2001 Johnson 90 Oil Leak

Powza

Cadet
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
21
I noticed an oil leak with my 2001 Johnson 90 (J90VLSIG) Ocean Pro after a few days my boat has been sitting in the sun. Not sure exactly where I should look. I popped the cover an don't see where. Any help is appreciated.
 

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w2much

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
1,276
You have a VRO pump on that motor. There are quite a few places which oil may be coming from. Oil delivery hose to the engine, then to VRO pump. Could be a fuel leak also, the fuel evaporates and leaves the oil residue. You have recirculation hoses which tend to crack at the fittings over time. Your primer can leak fuel which evaporates. You need to check, and recheck all places where fuel and oil travel, even the carbs. If you have plastic carburetor bowls they may be warped and leaking. Remove the airbox for a better look. You may want to remove the lower cowls also and trace the residue you are seeing. You can run the engine with the lower cowls removed and the airbox removed. You need to be cautious as you do not know if it is just oil leaking or you have a fuel leak. Fuel leak can cause a fire, a bad running condition, , oil leak can cause a catastrophic engine failure. My guess is a fuel leak as it occurs after sitting in the sun the fuel expands and finds its way out . If it is an oil leak or a fuel leak it needs to be corrected before you run ,and possibly ruin that motor. Clean the motor so that you may possibly spot the spot. I use a parts cleaning brush, paint brush or something similar with lots of Dawn dish soap then spray it with a hose. Of course be attentive to your wiring(disconnect at the battery) connectors and your carburetors, not a good idea to spray water into them. There is no single answer to your question.Let us know what you find.
 

McGR

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 19, 2004
Messages
654
As w2much stated, it is likely a fuel leak. To detect a possible fuel leak, remove the air silencer, pump the fuel bulb and inspect for leaks around carbs, primer, vapor separator, fuel lines and associated connections. If system is working correctly the fuel bulb should get hard and no leaks should be present. As stated, a very likely cause on these engines are leaky warped float bowls. If you find fuel leaking out of a carb throat you probably have a leaking needle and seat.

Certainly, give the VRO system a good inspection for leaks too.
 

Faztbullet

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
15,589
If engine hard to start and smokes like crazy replace the oil cap on boat oil tank...its not venting.
 

Powza

Cadet
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
21
Update:

I noticed all 4 carbs were leaking due to the float chambers warped pretty badly. I replaced them with new bowls along with new carburetor repair kits. Not only that, the fuel hose going inside the engine was kinked, so I replaced that with a reinforce fuel hose. Not sure if that all was the original issue but it's all I could find that stands out.

The boat starts up great, not very smokey and idles much smoother.
 
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