1990 90Hp johnson got wet

[floflodr]

i just bought a 1990 90 Johnson and i was just told after i bought it that it sunk with the boat, due to a lot of rain a couple of months ago.

i have run the engine and it definetly was only running at half of its power, and in the 20 minutes i was running it, the boat made two huge jumps forward, just as whatever was wrong got to work, or made contact for a few seconds.

if anyone can please tell me what parts may have water, what should be checked, replaced and or cleaned ?

the dominican guys here at the marina, dont seem to have a clue and say it just needs to be run for a lot of time and it will get cleaned up, but i dont like to belive in these stories, as long i dont hear it from a professional.

thanks in advance for any help

 

[walleyehed]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

As soon as a submerged engine hits air, the plugs need to come out, carbs drained and oil squirted into them. if it was run shortly after submersion, I think you'll see ignition problems and if no oil was run through without plugs in, a day or 2 can allow corrosion to set in....not good. My 2 cents...you will have serious issues to deal with.
See what the rest of the folks think on this, but it will never be the same as it was before.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

This is just my thoughts, and probably aren't worth much, especially since I don't know much about larger HP motors, but....
I've sunk a couple of motors before. It all depends on whether you got water in the crankcase and how long the water was there. Since you' ve already ran it, well.......But, I think that surging you're feeling could be related to water in the electrical system which is shorting out the spark to one of your cylinders. The surge you feel is the spark coming on for a few seconds or just a second or two. You may just need to get everything dried out, and clean your carb bowls to get all the water out. My point is, you may not have a ruined motor, and only may need to do a couple of cheap things like take the flywheel off and dry/ clean everything up and clean your carb bowls. It may then run great. I'd try to do it as soon as possible so the heat of the motor running and oil going through the crankcase will get rid of any water that might be inside the engine. You should do a compression test right away and if compression is good, I'll bet you can fix that engine. You can also take a flashlight and look in the crankcase with the carbs off and see if there's any rust in the crankcase.
Just a couple of ideas to think about, don't get upset just yet with it.
Good luck,
JBJEnnings

 

[floflodr]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

if i cannot fix it, i dont really mind because i bought the boat and the engine just came with it, anyways it would be nice if i can somehow keep the engine, which would safe me a lot of money.

right now i have the engine and boat out of the water for general maintenance, and i have only run it once since i bought it.

i dont really think it is that bad, the engine starts cold at the first attempt and stays running.

if there is anything else i should know or do, please tell me everything you know.
I just ordered 4 new coils and will redo all the wiring.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

the boat made two huge jumps forward, just as whatever was wrong got to work, or made contact for a few seconds.

power packs, has 2 one for each side? coils? dirty carbs? have you checked compression?

it is a great motor. is the vro still connected? or are you mixing gas and oil?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

If the motor sunk in fresh water, and you have had it running, make sure it idles or runs at least 45 minutes to clear out any water. Replace whatever electronics went bad, although most or all of the electronics should have survived in the freshwater.

If it submerged while runing or in saltwater, you really should have disassembled the motor completely and cleaned it up before running it. In this case, It may be too late to fix.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

If it was sunk two months ago, it is either junk or else the guy got it running soon after retreival, two months ago. I would say obvioulsy the latter.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1990 90Hp johnson got wet

Some more reading for you.

"http://www.brokeboats.com/sunk.html"