model ID 9054R?

[eli_lilly]

Hello,

I am trying to ID the year of my outboard. It is supposedly a 1989 Johnson 90. However, there are a couple of things that make me wonder. First, it has no VRO pump, it has a regular fuel pump instead. Second, none of the pictures in the OEM service manual directly match what is actually on the motor. The throttle "area" is substantially different, both in the pictures in the center of the book and also as pictured and described in the link-n-sync section. The idle adjustment screw is in a different place, the "amplifier" is shaped different, and the

To totally add to my confusion, the bracket plate says MOD.9054R*, with the * being a mystery digit that is covered by the plate rivet.

Any clues are very welcome because I'd like to get the OEM manual for the proper year, if it's not what I have.

Thanks,
-E

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: model ID 9054R?

That's nothing like any Johnson model number I've ever seen. Looks more like an Evinrude number. Closest matches are 90582, 90583, 90592, 90593. All are 1965 and would have distributors.

1989 models are 90TLCE, 90TXCE, 90TLAS, 90MLCE. Johnsons have a J in front, Evinrudes have an E in front.

The R leads me to believe it might be a factory reconditioned motor formerly used in some promotional application. They supply theme parks and resorts for example and recondition them for sale after a year or two.

If you can post a picture I'll bet we can ballpark it pretty close. VRO started in 1984, but there are SPL (special) models without. I'm not aware of any 90SPL models. They were 88s.

Come to think of it there were 90SPLs when the new 60 degree blocks came out, but they were VRO.