Hi All,
I purchased an '89 tracker this October. I'm in the process of doing a little overhaul, primarily to remove waterlogged foam from under the rear deck. The first thing I did last night was to start by removing the VRO system. I'm in the camp that I'd rather replace a few spark plugs than a whole powerhead.
So I started by taking the oil line off of the fuel fitting. When I did this, I noticed that the color of the oil was a baby blue. Uh oh, water. I took out a rag and pumped the primer bulb on the VRO tank and got out water. I pumped it about 8 or 9 times before any oil came out. As I continued to pump, more oil came out.
The prior owner had stated that he never got the motor running this year and suspected water in the gas as the issue, as it was running fine last year. He redecked the boat during the off season, and I suspect that he left the bilge uncovered during the process and allowed rain water to collect in the VRO vent cap.
So here is what I know. He went fishing with the boat three times this year, using the trolling motor. I suspect that he tried starting the motor each time, but couldn't get it running well. When I purchased it (for a good deal) I did a compression check and got 110 PSI on both cylinders with a pretty old tester (cracked and dry rotted). I only turned the engine ~1 cycle for each test. Additionally, when I got it, I got it running for about 2 min where it ran very rough before shutting it down and hauling it into the garage.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing serious has happened, and I suspect that if I had not removed the VRO, I would be a very unhappy camper with a dead motor, as no warnings would ever have occurred.
I can recheck compression, and see if anything has changed, but what else should I look for for damage?
This motor has a bad lower unit, which I knew when I bought it. I picked up a parts motor (dead because of failed VRO) for cheap that came with a good lower unit and a bonus electric tilt/trim unit, so I have access to some parts, but I can't afford a whole lot of expensive new parts.
Any one with some experience for things I should check?
Thanks!
I purchased an '89 tracker this October. I'm in the process of doing a little overhaul, primarily to remove waterlogged foam from under the rear deck. The first thing I did last night was to start by removing the VRO system. I'm in the camp that I'd rather replace a few spark plugs than a whole powerhead.
So I started by taking the oil line off of the fuel fitting. When I did this, I noticed that the color of the oil was a baby blue. Uh oh, water. I took out a rag and pumped the primer bulb on the VRO tank and got out water. I pumped it about 8 or 9 times before any oil came out. As I continued to pump, more oil came out.
The prior owner had stated that he never got the motor running this year and suspected water in the gas as the issue, as it was running fine last year. He redecked the boat during the off season, and I suspect that he left the bilge uncovered during the process and allowed rain water to collect in the VRO vent cap.
So here is what I know. He went fishing with the boat three times this year, using the trolling motor. I suspect that he tried starting the motor each time, but couldn't get it running well. When I purchased it (for a good deal) I did a compression check and got 110 PSI on both cylinders with a pretty old tester (cracked and dry rotted). I only turned the engine ~1 cycle for each test. Additionally, when I got it, I got it running for about 2 min where it ran very rough before shutting it down and hauling it into the garage.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing serious has happened, and I suspect that if I had not removed the VRO, I would be a very unhappy camper with a dead motor, as no warnings would ever have occurred.
I can recheck compression, and see if anything has changed, but what else should I look for for damage?
This motor has a bad lower unit, which I knew when I bought it. I picked up a parts motor (dead because of failed VRO) for cheap that came with a good lower unit and a bonus electric tilt/trim unit, so I have access to some parts, but I can't afford a whole lot of expensive new parts.
Any one with some experience for things I should check?
Thanks!
