1985 Evinrude VRO opinions please.

Clint KY

Seaman
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Jul 19, 2015
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I am confused about the VRO on the new to me 1985 50HP Evinrude. I read in many places that the earlier VROs, as mine is, were very unreliable and should be bypassed. Further reading and viewing videos offer conflicting information as to if I should, and if I do how to go about it.

Some say and show to disconnect the wires going to the large pump assembly inside the motor case and cut and plug the oil line and then mix your gas & oil. Others say the large pump assembly is both the oil pump and the fuel pump. So it makes sense that if that assembly is disabled I must replace the fuel pump. This was confirmed when I spoke to an OB mechanic and he said he could take care of it and it would be labor and the cost of a fuel pump. And I have a parts break out for the motor and it shows the Combo Pump which I have located on my motor and a fuel pump which I have not located. There is no over-all drawing showing the location of the parts.

To further confuse me the fellow from who I bought the boat said that he had the VRO disconnected but had it hooked back up. There is evidence of a wire being cut in the motor and later replaced using a wire nut and a piece of zip cord. This wire runs all the way to the connector on top of the oil tank in the boat.


Sorry for the long-windiness but here are the questions:
1. Should I not disconnect the VRO and just use it the way it is and wait until it dies? Note: I am not comfortable with this given the advice given by two trusted OB mechanics.
2. Should I attempt to disconnect (disable) it myself following multiple sources? Note: Not comfortable with this either.
3. Should I bite the bullet and take it to one of the above mentioned trusted mechanics? Note: I would rather not do this either, as the money for this project is limited and there are other items that need the attention and funds.

So I am asking what the most reasonable action I should take.

Thanks
 

racerone

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Dec 28, 2013
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The simplest thing to do is to install a pump from an 83 model with 2 screws and a gasket.----It will mount directly on the port side of the top cylinder.-----remove the plug between the 2 screw holes and reroute hoses as needed.
 
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flyingscott

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Disconnect the pump yourself very simple and cheap take the oil line off of where it connects under the fuel line and plug that off. Then if you have wires coming off of the pump itself unplug them and leave them lay you may or may not have them. Now follow the wires from the tank and disconnect them and remove the tank from the boat. The vro pump fine with the oil line disconnected thousands of people doing it. After you are done you will have to run a 50-1 premix.
 

Clint KY

Seaman
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Jul 19, 2015
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I went to a friend's who is a OB mechanic this morning and he explained it to me. All I had to do was disconnect the wire going to the oil tank which is the alarm for Low Oil and cut and plug the oil line as many have said. The whole thing took 5 minutes and most of that was trying to find a piece of fuel line to attach to the motor as the hose from the tank was very brittle. Now on to the rest of the list to get this boat ready. BTW: It is a long list.

Thanks all
 

Blazinmonkey

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 21, 2011
Messages
101
so... the VRO has been working since 1985... and now you can't remember to fill the "oil tank" but you can remember to add oil when you fill up you gas tank? thats funny...
truth is the VRO is bullet proof if you maintain you motor...
 

64osby

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Jul 28, 2009
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Had to replace a 6" line on my pump. Still works great and it's an '85. My alarm still works too. :cool:
 

flyingscott

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The 1984/85 were the bad ones they were not that reliable. I think it was because they really tried to lean it out to far they also did not have the no flow alarm. I am a huge VRO fan but the 84/85 were the reason the vro got the bad rep.
 

Blazinmonkey

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you see that is how the VRO got a bad name... "The 1984/85 were the bad ones they were not that reliable" what was it that made them not reliable?
The fuel pump and oil pump work on the same shaft pin. If fuel pump worked the oil pump worked... just keep the oil tank from going empty...
 

flyingscott

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That is wrong the oil pump can fail without the fuel pump failing how do you think they run it as a fuel pump without the oil side connected. That is also why they put a no flow sensor on them. The oil/fuel ratios were much different on the early pumps somthing like 150/1 at an idle and closer to 100/1 wide open. Pretty common knowledge about the early pumps they had pretty high failure rates. The later vro2 pumps were much improved and it became a very good system.
 

Blazinmonkey

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"That is wrong the oil pump can fail without the fuel pump failing how do you think they run it as a fuel pump without the oil side connected."
how does the oil side fail but not gas side?
They are one pump for both gas and oil. get it? yes disconnect the oil side it still pumps gas. disconnect the gas side it still pumps oil. maintain you motor & keep oil in the oil tank. and also it was 100:1 at idle. as fuel is increased so is the oil. again if you take proper care- they are bullet proof. the original posters pump did not fail. the dude just was not educated on how great they work.
 

joetheis

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Apr 21, 2014
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I just read a great article on the VRO pump.
I typed in VRO pump on my google search and got it. Intresting.........
It's just a 2 stage mechanical pump, one side oil, one side gas, and out is a mix......................
I've been on the fence about pulling mine since I bought the boat and motor last Aug but...............
I figured mine ('91 70 hp 'Rude), has been working fine since '91, (I'm the 3rd owner of the boat, looks like orginal pump).
The VRO got a bad rep but................................perhaps it was just the scape goat?
I printed out how to test both side last fall, can't remember the site.............
The article tells you how to test your "no oil" alarm also.

