Black oil from prop

[Strauser24]

I have a 1984 115 johnson VRO, and i just bought it, i installed it on my boat this past weekend and decided to try to start it today, I after a little bit i got it started. 1.) after idle for a few minutes i put it in gear and reved it up for a sec. and an alarm went off, so i shut it down. What could that have been? I had a good stream of water out of the water pump. and the alarm didn't come back on after i started it up again, although i did not put it in gear again?<br />2.) after i ran it and shut it off a few more times i went to work, when i got home i noticed a puddle of black oil under the prop, i touched it and it felt like oil, but it didn't smell like gear oil. kind of smelled like exhaust. any help would be great.

 

[ob]

Re: Black oil from prop

First thing we need to know is the alarm description.Was it a constant tone alarm?If so,that would be the overheat on your engijne which will require some looking in to.If the waterpump and thermostats have not been changed in the last couple of years ,it's due.<br /><br />The black residue you are seeing is fairly normal on an engine of unknown maintenance history.May just be due for a decarbonization procedure.You'll also want to insure that the engine height set-up is optimal and the engine is propped correctly to turn the recommended wide open throttle rpms.An overpropped and/or incorrect engine height setup can cause overloading or lugging of the engine which can further exacerbate a carbon build-up issue.

 

[Strauser24]

Re: Black oil from prop

The alarm was not a constant tone. so you don't think it is the gearcase leaking?

 

[ob]

Re: Black oil from prop

What was it ? Rapid short tones? One short tone every 25 or so secs?<br /><br />If it smells like exhaust ,it's almost certainly unburned two cycle oil a gas.Might just as well inspect and or change the lower unit gear oil and inspect the old drained lube for signs of water intrusion.<br /><br />I am assuming that this engine is still using the vro and not being premixed at 50:1.

 

[Strauser24]

Re: Black oil from prop

It was about 1 second or less in between short tones, yes i did hook up the vro, but someone on this forum told me to go ahead and mix 50:1 and run it for a day with the oil tank hooked up and mark my tank to make sure that the oil pump is working. so is that a good idea?

 

[ob]

Re: Black oil from prop

It's a very good idea and standard procedure until you are certain that oil is being consumed from reservoir.That rapid short tone alarm is the "no oil" alarm from vro.Insure the reservoir is at least half full,is venting properly,its pickup sock is clean and clear,free of water,and there are no leaks on the oil hose from reservoir to vro inlet.On intial set-up of the vro into service ,the oil hose needs to be primed.Do this by leaving the oil inlet hose disconnected from vro inlet and gently pumping the oil primer bulb until clear air free oil escapes.Then reconnect securely.One note of caution.If the engine is still using the original VRO pump,it is over twenty years old and may be wearing out.The alarms on that vro unit were iffy when new.

 

[Strauser24]

Re: Black oil from prop

Thank you so much for the help i will do that. also if need be how hard and how would i get rid of the vro system and pre-mix only?

 

[ob]

Re: Black oil from prop

Easy,Just follow and disconnect the vro wire harness at its amphenol plug,disconnect the two wire lead{low oil alarm) from reservoir under engine cover,plug off the oil inlet securely near the vro pump,mix 50:1 in fuel tank,which it sounds like you already have,and prime the fuel bulb with fuel inlet to vro disconnected until pre-mix fuel is present, and reconnect securely.In your case the premix is already ther since you ran the engine , so you could omit the last two steps.<br /><br />You can then remove (if you want to) the reseroir and oil hose from boat.Once finished,test the overheat sensor with the key in the "on" position by grounding one of the tan colored temp sensor leads.Constant alarm should sound.Ground the tan lead by either peeling back the insulation jacket at the connector or by backprobing wire with a test lead.Good luck.

 

[Strauser24]

Re: Black oil from prop

Thanks ob, you have helped out alot. I will let you know how it turns out if you would like.

 

[ob]

Re: Black oil from prop

Sure, c'mon back and give us an update.

 

[71whaler]

Re: Black oil from prop

"after idle for a few minutes i put it in gear and reved it up for a sec. and an alarm went off, so i shut it down."<br /><br />Did you put it in gear while out of the water on the muffs?? Not a good idea if you did. Most manuals I have read state that this can cause the motor to "run away" and over rev. Either put it in a test tank or in the water. You should only be idling while hooked up to a hose.

 

[Strauser24]

Re: Black oil from prop

thank you 71whaler i will check my manual and see what it says. i have not ran it since yesterday and i noticed tonight that there is another black oily puddle, how much is going to come out?