1986 40hp Johnson, vro disabled, will fuel pump wear out faster?

[jdlanders]

Hello,

I am thinking about buying an '86 johnson, 40hp, 2 stroke that came with VRO oil injection. The shop I am dealing with got the engine with the VRO already disconnected. I spoke with another local johnson service center (who has overcharged me before but always does good work) and they seem to believe that simply disconnecting the oil line (to the oil chamber on the pump) will cause the pump to wear out faster. Does anyone have any thoughts/experience on this matter?

The service center wants to sell me a "retro" pump for $300, no way I am going to pay that much for a fuel pump.

This engine has good compression and seems to run strong, I just wonder if simply disconnecting the oil system might cause damage elsewhere.

Tight lines. . .

[jtexas]

this is just an opinion, with no supporting scientific evidence...it's a vacuum-operated pump, so it's not like you got parts rubbing against each other. The only part that could wear out is the diaphram, and you don't care if the diaphram on the oil side wears out -- you aren't using it for anything.

Not to mention, what will you do if does wear out prematurely? Replace it? At the same cost as today?

Not to mention which, for $98 you could replace with a fuel-only pump. Now, or later. Same cost.

Chances of it failing catastrophically, stranding you on the water or ruining a fishing trip are slim. More likely, it starts getting weak; other words, you get some warning.

[jdlanders]

JTexas,

thanks for the reply, that is what I was thinking. Also, I agree on the price of a pump. Any one else have any input.

Thanks in advance.

[h_lankford]

My 1986 Johnson 60 VRO failed many years ago, maybe 1992 or so. Oil line and warning buzzer wire disconnected
Have been running premix ever since and fuel pump works fine still.

[boobie]

I've seen a lot of VRO's disconnected over the years and worked just fine. I've also disconnected them myself and no probs. The best thing to do now is run it untill it quits and then put a regular fuel pump on it. Much cheaper.

[cr2k]

Well the VRO pos is a plastic pump inside the cowl where the heat is. Go figure. Best bet pull the VRO and put on a regular fuel pump.

[boobie]

There's a lot of VRO's still out there under the hood where the "heat" is and they are still surviveing very well.