1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

[mbecke2]

Hi I am having issues with my 140 Johnson VRO. It started giving me trouble and I took it to a mechanic and he said the reed gasket needed to be replaced first and foremost. So he changed the gasket and then said I needed a powerpack because it had a miss in cyl 3. SO I told him thanks but no thanks I would change the ppack myself. Well needless to say I havent gotten the motor running since then. I changed the ppack and Im gettin good spark. Did compression and got 100,105,105,95. It runs good on rabbit ears in the yard but when it gets on the water its a whole new ball game. Last time I took it out it would only run if I choked it at full throttle. Soon as I let go of the choke it would bog down. So I figure one of 3 things. Carb, fuel pump, or air leak. Well I got new fuel hose and ball, new vro fuel pump, and cleaned the carbs. Still no luck. Everyone says its clogged high speed jets but I sprayed carb cleaner in each jet and it comes out clean through the carb throat. Am I missing something?? Should I waste more money on rebuilding the carbs?? I was told to manually clean the high speed jets. How do I do that. I know I have to unscrew and take out the high speed orifice screw located behind the carb float screw and soak it, but can it be possible that it is not a carb issue?? The ball stays hard and the carb bowls all fill up fine with fuel. Thanks for your help.

 

[jimdd810]

Re: 1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

rebuild the carbs get a good factory servvice manual.
Rebuild the carb and youll be happy with the results.

 

[jtexas]

Re: 1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

how many threads you going to start for this question? This is the 2nd one today, 4th this month.

We've all been there. Motor runs on the muffs but won't accelerate under load. We all learned to rebuild our carbs after checking compression and spark.

So rebuild the carbs already!!

It's cheap cheap cheap compared to the money you already wasted with that parts changer who calls himself a mechanic!!

 

[mbecke2]

Re: 1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

So I noticed a had bad gas (lots of water) so I got fresh gas in a fresh tank and made sure fresh good gas was going to all 4 carb bowls. With a timing light with set the motor to 4 degrees at idle. Took off all 4 carbs and all jets and orifices were perfect and clean. Put everything on and motor ran perfect with rabbit ears in yard. Take it the water and NEVER FAILS wouldnt idle, barely starts, wouldnt run under load. Noticed when carb cleaner sprayed in top left carb the motor kills but when sprayed in the bottom it revs up. SAme with blowing air in it and when holdin my hand over the carb. The other two carbs on the right seem fine and the motor does not kill or rev when carb cleaner sprayed in or hand held over. All carbs have suction. I did notice gas leaking from the top left carb when the motor is trimmed up and I think the gaskets are worn and one is broke in half. Will rebuilding the carbs really REVIVE this motor and bring it back to life, or will it be another shot in the dark?? What else can I do the diagnose this motor??

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

Previous posters have diagnosed correctly and told you what to do, for some reason you insist on ignoring.

Get the service book and rebuild the carbs with new carb KITS.
They sell the kits right here on iboats for under $24 ea.

Get manual here.
www.outboardbooks.com

Its either that or you will soon melt a piston due to lean running.

Putting you on ignore now.

 

[jtexas]

Re: 1989 johnson 140hp only runs when choked

compression, spark, fuel. If she gets all three, she runs. If she don't, she don't. You've determined conclusively that she's getting compression & spark. So, we know for a fact that the problem is fuel.

Using the choke to flood a running engine with gasoline should kill it. You see fuel leaking from the carbs. Don't expect this engine to run when you can see for yourself that the carbs are bad.

btw, carb cleaner sprayed down the carb throats will do what it's designed to do: strip the lubricating oil right off the cylinder walls. If you wouldn't run your motor with no oil, don't run it on carb cleaner.