Evinrude150V4

My wife purchased a 1985 bass boat w a Evinrude V4(over100hp not exactly sure of hp) that has the VRO which has been disabled and ran w 50:1 mixture as specified in owners manual. There is old fuel in the tank from last year(plan on draining tank), and I am told the plugs need changed. I have not even picked the boat up yet. Is it better to leave the VRO disabled or replace the VRO unit? I would think the steady 50:1 mix would foul the plugs, shortening the plug life. I am not familiar w the VRO or blocking off the self oiler, other than from what I read it is a common procedure when the VRO quits pumping oil. Wouldn't this set off an "oil" alarm on the engine? I am a newbie to this nice of a boat and dont want to make costly mistakes that could be easily avoided by a little advice.

Re: Evinrude150V4

Pertaining to the one year old gasoline. There is good gasoline and then there's bad gasoline. Bad gasoline is "Stale" gasoline and there is no mistaking gasoline that is stale. No one needs to be taught the smell of stale gasoline, it is perhaps just one of the senses that we are born with..... a smell so offensive that drunken skunks have been known to head for the hills when encountering it.

Now, with that said, smell that gas. If it isn't stale, I'd suggest you use it especially with the exorbitant outrageous price of gasoline that is now being forced upon all of us by organized crime (need I explain that?).

New boat (to you)... Check the compression, with plugs removed check the spark, check the lower unit for water. The 50/1 mixture will not foul the spark plugs... use Champion QL77JC4 plugs gapped at either .030 or .040. One gap or the other may provide improved performance.

The VRO, whether to use it or premix is of course your judgement to make, however since the engine is a 1985 model and you really have no idea how old that VRO is, I strongly suggest that you either install a new VRO pump or switch to premix as follows.

(VRO Changeover Judgement Call)
(J. Reeves)

The VROs first came out in 1984 and have been upgraded quite a few times. In my opinion, back around 1988, they had perfected them but I think that they were upgraded even more since then. As long as the warning system is operating as it should, I feel quite at ease with them.

Some boaters have voiced their thoughts such as "What if that overpriced plastic horn should fail while I'm under way for some reason, and the VRO decides to fail five minutes later?" Obviously that would result in a big problem which really brings their fears into view.

The word "ease" is the key word though. If one has the slightest feeling of being ill at ease with that setup, then they should take the route they feel more at ease with. A judgement call each individual would need to make on their own.

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(VRO Pump Conversion To Straight Fuel Pump)
(J. Reeves)

You can convert the VRO pump into a straight fuel pump, eliminating the oil tank and VRO pump warning system, but retain the overheat warning setup (and fuel restriction warning if so equipped) by doing the following:

1 - Cut and plug the oil line at the engine so that the oil side of the VRO pump will not draw air into its system. Trace the wires from the back of the VRO to its rubber plug (electrical plug) and disconnect it.

2 - Trace the two wires from the oil tank to the engine, disconnect those two wires, then remove them and the oil tank.

3 - Mix the 50/1 oil in the proper amount with whatever quantity fuel you have. Disconnect the fuel line at the engine. Pump the fuel primer bulb until fuel exits that hose with the tint of whatever oil you used. Reconnect the fuel hose.

That's it. If you want to test the heat warning system to ease your mind, have the key in the on position, then ground out the tan heat sensor wire that you'll find protruding from the cylinder head. The warning horn should sound off.

(Odd Soundings Of Warning Horn)
(J. Reeves)

Should the warning horn beep constantly when the key is turned to the ON position rather than sounding just a short beep as it should, do the following test.

Remove the TAN wire from the horn. If the constant beeping continues, the horn is faulty, in which case replace it. However, on the other hand, if the beeping stops, something has gone wrong with one of the sensor components at the engine, in which case start disconnecting the TAN wires that are connected to the various components (Heat Sensors, VRO, Vacuum Switch if so equipped, Oil Tank). Disconnecting a unit and having the beeping stop...... you've found the faulty component.

NOTE: The small black plastic horn that has a built in black ground wire...... The TAN wire must be attached to the terminal closest to that black wire. Otherwise weird things will happen.

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(VRO Horn Warnings)
(J. Reeves)

NOTE: I retired around 1991/92. Possibly some of the later V4 engines and others may also incorporate a fuel vacuum switch that would enable a fuel restriction warning to sound as mentioned below, an unknown factor to myself.

