VRO question

[Scubasteve007]

Hi guys,

I have a 1993 Evinrude 150 Intruder on my bass boat. When I bought it I was told that before I have a problem with my VRO pump I should bypass (I think) the pump and mix my own oil/fuel directly in the tank.

I didn't do this because the pump works and since my old boat had to have the fuel pre-mixed I thought of the VRO a luxury and didn't want to give it up!

Anyways, it still works but my problem is that at start-up I smoke out anybody near me. After warming it up and going for a blast it doesn't smoke but when it sits for a while it happens all over again. The smoke clouds that is, and since it is a bass boat there are many times throughout the day where I am on the electric trolling motor for an hour or more and then have to flash up 'old Smokey' to get to the next fishing spot.

A mechanic friend said not to worry about it, as a little too much oil is better than none at all so by seeing smoke I know it's getting oil! I assume that the VRO pump is just giving it a little too much oil but is that worth worrying about?

I don't really want to bypass the VRO and I don't want to buy a new VRO pump so my question to all you experts is should I do anything about it or just keep on going the way I have been?

Thanks for your answers to this pretty vague question!

Steve

 

[racerone]

Re: VRO question

I have a pair of V-6 outboards --1982 models.-----They smoke a lot when they start up.--That is normal and nothing to do with VRO either.

 

[boobie]

Re: VRO question

Air leaks or restrictions in the fuel system can cause the VRO to use too much oil. You may want to take it into a shop and have them check it out.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: VRO question

The newer VRO pumps really are not variable. They are pretty much 50 to 1 ratio, unlike the early VRO's back in the mid 80's which were variable. Your VRO pretty much is the same as 50 to 1 premix fuel. So, you will get some smoking at idle rpm's. You might want to check to be sure your thermostats are both working. If they get stuck "open" one or both heads can run cool/cold at idle, which can lead to excessive smoking at idle rpm's.

 

[boobie]

Re: VRO question

Read post # 3 again.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: VRO question

this may help you understand the system and the mis-information that is spread on the 'net.

continuousWave: Whaler: Reference: VRO Fuel-Oil Mixing

 

[bob johnson]

Re: VRO question

I wonder if you have leaking carbs..... I had some leaking carbs on a similar model and when tilted they actually drained into the cowl...but by the time I used the motor the gas has evaporated and left and thick oil residue everywhere...it was like someone spilt the 2 strokeoil inside. I bet you might have a similar problem.....and the extra oilcauses the smoke


bob

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: VRO question

stick to VRO and you will destroy your engine.
the stuff on the whaler forum is crap and written by someone who just twisted and re-wrote the words that omc wanted everyone to read at the time.

since that was written thousands of engines have been destructed due to vro oil pump failure, that's a fact.
omc never put vro on RNLI engines or any of those that would be used by emergency services for emergency usage !!!!

what do you think the little yellow plugs supplied by omc with every new engine were for ?

anyone who wants 2 vro pumps are welcome to mine, they are total crap, even the fuel side don't work properly.
like I say anyone who wants to come and collect them can have them.
im in slough England.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: VRO question

Gee, I have a '98 Johnny 150HPV6, and my OMS pump works very well. I intend to run it until the "no oil" alarm sounds, and then premix my fuel while troubleshooting. PhilnJack2 has a very negative view.....

 

[dingbat]

Re: VRO question

Gee, I have a '98 Johnny 150HPV6, and my OMS pump works very well. I intend to run it until the "no oil" alarm sounds, and then premix my fuel while troubleshooting. PhilnJack2 has a very negative view.....

+1

16 years of service out of mine so far......

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: VRO question

well consider yourselfs very lucky.
there is far more that have failed than those that have not.

my negative views come from seeing bin loads of vro pumps that have failed and hundreds of knackered engines having to be rebuilt due to them.
its nothing new that the vro is bad, and calling it a oms don't realy make it any better, it is the same thing, with just a couple of plastic parts made non removable.
Like I say ive got two of the later ones that are free to anyone who wants them, they are both totally useless.
and I think I have another somewhere in the back of my garage as well that anyone can have, that again is rubbish.

