Tohatsu/Johnson Outboard Question

Certainly the 4hp Johnson I have is of US origin, complete with silly bolt sizes - not Japanese like Tohatsu et al.

Pete
 
I have a 2003 3.5hp Johnson 2 stroke. Fantastic little engine. Only problem I've had is a gummed up carb but that's nothing to do with the engine. I had to replace the impellor and separating the leg was a bit of a problem with the heads shearing of the bolts. Luckily with the heads off the bottom leg came apart fairly easily leaving enough of the studs to be gripped and undone.
I've changed the plug once. Some of them look really grotty if they have been outside as the cover degrades badly in the sun. I tend to look at it like nobody would want to steel it because it looks so bad.
I fitted a kill switch to mine. The article was published in PBO about 3 years ago on how to do it. Only cost a few pounds for the switch.
 
Major_Clanger said:
Hi all,

I'm considering a little 3.5hp Johnson 2-stroke from about 2004 and am wondering about its origins..... It looks very similar to a Tohatsu engine although it's stamped Bombardier. Are they in fact the same? General opinion of the outboard too please.

Thanks in advance.
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They do look very similar at least as far as the main components of the power head are concerned but looking specifically at 2004 models the Johnson appears to have forward and neutral gear selection while the Tohatsu has a fixed drive. The leg and gearbox look typically Johnson but the power head does not. Typically older Johnsons in this HP range had two cylinder engines.

As said above the cowl is different from the Tohatsu

A bit of a hybrid perhaps


Post the model number of the Johnson and the age can be confirmed. It'll be something like J3RSRE where SR are the date letters for 2004.
 
Major_Clanger said:
Hi all,

I'm considering a little 3.5hp Johnson 2-stroke from about 2004 and am wondering about its origins..... It looks very similar to a Tohatsu engine although it's stamped Bombardier. Are they in fact the same? General opinion of the outboard too please.

Thanks in advance.
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Not the same - when OMC went bust, Bombardier of Canada bought them. The Johnson has certain drive problems, it appears.

The two stroke Mariners, Mercurys were re-badged Tohatsus.

An extremely good engine - I have one I bought for £M80 - the seller wanted to keep the much prettier Johnson 3.5 he had - he regretted the action within 12 months.
 
Major_Clanger said:
Hi all,

I'm considering a little 3.5hp Johnson 2-stroke from about 2004 and am wondering about its origins..... It looks very similar to a Tohatsu engine although it's stamped Bombardier. Are they in fact the same? General opinion of the outboard too please.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

The one I have is Feb 2005 made and the model is J3RSOD.05. The little plate says Bombardier Motor Corporation of America and below "WAUKEGAN, IL, USA".
I bought it secondhand to replace a Honda 2hp outboard. Same weight like the Honda (very light), much more powerful and MUCH more quiet. Very nice little engine.
 
I have a 2005 Johnson 3.5hp 2-stroke since new. It is a re-badged, PRC-built, Tohatsu motor, like many makes since the early 2000s.

The Johnson and Evinrude brands were bought from OMC (Outboard Motor Company who, with Evinrude, acquired the bankrupt Johnson company in 1935) in February 2001 by Bombardier (Recreational Products) of Canada after OMC filed for bankruptcy. BRP discontinued the Johnson label in 2007, leaving just Evinrude - no longer US-made products - all Tohatsu.

The motor has been exceptionally reliable but the cowling clips fall off, usually lost overboard, and, more importantly, it does have a serious design weakness - the fuel tap.

Two years ago I noticed the strong smell of petrol from the engine mounted on a pushpit bracket and discovered fuel leaking copiously from the fuel tap at the side of the unit. After decanting the rest of the fuel tank contents into a container I disassembled the plastic cowling covering the fuel line to the tap assembly, removing the latter completely from the plastic tubing from the tank to the carburettor.

The tap is a simple rotating plastic moulding seating on a static section that connects to the in/out tubing, with holes in both that match up when turned with the lever pointing down. The rotating section has a spindle (a single moulding with the lever) that passes through the static section and is retained by a washer and nut – metal threaded onto the plastic spindle, with a spring spacer to apply pressure of the rotating part against the static section. The spindle had broken at the retaining nut releasing the pressure between the two sections and allowing fuel to pour through. To my knowledge there had been no impact or stress on the component, which is anyway largely protected behind the cowling.

