Oceanrunner 150 1996

[Damifudo]

I am in the process of repowering my old 1976 Manatee that had a 1984 Merc 115 Tower on it. My 16 year old daughter hit it with the car and it rolled down the street and hit parked car, driving the engine through the transom. The 1984 engine was toast and I had to look for a replacement.

I found a low hour 1996 Johnson 150 Ocean runner J150sledb. It had been sitting for almost 6 years covered up and unused. The motor started right up after sitting for 6 years on fresh gas. I bought the motor and now I am in the process of installing it on the Manatee after putting in a new transom and a paint job. I am excited about getting out there to test this 150 on the boat. I use it as a family recreation boat, Fishing water skiing and crusing around.

Here are my questions.
1. Is it in my best interest to unhook the VRO and mix the fuel. I am very use to doing that with the old Merc.

2. Is there a way to install a plug on the motor so I can unhook the fuel line to run the motor out of gas when I am finished using it. The Merc had a plug I unhooked and always ran it out of gas at the end of the days use. I dont see one on the Johnson. I also want to use protable tanks instead of the main tank with all this stuff about the ethonol in gas that way I can run fresh gas and only buy what I think I will use in a day.

3. Besides a new water pump. What other things should I do to a motor that was sitting for so long. It sat with no fuel in the carbs. It idled very well when I listen to it and tested almost 120 on each cyl when I did the comprression test.

Thanks for any info.

 

[diver_down]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

1. no, unless not working.
2. NOOOOO, not a good idea. just use it often or at least run on muffs often (like once a week), don't keep much residual gas in tank and use fuel stabilizer.
3. impeller / pump, thermostats, plugs, fuel lines, check for cracked / stripped electrical, lower unit lube, clean carbs (CLEAN!!!, or rebuild SOON), link and synk

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

ok thanks for your reply but I dont use the boat more than 2-3 times in a month and I dont keep the boat near water to start even on muffs. The boat sits at my parents behind a barn with no water in it. So it will be hard to keep it running once a week for a month. Thats why I like to run the gas out of the carbs. I never had an issue with the Merc doing it that way. Is it hard on the Johnson to run the carbs out of gas before storring it?

I am just trying to understand what to do to keep this engine running for a long time. I kept that mercury running great 30 years with good compression by following what my Mechanic told to do. Always used 89 Oct and higher. Ran gas out of carbs when done always used quick silver oil ,fogged before putting away for the winter with new lower unit lube, new water pump every other year.

Now I want to baby this motor so it will last too.

 

[bktheking]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

Gas doesn't break down that fast, I only used my boat 4 times this year and it ran on the same fuel. Fuel can get old but it takes quite a while for it to become varnish. If you are really worried about it, add some sta-bil to your mix and it won't cause an issue. Standard procedure I do every year is put stabilizer in the tank, enough to treat the fuel in it, I run it for 5 minutes or so to get the stabilized gas into the carbs, I spray fogging oil into the carbs and then kill the motor with fogging oil by spraying it in until it dies. Some people on here go to the extent of spraying it in the spark plug holes but I don't bother. Change out your lower unit oil with fresh , replace the drain plug washers when you do and you should be good to go.


Make sure when you do store it the tank is full, water condensation can get into the fuel in low tanks.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

Good advise, I would definately get the factory service manual, not seloc.
www.outboardbooks.com
Worth ever penny.!!

When storing it up just drain the carb bowls instead of running dry, a short stubby screwdriver works good to access the 2 lower carb drain plugs.

Adding to the list , remove prop, check for fishing line , clean shaft and re-grease, use new stainless cotter pin.

Decarb it with seafoam once a yr.
Replumb your onboard fuel system, 1974 is way old if original.
Get an alum tank off craigslist, use a water seperator.

The VRO system works very well, make sure the alarm system is fully functional.

again, get the proper manual.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

Damifido, Since that motor has Oil injection, disconnecting the gas line will cause the carbs to fill with oil and fould plugs. Not what you want.

