2 stroke oil tank question

[gwwannabe]

Have a 2000 Johnson 200 HP carbed motor. Just took the oil tank out to install a sending unit and put it back in. There is a bulb in the line going to the motor about a foot from the tank but it's as hard as a rock. By any chance, is the VRO pump self-priming?

Thanks
Gary 89 Overnighter

 

[gwwannabe]

No replies to my message - spent hours searching the internet trying to find an answer - and didn't. I remembered that the bulb was hard when I brought the boat home from having the new engine installed and figured that thate situation was close to what I had so I tried. Lowered the lift until the motor was in the water, turned the key on and off several times, and finally started the motor.

Lots of blue smoke as usual. Let it idle several minutes, all the time watching for the blue smoke. No problems. Kicked the rpms up several hundred and it ran like a charm. After about 20 minutes, shut it down, raised the lift and prepared for an afternoon on the water. Spent 4 1/2 hours running mostly at low rpms but the final half hour at cruise to WOT. Ran beautifully.

I had installed the oil tank level guage and am thrilled to have oil level displayed at the helm. It showed my oil usage - over a quarter tank (1.8 gals). My fuel flow meter showed a bit over 11 gals used. By my calcs, I used nearly twice the oil I should have at the 50 to 1 ratio.

While searching the internet for an answer to my question, I ran into several postings about high oil consumption. The answers were either an air leak in the fuel line or a bad VRO/fuel pump. Since the motor runs so strong, I have a hard time believing I have an air leak but I'll chat with my mechanic tomorrow for his opinion. I suspect I need to replace the VRO/fuel pump.

Oh, the answer to my question appears to by yes, the VRO pump is self-priming.

Gary 89 Overnighter

 

[alwood0422]

For what its worth Mine is the same way as yours and I have a 87 Johnson. Also it acted that way with my 1996 120HP Johnson. Hard as a rock, never needed to be pumped.

 

[BobP]

You will get an alarm if the oil in the line backfeeds even a little bit, hence that's why there is a check valve in the tank. The alarm sensor originates at the VRO pump. The sqeeze bulb only needs to be used once if the oil line is drained or the equivalent, to avoid the alarm on start.

If you have air entering the oil line, the oil consumption goes up, worse, is if air is entering, so can be water.

Check your oil lne and all fitting. I don't see the need to have any other fittings between the tank sqeeze bulb, and the VRO oil port. And new hose is cheap enough if there is any doublt, use fuel line as I recall it's either 1/4 or 5/16 in. ID.

I had a leak in the hose at the fittings that was provided outside the engine, and the oil burned so much I could smell it at speed. I took the line out, and also found some water in it too. The fiitimg sat in the splashwell. Got rid of all fitting,s fule and oil, between motor and boat, on my 1992 twin 200 Johnnies.

Monitor consumption periodically, and also in the service manual there is a procedure to determine oil mix ratios at the VRO pump, if it is normal or abnormal.


A new VRO pump was about $250 as I recall, but they did sell rebuild kits.

 

[plymouthgrady]

Stay on top of it- VRO- Very Rarely Oiled.

 

[gwwannabe]

Thanks for the replies. I hadn't considered an air leak in the oil line. I'm still pondering how to thoroughly check out the fuel line. My mechanic wasn't much help. Said if I can't smell gas I probably don't have a leak. He seems to think that if air can get in, gas will get out. Seems to me I've seen a number of posts to the contrary.

I'll be checking both out over the next few days.
Thanks.
Gary

 

[BobP]

Not so, the leak can seal on pressure but open under vacuum.

Check the entire oil line route and fittings, don't expect to see oil coming out rto show you where.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

According to my Flo-Scan manual, an air leak in your fuel line will cause the meter to fluctuate and the totalizer will read way high. I like to use the plastic BRP ratchet style hose clamps. I think that they give better 360 degree clamping than some of the small stainless hose clamps.

 

[BobP]

Getting air in a 2 stroke fuel line may lean out the mixture and fry the head at speed, much more an issue than burning too much oil.

Add a in line short section of clear PVC or vinly 3/8 in hose, they sell at the depot, as close to the VRO pump as practical, then run motor, What do you see? Any bubbles in line? Or solid fuel? This test confirms the integrity of everything upstream (in boat).

You are not to have any bubbles in fuel line.

When done, remove temp clear fuel line.

And check all the other lines in motor out of the fuel header to be sure none are loose, there are many of them.