1988 Johnson VRO 110 reliability of the oil injection?

[Newbie@boats]

Just picked up a 1988 ranger fisherman that sat from 1990-2016 when my buddy bought it. He used it 3 times from 2016 till now, and now I’m the owner of it.

Boat was always garaged kept and shows like new.

My question is from the lack of use should I worry about the oil injection system? I don’t want to be worrying about it failing if I can switch to premix now I will....?

also, the trim motor only works when I’m tapping on it with a hammer kinda like when a starter is starting to fail you can get it a tap and get it to spin again. Safe to assume the trim motor needs replacement?

 

[racerone]

Ask 10 people about oil and oil injection.------You get 15 opinions.-------The oil injection pump is easy to take apart / inspect / maintain.------Test procedure for warning system and oil consumption is spelled out in the book.----The owner of such a system must maintain the system.-----Keeping an eye on it becomes more important if there is only occasional use of the motor.

 

[Faztbullet]

The OMC tech reps said "VRO" stands for "very risky oiling". Seen to many pump fails from sonic welds breaking internally to oil shaft pulled from stem. Only pump I half way trust is the OMS pumps after 1994. Drain and flush the oiltank and line as old oil will gel..

 

[Newbie@boats]

So is it best to rebuild the oil injection system now before any issues? Or should I just remove it and run pre mix so I can truly know the engine is getting enough oil?

 

[boobie]

IMO, I would remove it and run premix. Seen too many VRO's fail.

 

[flyingscott]

I personally like the VRO system. That being said I would not trust a Vro pump sitting for 20 yrs. Don't waste your money on the VRO rebuild kit I have not seen many that work. I would do one of 3 things

#1 Replace the Vro Completely with a new OMS pump.
#2 Disconnect the oil side and run the existing Vro pump as a pre-mix pump
#3 replace the existing VRO pump with the 88 hp pump.

I have seen more broken rings on the V4 motors than I have seen failed VRO pumps. Which ever way you decide to go make sure sure you run some kind of carbon prevention.

 

[Newbie@boats]

If I was a betting man I would bet this motor probably has 50hours on it at most. It will be used probably 5 times a season, I have a 2 year old and one on the way. I just need some ME time every once in a while, and do plan on making some great fishing memories with my 2 year old.

I will delete the oil injection system and just mix the gas in a gas can and fill the boat up.

i have been working on engines for 10+ years now so I’m not worried about diving into it. The million dollar question is does anyone have a step by step on how to delete the system?

 

[Newbie@boats]

Another thought that ran into my head after posting that, can I just leave the factory VRO pump intact and just premix my fuel?

 

[racerone]

Newbie----Post #6 mentions doing just that , #2 on the list.-----That motor has a spot in the intake manifold to mount a conventional pump ( much less money ) if you so wish to do that.

 

[Newbie@boats]

I started to remove the oil injection system today. I found the 2 wires that come from the oil tank itself and I disconnected them. I found the 3 or 4 wire plug that runs to the pump itself and unplugged that. I just need to get a cap for where the oil line itself attaches to the motor. I plan on leaving that oil tank/line on the boat in case someone later on wants to re use this system.

From what I gathered online these are the steps I need to follow for proper bypass.

then I will drain the fuel tank and add fresh fuel with a 50:1 ratio maybe a little heavier on the oil for the first tank to be safe.

 

[racerone]

These motors are nearly world famous for broken piston rings.----I would do a compression test first before spending any coins on this motor.

 

[Newbie@boats]

I did a compression test this morning, 108-110psi across the 4.

 

[racerone]

I would say those values are low.----Perhaps another gauge ?

 

[Newbie@boats]

From what I gathered online they aren’t horrible and since they are pretty even across there isn’t much to be worried about. I plan on doing a decarb in the spring time.

 

[racerone]

Easy to inspect the pistons / rings through the bypass covers.----Will cost you for 4 gaskets about $2.00 each.------Will avoid possible panic in the spring.

 

[Newbie@boats]

Easy to inspect the pistons / rings through the bypass covers.----Will cost you for 4 gaskets about $2.00 each.------Will avoid possible panic in the spring.

I will try with a different gauge this weekend and see what happens. As far as the oil injection bypass goes does it look like I’ve done it right?

 

[PhilSch]

Newbie:

Your compression is fine. Cut the oil line close to the motor (inside or outside the cowling) and use a 5/16" bolt and hose clamp to block it off. The minor hassle of running premix is worth the peace of mind for many.

 

[Newbie@boats]

Here’s an update. Some good some bad. I remove the 12 gallon fuel tank, decided to remove the entire oil system. Ran a 50:1 oil ratio and the motor ran flawlessly. But the issue is now when I turn on the key there’s an alarm/buzzer going off. I don’t know for what? The motor was running in a 55 gallon drum. Not on ear muffs. Plenty of water out of the pee hole and also water coming out of the exhaust ports.

 

[racerone]

Steady alarm or what ??

 

[Newbie@boats]

It will alarm key on engine off/key on engine running. No idea why it’s got plenty of water.