OMS help needed

JasonB

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1994 Johnson 120 TLERC

Noticed my engine seemed to be clicking loudly at idle on the water and I think shook a bit more at low rpm than normal and maybe a bit sluggish. I never got an alarm.

Brought in home and started it on the hose, noticed no smoke, and shut it down.Began reading that the OMS pump can click. Checked the oil bulb and it is very hard. I didn't find any apparent leaks, though the clamp on the oil inlet to the pump was loose. I don't think it was leaking as the hose was very difficult to get off.

I mixed some fresh 50:1 premix to run it on In my home made test tank, new oem fuel hose + bulb, and new inline fuel filter. I pulled the oil feed line on the OMS and got an obvious oil/fuel mix. I attached a 1' piece of 1/4 clear tube marked every 1" with a small fullen in the open end and zip tied it so the funnel was above the oil inlet on the pump., filed with oil, and idled the engine on the premix to get air out of the line. While ut did get the air bubble out, it pushed enough fuel into the line that it flowed back into the funnel and the oil seems to be mixed with fuel. In 4-5 min of idling, it Lever seemed to pull anything out of the line.

On the premix, the engine idles in my test tank as I would expect. Using a IR thermometer, head temps are 142-150. I pulled the plugs and there is no metal and they look pretty normal. They only have maybe 6-8 hours of runtime.

I'll check compression as soon as I can locate my tester.

The clicking is hard to localize, but seems loudest at the bottom of the OMS pump at what I think in the pulse line, but i cant really tell if its higher toward the flywheel. Definetely in that area. Pumping the fuel bulb didn't change the clicking.

1- I'm guessing this means the fuel diaphram in the OMS has ruptured. im reading this pump likely doesnt have a rebuild kit available and replacement is needed. I'll wait for the compression test before replacing the pump to see if there are any other apparent issues. I prefer using VRO over pre-mix.

2- Is this clicking/ticking typical of the OMS pump or should I look at the flywheel area?

3- would the valve in the oil primer bulb prevent fuel from backing into the oil tank or should I just go ahead and pull it, clean it out, and put in a new filter?

Video of it idling-
 
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JasonB

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Compression test engine warm, shut off ~30 minutes ago, heads about 110-115deg, all plugs out, cranking for 2x 3 second bursts with the starter per cylinder. This was with my 15+ year old Harbor Freight gauge, so...

121, 122, 120, 118 so compression at least looks equal.

I did notice 3-4" of the fuel/oil in my clear tube is now gone. Not sure what to think about that or if it ran back while the engine was off while I was looking for my comp tester.
 
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saltchuckmatt

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What's an OMS pump.....should just be the vro pump.

Inexpensive diaphragm flap. Better question is is why didn't the low pressure oil alarm go off. Also, there is a check valve issue with those.

Try running it with the oil cap off the oil tank. (Check valve test)
 

JasonB

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What's an OMS pump.....should just be the vro pump.

Inexpensive diaphragm flap. Better question is is why didn't the low pressure oil alarm go off. Also, there is a check valve issue with those.

Try running it with the oil cap off the oil tank. (Check valve test)
My understanding is/was the VRO changed to OMS around '93, maybe this model didnt.

Agree on the alarm. I checked and I get a regular alarm check when I turn the key on.

I'll try it with the oil tank open, but would that be similar to the open ended tube?
 
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JasonB

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Also, it looks like rebuild kits are still available, 2 part numbers needed. Ate both needed and I assume they contain the diaphram you mentioned?
 

saltchuckmatt

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Your referring to the optical sensor pickup ...they still had a plain old vro....

Alarm sounding on start up only, means that the horn works.....it does not mean the system works. Learn how to test that all your warning systems are working correctly.

Much info on this out there.
 

Chris1956

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OMS is the proper name for the newer VRO pump. Rebuild kits for the gasoline side are avail at maxrules.

A service manual will have tests for the 4 alarms, of which you have 3 (low oil, no oil, overheat). The service manual will also have the specs for the oil output test, which you can run.
 

Faztbullet

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Is this clicking/ticking typical of the OMS pump or should I look at the flywheel area?
A click you hear every 20-45 seconds is the diaphragm piston being released in pump. Totally normal. What I hear in video is a steady rapid clicking like upper or lower bearing. I have seen several of these motors with the lower ball retainers in bearing fail and cause similar noise ,but when you shut off you can hear balls spin in bearing shell for a second or two.
 
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JasonB

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A click you hear every 20-45 seconds is the diaphragm piston being released in pump. Totally normal. What I hear in video is a steady rapid clicking like upper or lower bearing. I have seen several of these motors with the lower ball retainers in bearing fail and cause similar noise ,but when you shut off you can hear balls spin in bearing shell for a second or two.
I don't hear anything like that at shutdown, nor do I hear a click every 30-45 seconds, though there is sometimes one 30-45 seconds after shutdown.

Is it possible to check the bearings without tearing it down?
 
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JasonB

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At this point, I'm totally confused.

Went out today, hooked up the vro tank and my pre-mix tank, opened the cap on the oil tank and started it. Got tons of smoke beyond what I saw yesterday.

Unhooked the oil line, put my clear tube on, and started it. At first it pushed oil 3ish inches back up the line, then over the next minute or two, pulled it back to roughly the starting spot. Over the course of 3ish minutes at fast idle, it pulled down maybe 1/2" of oil.

Shut it down, checked my connections, started it up, and about 90 seconds later get the oil flow alarm. Since I'm on premix, I let it idle for a bit longer until it pulled maybe 1/4" of oil.. (Yay, the alarm works!).

Shut it down for a minute or two, put the oil line back on, started it up for 3 minutes and no alarm. The lid on the oil tank is still loose.

So the VRO/OMS pump is working in some capacity. It plus the premix put out enough smoke to burn the eyes.

Not sure where to go from here or if i should do anything with the pump. At a minimum, I see running premix until I know for certain, but I'll clean out the oil tank, put in a new filter, and see what we get. Idle is as smooth as I would expect and the shake seems normal. started. Thinking back, I had gotten gas from a different station that morning and it's the first time I've run ethanol in 2-3 years. Back to ethanol free too.

For the clicking, i pulled the vro off the block and put a rubber mat to help mask any sound it might make. I went all over the motor with my mechanics stethescope. The top bearing sounds ok, the area of the bottom bearing had maybe a little click, but it was pretty dull if there is one. The spot where the click was pronounced was on the top of the exhaust chest. Put the cover back on at it sounded fairly normal. Maybe something is up and it's a little louder, maybe I'm just hyper sensitive with other things going on, maybe it's a 30 year old JohnRude being a JohnRude....I don't run this motor hard, but I'll take it easy next trip and stay close enough to the ramp to troll back.
 
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