sly_karma
Crew Member
First outing of the year recently. Not enough power to plane. Back to shop, checked a few things, noticed a cracked coil housing. Replaced that. Now engine won't turn over fast enough to start despite fully charged battery, booster cable bypass of all connections, switched in spare starter motor. Removed plugs, uh oh. #1 cylinder has its electrode bent, something smacked it. Flashlight shows a slight chip on the piston, engine doesn't turn very quickly even with plugs out. I think my 1980 Johnson has run its last. I'll check compression this weekend and decide what to do from there. I suspect the damage is in bottom end. Not sure if it's worth doing a powerhead replacement.