Go check out the navy engines or the air force or the emergency services or the RNLI, none of them have the VRO/OMS, they all have pre-mix.
in the uk all commercial engines are fitted with pre-mix too.

I bet none of you have ever measured how much oil your using neither ? so wouldn't even know if the oil pump is working as it should.
and how many of you empty the oil tank each season to get rid of moisture ?
2 stroke oil collects water from the air, and the tank is normally down low in the transom or bilge.
How many check the pipework to make sure the rubber is not perishing from the inside ?
when did you last clean out the oil filter in the tank ? all these things need to be done to even give the bad pumps a chance.

As for age of engines
I know someone who has a car that's 65 years old on same engine, but that's not the norm, so by saying my engine is 16 years old and no problem means nothing, if its been pampered on a trailer and spent 50 weeks of the year tucked up in a warm garage it should be like brand new.
if its been properly serviced as it states in the book then your engine will of had new pump parts fitted by the dealer as per bulletins !!!!.

do you often test the no oil alarm ? do you know that it relys on a tiny little diode that is known to fail ? I didn't know about the diode
untill mine was tested after reading about it on this very forum.

by the way, if the alarm don't sound for any reason the engine will get damaged, the slow mode only comes into play with the over heat
sensor on the water cooled cylinder head.
go on ask me how I know all this !!!!! then ill post pics of a completely wrecked engine block due to VRO.
.

 

[boobie]

Re: VRO question

Phil, I think you don't like VRO's.:laugh:

 

[dingbat]

Re: VRO question

I bet none of you have ever measured how much oil your using neither ? so wouldn't even know if the oil pump is working as it should. and how many of you empty the oil tank each season to get rid of moisture ? 2 stroke oil collects water from the air, and the tank is normally down low in the transom or bilge.

One would think if you have 2,000+ hours on a motor, it was getting adequate oil.
I go thru 2-3 gallons of oil a week. Sometimes, 2-3 gallons a day. The amount of water oil can absorb with that amount of exposure is next to nil. When the oil tank was replaced last fall, no water contamination was found.

How many check the pipework to make sure the rubber is not perishing from the inside ?
when did you last clean out the oil filter in the tank ? all these things need to be done to even give the bad pumps a chance.

Rubber hoses have a life expectancy of 6-8 years used in oil service. All fuel and oil lines where replaced in 2006. The complete oil assembly, tank, lines, pump, etc. was replaced with the power head in 2012.
How often did you replace your fuel and oil hoses?

As for age of engines
I know someone who has a car that's 65 years old on same engine, but that's not the norm, so by saying my engine is 16 years old and no problem means nothing, if its been pampered on a trailer and spent 50 weeks of the year tucked up in a warm garage it should be like brand new.

I had over 2,081 documented hours on the motor when the power head was replaced last year for corrosion related to long term saltwater use. It knows nothing of the "heated garage" you speak of.

Sorry Phil, my take from your rant is this... if you don't take care of the system, it will not take care of you. Obviously, I take care of things to have put over 2000+ hours on a motor with such a serious design flaw. Sounds like you fell a bit short.

 

[boobie]

Re: VRO question

Agree + 1...........................................

 

[JoLin]

Re: VRO question

Agree + 2.

Had the system on a 1996 175hp Johnson and loved it. Like dingbat, I maintained the system (hoses and filters) and it worked flawlessly. As for the claim that 'there is far more that have failed tha n those that have not' , I don't buy it.

Oh- I used semi-synthetic (Pennzoil) oil in mine. It reduced the smoking.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: VRO question

I picked up a 1986 Johnson 50 for a very nice price because it has a working tilt'n trim that I wanted for my 60hp. The 50hp VRO was supposed to have a bad cylinder in it with low compression. Got it home and began playing around with it and looking everything over closely. Out of curiosity I hooked up a battery and switch and cranked it over for a compression test. What I found was 145lbs on both cylinders. Not once but 3 times! Then put some fuel to it and it started up instantly.

Come spring I will be going through this engine more closely and testing the VRO pump per the OEM manual and if all checks out I will be using it with the VRO.