1 - A steady constant beep = Overheating - The V/6 engines, possibly some others, have a fuel restriction warning which is also a steady constant beep.

2 - A beep every 20 or 40 seconds = oil level has dropped to 1/4 tank. (Late model engine = Every 40 seconds)

3 - A beep every other second = VRO failure, air leak in oil line, oil restriction, (anything that would result in a lack of oil being supplied to the engine).

NOTE - If the warning horn is the black plastic (overpriced) three wire type horn, the warning horn should beep once when the ignition key is turned to the ON position. If it does not, it is either faulty or someone has disconnected it (a stupid move!). At any rate, if it does not beep which indicates that the horn is non functional, find out why and do not run the engine until the problem is corrected.

Re: Evinrude150V4

Legend has it that when VRO works it works well. But if it does fail yer basically screwed. Personally don't think I'd attempt resurrecting a vro unit that'd previously been bypassed. Better to keep mixing.

Yes 50:1 is the recommended ratio but feel free to experiment. Some of the high tech stuff is 100:1. However I once ran mine at 0:1 for a good ten or fifteen minutes before remembering to add oil ... Whoops!

Seemed no worse for the wear?

Re: Evinrude150V4

What ever you do, if you remove the VRO: (1) mark the tank oil level to make sure when VRO is back on engine (2) don't blow compressed air into the pulse limiter (I know duh, right) fitting (the hose that comes from the block, under the carbs). They work decent, they only reason I would convert the VRO to a 50:1 mix is if I did not have money for the repair, they are expensive.

Re: Evinrude150V4

Plan on finding out in the morning just hauled er home tonight. We bought it from close friends and they said it ran but had sat for a while (was their father's boat and he is too old to get it out or maintain it like it should be) but for a 1985 boat it looks darned near brand new. After sons graduation and reception plus numerous bills just planning on running it on mix this year lol. I would prefer to go back to VRO system but just getting general opinions from those more in the know than myself! Thank you so much for reply and the detailed info on warning horns as well as wiring! Its gonna help me out a bunch.

Re: Evinrude150V4

Got the boat out this evening, it will not start without working the throttle linkage manually, can run it up to about 2000 rpm or so and then it clunks and forward motion stops, when i let off the throttle it straightens back out and goes again. When i tried to slow down to an idle it died. Also no gauges work whatsoever except the tach (trim, speedometer, fuel gauge, water temp all not working) This is actually a V4 120 hp, engine seemed to run well at anything over an idle. I am guessing carbs may be gummed up from sitting, thinking of adding a can of Seafoam to the tank, and have not looked for the cause of gauges not working yet. Fluid level in the final drive keeping it from going over 2000 rpm? Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Re: Evinrude150V4

Remove, clean thoroughly, and rebuild the carburetors. Make sure to manually clean the high speed jets that are located in the bottom center portion of the float chambers. Notice that there are two (2) small jets on the front left portion of the carburetor. They look the same BUT are not... they are different sizes and can not be interchanged. The sizes are marked/imprinted on all jets.

Working the throttle back and forth does nothing but open and close the throttle butterflies. Outboard two cycle engines do not incorporate a fuel auxillary pump within them.

Proper starting procedure is as follows:

1 - Pump fuel primer bulb up until it is hard.

2 - Apply a slight bit of throttle, just enough to take the engine off the idle position.

3 - Turn key to START position and push key inwards at the same time. Pushing the key in engages the Fuel Primer Solenoid... look upon this Fuel Primer Solenoid as you would an Electric Choke (same effect).

4 - When the engine starts which should be within six (6) revolutions, release the key to the ON position and let it pop out of the Fuel Primer position. You may need to momentarily press the key in from time to time until the engine warms up and smooths out.

5 - Adjust the throttle setting as needed.

Gauges not working could simply be a loose wire, tight but dirty wire connection. All connections will require checking over.

At 2000 rpm, the engine "clunks"! I don't know what that means. If the prop hub was slipping or cavitating, the engine would race up and the boat would slow down but I've never hear one clunk when this type problem (slips/cavitating) takes place. That'll take a little more explaning.

Re: Evinrude150V4

re Clunk. Could be a worn out clutch dog in the gearcase. I had that problem with my 90. (Bad! Clutch dog bad!)