150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

[stratos181]

i have a 1988 150hp johnson V-6 on a Stratos 181 pro boat and when i go fishing i troll alot and once i get the boat home i look at the plugs and every plug is fouled. i thought about putting a smaller motor next to it and when i want to troll i can turn that one on. i'm sure as big as the motor is it doesn't like to idle much. if anyone has any ideas please help. Also if i do put another motor next to the 150hp how would i do that. <br /><br /> thanks <br /><br /> Mike

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

Welcome!!<br /><br />Does the motor run bad or are you just going by the fact they look bad?<br /><br />What plugs are you using?

 

[stratos181]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

i think that i let the motor idle for a long time i believe that is what is fouling out the plugs. The motor isn't running bad like dying or anything but it don't run like it should. i'm using champion plugs. is that true if you let that big of a motor idle for awhile that it will foul the plugs out. do you know of anywhere i can get some instruction on how to put another motor on my boat? thanks

 

[DJ]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

stratos181,<br /><br />A "kicker" engine is certainly a possibility. <br /><br />A lot depends on your boat style as to whether you can mount a kicker on the transom or a bracket.<br /><br />A picture would be worth a thousand words.<br /><br />Anyway, let's make sure your 150 is healthy first.<br /><br />Tell us what you know about the general health of the engine. Compression, carb rebuild, etc.

 

[stratos181]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

well i just got the boat about 3 months ago. i'm the 3rd one to have it i guy got it new and then blew the motor and they rebult it and put bigger piston in it cams things like that so its a 175hp in a 150hp case. but the guy that i got it off of is a good friend of mine so i'm not really sure about the compression but i'm sure that when that first guy had it and blew the motor they rebuilt the carb. i get a pic and put it on soon

 

[stratos181]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

and the guy i got it off of got the carb rebuit about a year to 2 year ago

 

[DJ]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

stratos181,<br /><br />First off, lets's make sure the engine is healthy. $25.00 will buy you a decent compression guage.<br /><br />First step is a compression check on all six. Let us know.

 

[Walker]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

they rebult it and put bigger piston in it cams things like that so its a 175hp in a 150hp case.

Heck, you probably have a flat lobe on the cam!!!<br /> <br />Actually, your motor doesn't have a cam.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

First do a compression check like DJ suggested.<br /><br />The 150 and 175 blocks are identical and a slightly bigger piston has nothing to do with making it a 175. You dont have anything unusual so dont worry about that.<br /><br />Those crossflow V6's will idle for hours on end and not foul plugs. When you look at your plugs and they look black, wet and oily -- thats normal. "Reading" a 2 stroke plug is different than "reading" a 4 stroke plug.<br /><br />You said it just doesnt run right. Tell us what it does or doesnt do that you want changed. <br /><br />What grade fuel do you run? What oil?

 

[stratos181]

Re: 150hp Johnson has fouled plugs all the time

well like i said that it idles for a couple hours and it sounds like it wants to die and then i try to run it a little bit to clean the plugs off. it also sounds like its missing out.