1990 johnson 90 ob overheat alarm

blteig

Recruit
Joined
Jul 1, 2011
Messages
1
After 2 years in storage, I fired up my 1990 johnson 90 and after 5 minutes the overheat alarm sounded so i shut it down. A few hours later i tried to start it again but it wouldn't crank over at all. While running the water flow in the lower unit looked good initially then a little intermittent after the alarm sounded. Is this a tell tale sign of a bad water pump? Is this something i should try to can repair myself or should i pay for a boat mechanic?
 

emoney

Commander
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Messages
2,551
Re: 1990 johnson 90 ob overheat alarm

I would definitely start there. Not necessarily the water pump, but the impellar needs to be changed. Also, there's a sticky at the top of this forum titled, "Top Secret" that has links to threads about starting an outboard after it's been sitting for a while that will be very helpful. Could be t-stats stuck, or ? I'd change the lower unit fluid as well, along with spark plugs, clean carbs, etc.
 
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