# 1957 Johnson 18 hp Sea Horse



## VstarBR (Dec 15, 2010)

:help:I have a 1957 Johnson Sea Horse 18hp motor (FD-11 Model number) that I am trying to get running. 2 years ago I had it running good, it would hydroplane in high speed, and it would sit idle at low speed without stalling. A couple of weeks ago I had to put a rethreader in one of the spark plug holes on the Cylinder Head. I also replaced the Head gasket. last night I was trying to get it started and it would not fire. I cleaned out the sediment bulb, and cut both ends of the gas line and reattached them to the plug and the tank. If I spray carb cleaner into the air muffler it would fire until the cleaner burned up, but I dont think that there is any gas making it to the Carburator. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should try next? I am not very mechanical so I would like to try the small stuff first. It is new gas and I am running it at 50:1. I have read on some other forums that I might want to switch it to 24:1 instead. I am also looking for free online repair manual and owners manual if anyone knows where I can print one of those from, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

I don't know of any free sources for download, but you can buy a service manual, owners manual, or parts manual here...

http://www.outboardbooks.com/

I just looked up your motor and all three are available. The service manual is about $73 and the owners manual is about $26. That's really not too bad considering how helpful they can be. A few years ago I had a 1964 40 hp Evinrude that belonged to my grandfather. It hadn't run in years but I bought a boat without a motor so I hung it on there and fired it up. It ran OK but needed a little work. I went to that site and ordered a service and owners manual for the motor. They were worth their weight in gold! 

Good luck getting her running!

John

*EDIT:*
Here's a link to the info for your motor...

http://www.outboardbooks.com/index.cfm/manual/FD%252D11/


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## VstarBR (Dec 15, 2010)

Thanks! I also got this boat from my grandfather. I was telling my uncles about the problems I was having with it and they just laughed at me and told me to buy a new motor. Apparently when they were growing up with it, they had a lot of trouble with it. Other than this problem, I havent had anything serious happen to it at all.

Burke


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## brookie1 (Jan 26, 2011)

If you still want to play with it, I am sure the problem is that the gas isn't getting out of the carb. You mentioned the sediment bowl. There should be a tube (high speed nozzle) going into the sediment bowl in the middle of the float and it's probably plugged.


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## Quack Wacker (Dec 20, 2006)

brookie1 said:


> If you still want to play with it, I am sure the problem is that the gas isn't getting out of the carb. You mentioned the sediment bowl. There should be a tube (high speed nozzle) going into the sediment bowl in the middle of the float and it's probably plugged.


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## Greenbush future (Sep 8, 2005)

I bet it is the carb, most likely just needs a good cleaning, with ethanol gas these days, its best to run it dry and then empty that bowl if there is anything left it it. It will turn to jelly in less than a season in some cases. I have 2- 35 hp Johnsons same year as yours and they are rather simple to work on.
Both of mine are pressure fuel tank systems, with two lines running out of the fuel tanks and a small primer pump on the tank. They can be tricky to get going but not bad to run once you know they work. What are yours? I may have the service manuals for you.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

I don't know why I didn't think about this before, check your local library. I did a search and found a Clymer manual that should do the job too. And it's only about $35 through Amazon if you want to buy one if it's not available at the library.

Here's a link...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Evinrude-Johnson-Outboard-Manual-1956-1972/dp/0892874139%3FSubscriptionId%3D069DR5WSGAY1QYTG30G2%26tag%3Dejelta5-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0892874139"]Amazon.com: Evinrude Johnson Outboard Shop Manual 1.5 to 125 Hp 1956-1972 (9780892874132): Ray Joy: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51D88H4ZwbL[/ame]


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