'85 Johnson 30 HP, Recoil To Hard to Pull with Plugs in.

[alaskanglenn]

Howdy folks, Just picked up a 1985 Johnson 30 HP Outboard, It is next to impossible to pull the recoil rope with the plugs in, with the plugs out it is a breeze, any ideas??, Removed plugs and put in a few oz's of Marvel Mystery Oil, let it soak and cranked it all back out tried plugs still hard to pull. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

[boats.net]

I recommend doing a compression test. Try starting with plugs in and plug wires removed. The only thing I can thing of that can cause that is the timing being off or may have a blown head gasket. However a 30hp motor should not be too easy to start with plugs in.

[Rebel Sympathy]

Those big-block 30-35 hp motors have a right strong amount of compression. A healthy one will have between 120 and 140 psi. It is all I can do to pull one one handed. Two handed is no problem.... Mike