Johnson Venom 200 -- Newby Looking for Friendly Advice from you Experts

[cschuler]

<br /><br />Looking for a little help here. I have heard some horror stories regarding the Johnson Oil Injection motors. <br /><br />I am looking for some friendly advice on wether I should steer clear of purchasing a used boat with the above motor?<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Curtis<br /><br /> cschuler@swbell.net

 

[omctech]

Re: Johnson Venom 200 -- Newby Looking for Friendly Advice from you Experts

Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with an OMC product. However, here are a few things you might want to look at before buying.<br />1) Compression.... should be at least 110# each cylinder with no variation between your highest and lowest reading of more than 7#.<br />2) Have them perform a spark test where you can see all 6 cyl's are firing.<br />3) Test run the boat harder than you will actually run it for at least 20 minutes. This will tell you if they tried to "band-aid" anything just to get the sell.<br />4) Make it a stipulation that there is a new impeller and thermostat in the motor.<br />5) If it is a dealer, ask for 5 references AND CALL THEM!!!!!!! See if they are satisfied with service after the sale.<br />Now, if you are satisfied with all of the above, buy it and enjoy. If not, take your time and make sure that your boating experience is a good one!

 

[cschuler]

Re: Johnson Venom 200 -- Newby Looking for Friendly Advice from you Experts

I appreciate the input. So, would you recommend taking the boat to an authorized dealer to inspect it more thoroughly? The seller is an individual,not a business.<br /><br />I am currently planning to test drive the boat this weekend, so I should be able to tell if there are any obvious problems. I am not so sure that I am qualified to look deeper to look beyond the bandaid fix that could be implemented for a one time outing.<br /><br />Curtis

 

[jegervais]

Re: Johnson Venom 200 -- Newby Looking for Friendly Advice from you Experts

Absolutely take to an authorized dealer, especially if you're uncomfortable checking things out yourself.<br /><br />Now a word (or several) about "authorized" dealers - just because the have a Johnson or Evinrude sign (or Mercury or Yamaha or any other for that matter) hanging on the building doesn't mean they're good. Ask around, local "word of mouth" will usually put onto a good service dealership. And, expect to pay a premium for that service - the investment in special tools and continuing education for the technicians is substantial. Look around in the shop office, good dealerships display their tech's credentials - many certificates have expiration dates too. Make sure the certificates are current and the tech STILL works there.<br /><br />Arrange any pre-purchase inspection well in advance, don't expect to get in on a Saturday afternoon on short notice either. Like mentioned above, you want to have compression & spark checked, have the gearcase lube, trim fluid and the oil injection reservoir inspected - water in any of those sytems will mean "death" to that part of the engine. I would expect to have the dealer spend at least an hour looking the rig over. One of the best things you can do, as the potential new owner is the on the water test drive.<br /><br />Good luck!<br /><br />-John