Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

[Sublime]

I have a 86 16ft Troller with a 87 45hp Merc being fed by an Auto Blend injection unit. There seams to be a dislike of oil injection units in this forum, especially Auto Blends. I've owned this set up for four years now and have had no problems (knock on wood). Can I really trust this setup? I mostly navigate the mouth of the Merrimack river Newbury Port, Ma. (horrible place to get stranded)<br /><br />Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

I lost a powerhead to that junk--Bob

 

[JB]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

I think most of the distrust of oil injection systems here is directed at early version VRO by OMC, not at Auto Blend.

 

[hooksetter62]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

i changed my oil system to pre mix-50-1. the system might be trust worthy but i dont want to find out it quit working when my motor stops or siezes up. i have a 89-40hp-4cyl-mariner. if you feel comfortable with your oil injection system working then just trust it. to each his own.

 

[Bob H.]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

I've got an 87 80hp and the oil system is the first thing I disconnected. The alarm only tells you when the oil is low or gone, not when there's a pump failure. If an oil line broke or the pump fails at WOT the engine will be screaming for many long seconds without oil...assuming the low oil level and temp alarm works. I mix my own in the tank. Plugs get dirty faster but at least I know oil won't be cause of a new powerhead bill.

 

[fierro]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

nothingh like the good old trusty pre mix. my 150 is 20 years old and still running like a champ.

 

[Laotzu]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Don't see anything in the opinions so far that is head over heels in love with the auto inject. Got me thinking I might change to pre mix. <br /><br />How much oil would I put in per gallon for 22 gallon tank at 50 t0 1? Then, When I fill up and put in say 15 gallons, how much oil do I add? Seven gallons with 50 to 1 oil will remain in tank. Sounds complicated and I'm not good at math.<br /><br />Jerry

 

[ColdFire]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Buy a measring device at wally world for a couple of bucks it will take care of the math for you, keep it and a 1 gal portable container for easy mixing and pooring at the pump. I also removed the autoblend from my 87 115hp.

 

[dajohnson53]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Jerry - FYI, the math is, one ounce oil per 50 ounces of gasoline. Each gallon of gasoline = 128 ounces. Each qt. of oil = 32 oz.<br /><br />IF you end up pre-mixing (I'm not saying whether you should or shouldn't), I'd advise setting up a pre-marked container for measuring oil according to the number of gallons you add. It can be a ready-made measuring container that you can find in stores, or get yourself some sort of appropriate size clear plastic container. It doesn't have to be a measuring container, but just one you can make permanent marks on and with a tight lid so that when you store it on board, it won't make a mess. Put marks on the container for the amount of oil you'd need for certain numbers of gallons of gas (e.g. 1-22 gal). It is my opinion that this doesn't have to be super-exact. Round to the nearest ounce of oil for your marks. When you add gas round to the nearest gallon. Don't get into micro-measurements.

 

[heybaylor]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

mine aint 20 years old ye ....only 19 ..<br />still running auto-lube ..<br />trick is "checkit once in a while "<br />just a poor ole 86 xr150..but still turns 6000

 

[Sublime]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Thanks folks,.. Kind of a split decision here. One thing I always do is check the pump prior to every trip as I'm topping the unit off. I also make sure that there's a bit of 2-stroke smoke behind me at the start of a trip down river. This is at the same time I'm checking out my pee stream.<br /><br />And loatzu; the measuring tool you need is called a "ratio-rite". They have them at WallyWorld or any motorcycle shop. That's what I use to mix for my MX racer.<br /><br />Thanks again folks!<br /><br /><br />I am a God at sea!

 

[Raghauler]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

I, too, removed my Autoblend and pre-mix in the tank. This was at the advise of a seasoned mechanic who said, based on his experience, it's not a matter of "if" it fails, but "when".<br /><br />I mix 13 oz.s to each five gals. of gas, and pour it in the tank slowly as the gas is pumped. Seems to work well for me.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

if your motor has the engine block mounted oil pump and tank then keep the vynil lines changed and odds are it will out last you. with maint the block nounted system just rarely fails. if you have the hull mounted auto-blend rig its very trust worthy. so far I have seen them fail 100%. it was a good idea that just required to much maint and no one will maintain them, that and the electrical connections did not like moisture. you cannot compare the inline engine oiling systems to the merc v6 system. you also cannot compare it to the old OMC VRO. you can compare the hull mounted auto blend to the old OMC econo mixer system that was incredibly failure prone and luckily was only used for about 3 years. OMC also had a fuel tank for the little engines that mixed oil and fuel as the fuel was drawn from the tank. it worked well, kinda, but required the system to be drained and cleaned periodically. if you did not then power head failure was assured.

 

[achris]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

As an ex-outboard mechanic, I can tell you that I like the Mercury oil system. Suzuki like it too, they changed from their own system to a Merc copy in about 1996. The V6 Mercs have a sensor on the pump shaft that's tied to a sensor for engine speed, if the shaft speed and the engine speed don't match, it screams its head off. And before any of you wise-guys start jumping up and down about a failed screamer (very common with Johnrudes), with all the Merc's at 'key-on' there is a system self-test that sounds the buzzed in a particular sequence. READ THE MANUAL and it's all spelled out in there.<br /><br />But, the system I liked the very best.... OMC's VRO... why? I made a lot of money out of it. Rebuilding powerheads and converting them to pre-mix.<br /><br />Unfortunately the VRO has sullied the reputation of ALL oil-injection systems, which is a shame really, the Merc system really is very good.<br /><br />Chris......................

 

[Laotzu]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Thanks all for your advice. Sorry Sublime for butting in on your thread.<br /><br />Jerry

 

[timmathis]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Wal-mart measure bottle is easy as 123.

 

[Sublime]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Hay,..No worries Jerry! That's what we're all here for.

 

[Clams Canino]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

The external auto-blend unit is indeed suspect. Checking it will not help - when it fails you'll get 3-5 minutes to notice - if that.<br /><br />pre-mix 50-1 - about 1 quart for 12 gallons is close enough.<br /><br />-W

 

[rlgsr]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

Originally posted by Clams Canino:<br /> The external auto-blend unit is indeed suspect. Checking it will not help - when it fails you'll get 3-5 minutes to notice - if that.<br /><br />pre-mix 50-1 - about 1 quart for 12 gallons is close enough.<br /><br />-W

 

[rlgsr]

Re: Auto Blend, Trustworthy??

What will happen if I run my 93 135 hp mercury using pre mix with the oil injection system still hooked up? That is what I am doing now. also is it hard to disconnect?