I believe the very design to be at fault – the thin plastic spindle moulded with the round, rotating section that critically must be held by the spring hard against the static section to ensure no fuel escapes, with a metal nut screwed onto the plastic spindle. Not only the design seems poor, the metal parts, spring, screws and nuts, all showed rusting that suggests poor quality components.

A replacement tap costs £25, which is exorbitant for such a shoddy item. I reamed a new thread on what was left of the spindle and with no room left for the spring, by luck had just the right pressure of rotating to static sections for a fuel-proof seal.
 
Major_Clanger said:
Bought it! Great little unit that started easily and has clearly been looked-after, not the usual abused and corroded lump of nastyness! Off to test it on tomorrow's tide, thanks all...........
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Check the gearbox oil for signs of water ingress, give it some fresh 50:1 fuel mix, check the cooling water flow and have some fun.
 
I had one recently. It was sold along with the last boat.

One day it would not start.

I had to pull the cord a second time.........................................

Best outboard I have ever had, light, punchy and really reliable.
 
Major_Clanger said:
Bought it! Great little unit that started easily and has clearly been looked-after, not the usual abused and corroded lump of nastyness! Off to test it on tomorrow's tide, thanks all...........
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Congratulations, apart from the fuel tap and cowling clips (see above), it is a very reliable engine that starts easily. The cowling clips are not a problem as I have made a sling from webbing straps that encircling the top section in front and behind the drive shaft and linked together by a lifting strap.

As for the starting, I had occasion to find out how well after departing once in my cruising life from a rule of never leaving the engine on the inflatable tethered to the boat overnight when anchored. I had been ashore in Croatia and returned late and being tired neglected to lift up onto the pushpit bracket. I was awoken after midnight by a sudden, 50-knot bora - a katabatic NE wind that can appear out of nowhere there - the dinghy was airborne and regularly inverting and landing back in the water, completely submerging the outboard. The next hour was spent in a struggle to get the dinghy upright and lashed alongside, the outboard raised and onto its bracket, dried as best I could. Next morning all was still again. After a few pulls it started, spluttered and coughed a few times then ran normally - thank goodness for modern electrical encapsulation. An old Seagull I once had would not have recovered so easily ... mind you, the fuel tap on that was a metallic masterpiece, unlike the Johnson one.
 
Barnac1e said:
Congratulations, apart from the fuel tap and cowling clips (see above), it is a very reliable engine that starts easily. The cowling clips are not a problem as I have made a sling from webbing straps that encircling the top section in front and behind the drive shaft and linked together by a lifting strap.

As for the starting, I had occasion to find out how well after departing once in my cruising life from a rule of never leaving the engine on the inflatable tethered to the boat overnight when anchored. I had been ashore in Croatia and returned late and being tired neglected to lift up onto the pushpit bracket. I was awoken after midnight by a sudden, 50-knot bora - a katabatic NE wind that can appear out of nowhere there - the dinghy was airborne and regularly inverting and landing back in the water, completely submerging the outboard. The next hour was spent in a struggle to get the dinghy upright and lashed alongside, the outboard raised and onto its bracket, dried as best I could. Next morning all was still again. After a few pulls it started, spluttered and coughed a few times then ran normally - thank goodness for modern electrical encapsulation. An old Seagull I once had would not have recovered so easily ... mind you, the fuel tap on that was a metallic masterpiece, unlike the Johnson one.
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Don't get me started on bloody Seagulls!!! I want to like them but ever since one decided to let me down out of sheer obstinacy I've vowed never to use one again!

Thanks again everyone for your input.......
 
Major_Clanger said:
Don't get me started on bloody Seagulls!!! I want to like them but ever since one decided to let me down out of sheer obstinacy I've vowed never to use one again!

Thanks again everyone for your input.......
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My Seagull got me home when my nearly new Evinrude failed
 
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