Re: 1940 Johnson HD-15 Magneto testing

[Buccaneer]

Joe, the HD has been drained of fuel and put back on the
rack for now.
This 1940 Johnson has "no" crank seals. I did lap the
crankcase halves to true up the sealing surfaces, and tighten the crank
bearings on the crankshaft, normally I "no-no" I’m
guessing, but it actually made the crank bearing halves
more "round", and with less clearance. Also I installed
new rings. Compression was in the low 60’s when I checked
it originally after putting it back together.

I didn’t want to take the chance of un-soldering the wires
to the coils, but I did coat the old wires with Super Corona Dope.
I seen no signs of "burn marks" or arcing anywhere on the mag
in the many times I had it apart. 🙁

I like your idea of using propane. Maybe it would tell me if
the crank case halves are sealed properly.
I know that back in the day, ether worked good for checking
crankcase seals leaking on the clutch end of snowmobiles!

Some day maybe I’ll take you up on the red atom modules, but
I should probably try them on a normal running engine first
to know if they’d work for me, lol.

Hot and heavy into my new to me, but sad looking 52 Fleetwin.
I will not forget the little Johnson….. I hate to be defeated!
Thanks, Bucc

Prepare to be boarded!