Reply To: ‘55 Johnson 3 hp won’t fire

[Dennis Drake]

Thanks to everyone that responded to my post. Regarding all of the questions about what I did to rebuild the carb and magneto, yes, I did all of the suggested items. And I determined neither is the culprit (as I stated in my original post) as I swapped out both the carb and magneto from a working engine, with no change – still wouldn’t fire.

And when I put the carb and magneto from the non running engine, on the working engine, it still started and ran just fine. While I appreciate the suggestions, the carb and magneto are NOT the problem.

As to other questions, yes, I did try spraying fuel into the throat of the carb. It still did not fire. By that I mean there was no audible “pop” from combustion in the engine.

Yes, I did try removing the plugs, then quickly reinstalling them after spraying fuel directly in the cylinders. Then there was an audible pop (i.e. it fired).

I think the response from seakeye12 is the most on target to solving my problem. I will definitely check all the crankcase seals for a possible leak. Again, thanks to everyone.