1984 Johnson 90 reliability?

[ricohman]

I am thinking about buying an older Starcraft with a Johnson 90. The boat and motor are both from 84 or 85. Original owner since new and he says not that much use as he lives so far north.
Anyway, it still runs the original VRO system. Are these a reliable older motor?

 

[82rude]

That motor is in a class of motors 90-140,that are very reliable .Theres probably 10,s of thousands of them still serving faithfully.If that's a 1st gen vro they did have issues but is easily fixed by going to premix .But I'm of the opion that if it hasn't broken yet it most likely never will.With any used purchase check for good even compression.

 

[ricohman]

That motor is in a class of motors 90-140,that are very reliable .Theres probably 10,s of thousands of them still serving faithfully.If that's a 1st gen vro they did have issues but is easily fixed by going to premix .But I'm of the opion that if it hasn't broken yet it most likely never will.With any used purchase check for good even compression.

That is great to hear. Thanks for the post!

 

[flyingscott]

Yank the VRO The early systems had legitimate issues. You also want to make sure you run a good decarb through once a year because you want to reduce as much carbon as possible. Run good quality oil through it and enjoy it for years to come.

 

[Chinewalker]

I have a 1983 Johnson 90 on my Starcraft. I rebuilt it over 10 years ago and other than a power pack going down, and some routine maintenance stuff, I haven't had any issues with it. Original owner had neglected it to the point where it overheated after a water pump failure. That's how I ended up with it in blown condition. Strong motor, a little thirsty if you're on the throttle, but not bad if you notch it back a bit to a reasonable cruising speed.