1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

[vtskier]

I am looking at buying a 1987 crestliner v190 sabre closed bow with a johnson 120 vro motor. I posted a thread under the general boating topics about what my concerns should be when examing the boat and motor since I can find little help with my web searches about the boat and motor . The one reply I did recieve recomended replacing the VRO with a regular fuel pump and use premix in the tank. I am a bit hesitant to do this for two reasons one the tank is internal and I forsee problems with maintaing the propwer fuel oil ratio. Would I be better off just replacing the VRO on the engine as a prevantive measure I hate the idea of spending $$$$$$ for something that is working but I hate the idea of a fried motor even more. I would appreciate any and all feedback and direction in this matter . Also if anyone has any feedback on this model and make of boat it would also be greatly appreciated it is a 1987 crestliner v190 sabre closed bow. thanks in advance. The boat will primarily be used for fishing and tubing in freshwater but also may make a trip or two into salt/brackish water every year anything I want to do other than a good motor flush and wash down after exposre to salt?

 

[bullcity101]

Re: 1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

Is the vro currently working on the engine? Those designs were really good and rarely fail, but if you did dissconnect it, keeping the proper mixture shouldn't be an issue. the are those mixing cups that tell you exactly how much oil to use for how many gallons of fuel at every mixture.

I think people hear of too many instances of the VRO failing and not many of them working. They do work great and vary the ratio at the different rpms. That engine is a work horse and a great buy if it is running good. If it is pumping water, has good compression #'s, and sounds good. I say good buy. Make sure to take a sea trial. Buy something without a test drive....I don't think so.

For the boat. Crestliner made a great product, but even a great manufactor's boat can be junk if not taken care of. Big difference in a life long garage kept 1987 and a sat in the yard uncovered 1987. Is the floor soft? Does the transom sound firm when you knock on it. I have heard people have a lot of complaints with closed bows. Where do people sit. When you are loaded down you can't get weight to the front for proper plane.

In the end just do your research and make a good decision. Don't buy on emotion.
Sorry if your experienced and know all this jazz. Just trying to help.
Thanks and good luck!

 

[vtskier]

Re: 1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

Thanks so much for the input the boat has been well kept for is actually pristine looking whne not in the water the boat is stored under cover I could not believe it was actually a 1987. The closed bow was also new to me but what the previous owner explained to me was that he prefered it for cruising and fishing in a moderate chop it kept out the splash the PO used this boat mostly for stripper fishing on the hudson river and is only selling do do he has lost his towing vehicle andc annot afford to replace at this time ( everyone has a reason and that is his) I unfortunatley cannot get a sea trial on this but am hoping that with some guidance I can assure all is working well I am considering brining a 45 gallon wide mouth garbage pail to run motor in vs. muffs since the muffs do preasurize the cooling system since it will be in a closed container i should see rieght away if I get a pisser stream after verify ing water pump operation I can swith to muffs to prevent overheating or I guess run hose continually in container. I want this engine to run a good 15 -20 minutes to get up to a good operating temp to make sure everything including and espesially the vro is operating correctly. Any other input you might have would be much appreciated.

 

[archcycle]

Re: 1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

With a good set of muffs and water pressure it should **** fine if the impeller is in good shape. Bring a spark tester and a compression tester. Compression testers can be had in the $15 range from places like Harbor Freight and spark testers are in the $5 range.

A V4 with a bad cylinder will sound and rev great in neutral in the driveway and in the water but it won't rev up under load in the water and you'll be on here saying help it runs to redline in the driveway (don't do that...) but won't go over 3000 in the water! You want to make sure it has compression in the 100-140 PSI range (100 is the lower range of ok) and that it's pretty even across all cylinders and that it has a good strong 7/16 inch spark on all 4 plug wires.

 

[bullcity101]

Re: 1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

archcycle has everything right! The garbage pail, great idea just continually run water in it. Muffs good too, but if the water pressure is insane I would just to the tub of water, if the tub is large enough you can shift it into gear and see if the lower unit is making any weird noises. Let'r run for a good 10-15 mins and then use an induction timing light on all the plug wires to see if there all firing. Test the air gap of each wire with the spark plug tester. 7/16 of a inch. and compression like said above. If all these test out and it runs for a while. You should be in good shape.

Good luck!!!

 

[vtskier]

Re: 1987 johnson 120 vro (prevenative measures)

thanks any additional ideas and thoughts are welcome time is ticking looking at this boat in 15 hours cant wait