1987 120 VRO - Flooding or loss of power would like to bypass tanks

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WA-Newb

Petty Officer 1st Class
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May 27, 2012
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I just got my steering cable replaced so now it's time to tackle the engine issue on my latest purchase which is a 1987 Johnson 120 VR0.

Lines in BOLD are the key points for those who hate my long posts...lol

The previous owner told me he would get it going for a few minutes then it would flood out or stall.
He had the carbs rebuilt ($500) and it helped he said but then the issue came back and he got fed up with it so sold me the boat.

First thing I noticed was the throttle advance spring was stuck...I sprayed it down, moved it back and forth for several minutes and now it't working properly...thought this would fix it since that's what happened with my last motor but it's still not running right on the muffs..when I give it throttle it stalls.

I have ZERO experience with VRO stuff and am hoping I can "easily" by pass the built in tank, use a good portable tank with fresh premix so I can eliminate fuel issues for starters.

Can somebody tell me if this is possible and anything else I may need to know to accomplish this first step successfully.

Oh and I already did compression test and "I think" all is good there..125 across the board. But maybe this motor should be higher than that, anyone know?

Thank you.
 
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WA-Newb

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Messages
238
Re: 1987 120 VRO - Flooding or loss of power would like to bypass tanks

So I am now also wondering if the issues could possibly be caused by the VRO itself...I am doing research on what this system is and found this on another site.

"VRO is just what it means.....Varible Ratio Oiling.....means it will reduce the ratio of oil at idle speeds and varibly increase oiling as the rpms increase... At 50-1 constant, especially at a lot of idle speeds, you're gunna eat plugs, and induce more carbon in the engine.."

So could the VRO actually be putting out too much oil by chance and causing ill effects?
Just curious if that's a possibility is all.
 
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boobie

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Re: 1987 120 VRO - Flooding or loss of power would like to bypass tanks

If you have an air leak or fuel restriction on the fuel tank side of the vro, it will use to much oil.
 
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WA-Newb

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
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Re: 1987 120 VRO - Flooding or loss of power would like to bypass tanks

It's been nasty weather ever since making this thread...sigh. Haven't had any decent breaks to go work on this yet but still trying to read up when time allows.

boobie said:
If you have an air leak or fuel restriction on the fuel tank side of the vro, it will use to much oil.
Click to expand...

Is there a way to check for such things? On RV propane systems I use soapy water to spray on the fittings to check for air leaks..I am thinking this wouldn't work for gas lines..but could it?

I still want to figure out if I can just use pre-mix in my tank and plug off the oil inlet...some say you can but others say a fuel pump would need to be added...like I said I have no experience or knowledge of this type of system (or other types for that matter..lol).

Thanks.
 
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