If it's worked since '85 how bad can it be?
I was thinking of replacing mine (just cuz it's a '91, even though it tested good last April, just cuz the rubber dia. are from '91 and it is a wear item), but that's just me, super anal.................................
I keep an eye on my oil tank, check it every fill up, (serviced that last year new sock rubber line. Once a month stick a turkey baster in the bottom to see if any water got in, none so far), run 'Rude XD 50 oil.
If you go down this road, (well my VRO may sheet the bed, what about your coils? Your stator? your impellar? starter)?
Like me, you'll go crazy!!
Joe
As always, take any advice I give with a can of beer er 2!
 

flyingscott

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OK so you say the vro absolutely cannot stop pumping oil if it's pumping fuel why the no flow alarm on oil side. Just because yours still works on your 1985 only means you got one of the good ones. There were so many design changes on the vro2. I just said the first two years were not good the reputation came from somewhere. Also the first years only had low oil alarm not the no flow gotta wonder why they added that and why only on the oil side. Take one apart once you will see it's 2 pumps in one housing. I remember when they started coming back and these weren't just one piston burned up these were destroyed powerheads. You had everything water from water in the oil tanks to the engine pulse for the pump wrecking the pump.
 
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Clint KY

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Jul 19, 2015
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The two OB mechanics with whom I spoke both said - "Bypass it.". One explained that the early ('84 '85 and some '86s) are considered VRO1 and could fail with fuel being pumped and NO oil being pumped. The two alarms are: 1 - Low oil in the tank and 2 - Overheating. He said often (not always) the Overheat alarm means the cylinders and or pistons are already gone. The later 86 and later units are called VRO2 and have built in systems to either alert you when you had no oil flow or it shut off the engine. Easy to tell which you have. The VRO1s have no electric wires attached while the VRO2s do (either 3 or 4 wire depending on the year) . The other mechanic suggested getting an '83 fuel pump (no VRO), replacing the VRO with it and listing the VRO on EBay. They are bringing good money. I decided to run it as a fuel pump.

I do appreciate all the input.
 

Blazinmonkey

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one pump not two... [h=2]VRO STORY?The Myth of the Mixer[/h] [h=3]by Bill Grannis google it.[/h] but to each his own. if you feel safer with premix - use premix.
 

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flyingscott

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Ok one more time if the oil alarm goes off for no flow and your engine stays running that means the oil side is not pumping oil. Now if the oil side failed how is the motor still running while the alarm is going off. My guess would be the fuel side still works 2 pumps in one housing. One other thing if it was one pump why do you7 not have to pump the oil every time you cold start it. You are giving people bad advice with the one pump theory because here is whats gonna happen people will hear the alarm and think everything is okay and keep running. I wonder if you warranty your advice and will pay for the burned up power heads. If you go to the vro article distinctly shows 2 separate pumps in one housing you also need much more vacuum to pull oil than gas especially when its cold. If you force a single pump to pump 2 different viscosity's it will pull the lighter one fuel and the oil will be left behind.
 
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phillnjack2

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Apr 30, 2011
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IF the VRO was so good, then why did omc put the yellow plugs to change it back to non vro on the fuel lines ?
VRO was just a gimic to get the engines through emission regulations.
even the workshop manual shows how to disengage the VRO.
OMC even made a vro style fuel pump that has NO facility for the oil side of the pump, why would they do that if vro was so good.

The whole concept was a great idea, when it works properly its good, but it fails so often, and by the time the sensor kicks in your engine needs to be re-built.
also why did the military spec have no VRO and the RNLI rescue service engines also came with no VRO ?
The myth about it being a good system is a total load of crap by people who want you to keep the mechanic industry going.
the idea was ok, but in practise its a terrible system.
Now to all those who think they have an older vro system that's been working great all its life, go check again, youl probably find its one of the many superceeded pumps put on free of charge by omc dealers due to bulletins from omc and brp.

anyone want 2 vro pumps come and collect them, I will give them to you free of charge, 1 pump is the mk version the other is the mk 3.
yes there is a mk 1 2 and 3 vro pumps.

I switched to old style pulse pump and engine runs perfect, running great.
 
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