You may use any TCW-III 2 cycle oil. No need to use anything in particular. Regular gas is OK as well. You might find a 6 gal tank is too small to be convenient. Those motors will suck down some gas compared to your TOP. As was stated, gasoline lasts for months, w/o an issue.

One more thing. Your TOP weighs 300#. That Ocean Runner is about 450#, so consider if the transom is up to it.

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

Weight of the Johnson 150 is 370 the weight of a Merc 115 is 305. Not much of a difference. Brand new transom is more than up for the job.

My Mechanic was strongly recommending that I get rid of the oil pump and injection system. He said if you mix the fuel you always know the motor is getting the lubrication it needs. I am use to mixing it with the old Merc thats why I was thinking of mixing the gas and oil. 50;1

Without the oil injection it would be no problem to run the gas out of the carbs to leave them sit empty.

Fresh gas will have less chance of water in it and water in gas is a very bad thing for these two strokes. I see alot of motors that are shot because of taking slugs of water throught them.

I still have allot of work before I get to the point of running the boat. The motor is not even installed yet.

I am still not sure which way I am going to go yet. I do here this engine likes it fuel which probably way they last.

I hope she runs as good as the old Merc did. I loved that motor.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

If you are not going to take the advice offered, why ask for it.

Running the gas out of a multi cylinder motor means that some cylinders will be running dry. This is not what you want.

The OMS oil injection system on that motor is the best one produced (IMHO). The engine has four alarms for low oil, no oil at the OMS Pump, overheat and fuel restriction. You might consider leaving it connected.

A water seperator will trap any water in the fuel tank. You might consider installing one. Using 6 gallon tanks will mean that you will have a deck full of them, and you will change over frequently. My old Merc 1500 would run 25 minutes at WOT on 6 Gal. You will get a bit less time/tank at high revs with that Johnny.

BTW - That johnny will blow the b*****s off your TOP, out of the hole. Top end may be more as well, depending on the weight o the boat.

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

I didnt say I was not taking advice from here. I am cautious of advice I get off forums untill I get to know who the people are that giving the advice. I am sure you will agree that not all advice given on a forum is good advice. I am looking to see what is consistant advice for these motors and I do very much appreicate that advice your giving me. After more research I think your advice is very good advice.

Here is my plan as of now.

1. Install the VRO pump as the motor was designed to run.
2. Install the Aluminium 18 Gal Tank back in the boat with 2 6 gallon under the seat for back up tanks but not the best way to connect them to the motor since there is no plug on this motor.
3. I already bought a good filter and water seperator.
4. Install a New Tachometer on this motor. I have to figure out what I need to do for this.
5. Install a new water pump kit.
6. Change the gear lube.
7. Take it for a test run and clean or rebuild the carbs if needed.


What things am I missing?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Oceanrunner 150 1996

The oil line must be bled. The proper way is to use the oil line primer bulb to pump oil to the OMS pump(oil line disconnected) until there are no air bubbles. Then connect it to the OMS pump and pump it one more time. Now mark the oil level in the tank and run 6-12 gal of 50::1 premix, and see if the oil level in the tank falls. if so, it is working.

I would test all the warning sensors and circuits. Also see if that motor is compatable with the "System Check Tach". If so, it will have an 8 wire dual inline plug, under the dash, along with the regular tach hook up wires (purple, grey, black). I recommend the System Check tach, if it will fit your motor. Faria makes one.

Grease the zercs on the transom bracket and the steering rod. There is a quick connect flusher fitting you can install on the rear midsection of the motor to run the motor on a hose. You might pick one of those up.

For your permanent and portable tanks, I would use quick connects on the tanks, and the tank end of the fuel hose. Hopefully you have easy access to the permanent tank. if not, you will need to figure out something else, perhaps install a permenent quick connect on the permanent tank, on the hull, somewhere convenient.