get by the warehouse and take a look at mine and see if I can help in the procedure.
No sense in waiting until you have a perfect running boat to meet the guy. In our previous lives we never met anyone with perfect running boats anyway! We always entered at a time where an authorized dealer had run out of options, ability and talent and the end result was a PO'd customer. That's when we usually met folks!
Yes I took the nut off, it's definitely cracked. Any procedural advice would be much appreciated. It looks like it's possible to detach all the mounts... but I can't get my head around what might happen then .... will I be able to raise the motor within the housing and swap that front mount....?
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Two ways. You can put a flywheel puller with an eyebolt on the flywheel and hold the engine or use the lift eye if there is one...am thinking there is.
Better check parts availability as well. After this long it will be a miracle. I did get a front lower mount directly through parts before I got mine on the water.
Better check parts availability as well. After this long it will be a miracle. I did get a front lower mount directly through parts before I got mine on the water.
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I did a bit of looking around.
The upper mount is still available and not outrageous in price.
Would start by removing the lower outer exhaust housing and then start disconnecting other mounts until you have the area needed to change it. Simplistic approach I know but that is how I would approach it. You can always contact the fellow I asked you to .....
The upper mount is still available and not outrageous in price.
Would start by removing the lower outer exhaust housing and then start disconnecting other mounts until you have the area needed to change it. Simplistic approach I know but that is how I would approach it. You can always contact the fellow I asked you to .....
Yes I have one on the way from Ebay.. about 10 bucks. I agree, that seems to be the right plan. I'm going to try to leave just the low front mount attached. That should give me enough arc to be able to pull the motor back and slip the new one in.... thanks.
Got this done over the weekend. It actually did require tearing the motor in half... but it was all pretty simple. I just unbolted all the mounts, disconnected the throttle arm and the gearshift, fuel line and wiring...and lifted it right out.. it's pretty light when it's only half a motor.
OMC wisely designed the front mount to be a hook that allows you to set the motor back in the cradle and have it be securely hooked over the front mount to take all the weight. Connecting it all back up was a breeze.
New mount attached:
One thing I noticed on the water was quite a bit of smoke in the housing.. I knew this exhaust seal donut was shot, but they're $90 on EBAY !..
No way that's in the budget.... I decided to try some high temperature silicone hose.... It took some crafting to get it right, but it seems to work great... and cost about 7 bucks..
OMC wisely designed the front mount to be a hook that allows you to set the motor back in the cradle and have it be securely hooked over the front mount to take all the weight. Connecting it all back up was a breeze.
New mount attached:
One thing I noticed on the water was quite a bit of smoke in the housing.. I knew this exhaust seal donut was shot, but they're $90 on EBAY !..
No way that's in the budget.... I decided to try some high temperature silicone hose.... It took some crafting to get it right, but it seems to work great... and cost about 7 bucks..
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If you watch Ebay you can nab them at a good price occasionally. Interesting fix though with the silicon hose. What are the details on the hose?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-ID-x-3-4-OD-Thick-Wall-Silicone-Flexible-Tubing-High-Temp-Hose-500F/272342493054?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
I think if I was going to do it again I'd try going up to 1" diameter.. there's plenty of room for a little larger... the groove in the motor casting is exactly made to hold something round.. I just spliced it together by slitting a piece and stuffing it into both ends.
I think if I was going to do it again I'd try going up to 1" diameter.. there's plenty of room for a little larger... the groove in the motor casting is exactly made to hold something round.. I just spliced it together by slitting a piece and stuffing it into both ends.
It's been too cold to think about doing much on the Crestliner. We found a decent 1958 7.5 horse on craigslist a while back that was just waiting for someone to care....
A lot of battle scars but still in remarkable shape for 60 years old..
I got it pretty well freshened up and running great:
But the problem is It's missing the gold seahorse emblem.
Does anyone have a reliable way to find one of these ? ( and not pay $100 for it ?)
I've restored chipped and cracked ones before... but it seems these are completely gone from the world...
https://vintage-boat-parts.net/johnson_outboard_golden_sea_horse_medallion_emblem_1957_1958_vintage_nos_5.php
Any ideas appreciated... It appears this was quite a mistake for the usually infallible OMC engineers... a brittle piece of plastic right where the pull cord handle will bang if you let it go.... I guess it was probably a very profitable part to sell for many years...
A lot of battle scars but still in remarkable shape for 60 years old..
I got it pretty well freshened up and running great:
But the problem is It's missing the gold seahorse emblem.
Does anyone have a reliable way to find one of these ? ( and not pay $100 for it ?)
I've restored chipped and cracked ones before... but it seems these are completely gone from the world...
https://vintage-boat-parts.net/johnson_outboard_golden_sea_horse_medallion_emblem_1957_1958_vintage_nos_5.php
Any ideas appreciated... It appears this was quite a mistake for the usually infallible OMC engineers... a brittle piece of plastic right where the pull cord handle will bang if you let it go.... I guess it was probably a very profitable part to sell for many years...
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There are decent replacements but not the same as the OEM part. Most are placing a decal replacement there. Some have a raised decal replacement.
Most are crazed by being out in the sun and or embrittlement from being 55-60 years old. I think the material used was about as good as it could be expected to be back in that era.
Most are crazed by being out in the sun and or embrittlement from being 55-60 years old. I think the material used was about as good as it could be expected to be back in that era.
Well the decision has been made. I was hoping this boat would be my ultimate ride off into the sunset... But it didn't do it.... I'm pretty sure I want something a little more fishing oriented... So I've decided to sell it.
Can anyone give me an estimate on what I should ask for it ? I'm sure I could sell it easily on craigslist, but if anyone here wants to make an offer just PM me. I'd rather see it go to somebody that appreciates it.
Can anyone give me an estimate on what I should ask for it ? I'm sure I could sell it easily on craigslist, but if anyone here wants to make an offer just PM me. I'd rather see it go to somebody that appreciates it.
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Take it to one of the antique outboard meets. You will have a much better chance of selling it there....to someone who will actually take care of it and not hack it up. Dan Anderson may be interested in the engine should you decide to split up the package. He is working on another boat that would be able to use it.
FishnFiddle
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I just signed up the to this site and hoping for some assistance.
I'm restoring my Dad's 1958 birch plywood hull runabout. I have his original 1958 35 HP RDS-20 which hasn't run in several years. One of the pistons has seized but I can't get it to break loose. I've tried different techniques even soaking the block in diesel fuel for a couple of weeks. I'm planning to do a complete restore on the motor but really need to get by this issue first.
I'm restoring my Dad's 1958 birch plywood hull runabout. I have his original 1958 35 HP RDS-20 which hasn't run in several years. One of the pistons has seized but I can't get it to break loose. I've tried different techniques even soaking the block in diesel fuel for a couple of weeks. I'm planning to do a complete restore on the motor but really need to get by this issue first.
