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Johnson Outboard VRO 1987 V4 J110TLCUR engine, no WOT

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badcrank 777

Contributing Member
Hello Everyone,

I am posting a new thread, because in the last thread all was fixed and I have been enjoying boating up until yesterday.

Was doing fine, perfect idle, engine purring like a kitten running smooth at 4500 RPM all day. Stopped the engine, when I restarted it, idles fine but went to advance the throttle, and it would not get above 2200 RPM. The tach went to zero and was acting very strange, like swinging from zero to 5500 and everything in between. Also even at 2200 the motor was stumbling and shaky.

I am using "clean fuel" no ethanol. There is nothing blocking the fuel lines, nor any air leaks. water cooling is working just fine. The carburetors are clean with all new gaskets plus needle & seats. And like I say it has been running perfect for days, until yesterday. I have not done anything yet, going to look today.

But thought before I start tearing things apart, was hoping to get some guidance as to what might be causing this issue, so I don't go off in a wrong direction.

Thank you
 
The compression is 90 psi on all cylinders, it is the low compression engine, and not the high one. When it was working for days it would reach 5500 RPM with no issues.

I presently am looking at the VRO, I purchased it used...I know..I know mistake, but I was trying to save a buck, from the ridiculous 500.00 they want for the new one, a piece of plastic with some diagrams in it.

Anyway I did find that someone had installed a new kit in it. they had the new Purple diaphragm in the air pulse chamber, but the small O ring was missing on the port that fits onto that housing which contains the two springs.

Anyway I have it re-assembled and will test not only that but the spark. But last time I checked the spark it was hot, blue and snapping at 3/8 in.

One thing I did notice, was for the first time, some black spent oil from the gas/oil mix was dripping out of the prop cavity, which before there was none, after running all day.
 
I am not sure, but it is possible that a low compression head gasket was installed. And I am just going on the information from a very reputable parts / mechanic person at the marina whom is a Johnson/Evinrude guru. Of which informed me of this when I was trying to solve the issue of it running good, then not idling, and would die after high speed. Which I found out it was a bad set of needle & seats and a float level set to rich. Anyway the 90 psi I would like to see higher, but it is a solid 90 in all 4 cylinders.

And this motor has been running perfectly and strong up until yesterday.
 
Well I don't, this was just a guy at the marina that told me that info when I was buying a part.

I have decided to bite the bullet, and ordered a new VRO. Be here in a week, will post back as to the outcome.
 
So a guy at the Marina told you that is a low compression motor. I do not know of any low compression 110 motors. I also do not know of any low compression head gaskets for your motor. 90 psi is not good maybe recheck your.compression with a different gauge.
 
Thank you, I have a brand new gauge with the screw in connector and air chuck removable connector at the gauge itself.

I just rechecked the compression and it is still solid at 90 PSI all cylinders. If this is low, which I believe, and do think it should be at 100 or above. Then why is it that it has been running so good all this time, and very strong at 4500 RPM? and has been idling just fine at 900 & below?
 
One more thing, and that is realizing this Johnson J110TLCUR motor is a 1987 and 33 years old, it is not going to have the compression as the same motor that is straight out of the factory today. To me the scare factor is when you have a big difference in PSI from cylinder to cylinder then you have issues, like in broken rings etc. But in 33 years I expect the compression to be a little low, just due to normal wear of the cylinders and rings.
 
Originally when I purchased this boat/motor it was in storage for three years. So you can only imagine the condition. After going through the carbs and finding the jets clogged up with solidified oil / gas, totally rebuilt them with kits, installed new plugs Champion QL77JC4, all new hoses on everything, new VRO kit, flushed out the built in gas tank, refiled with new non ethanol "clear gas" and a dab of "seafoam" gas conditioner, made sure the anti-syphon valve was good, redone all the electrical. It still would not run right. Found the needle/seats were defective. Ordered new viton n/s and reset the float level 1/8 in above what spec from what the service manual called for, (it is the original OMC service manual) And then everything worked perfectly and have been boating for weeks. Then as stated was at the lake spent the day, running between 4500 RPM and idle all day, just as we were heading to load up, the motor started to sputter, would not go above 2200 RPM.

That is when I took the VRO apart that I purchased "used" only to find someone had left out the "O" ring on the pulse chamber, So my suspicion is that with a loss of pulse pressure, that it was starving for fuel. So that is why I have ordered a brand new VRO. And yes the gas micron inline filter is super clean. And there is no air leaks on any of the hoses. The spark advance is working properly.

And I ask again if the 90 PSI is to low, why would I have been able to be boating for weeks at any RPM from idle up to 5000 and the motor run strong and smooth?
 
badcrank 777 said:
Originally when I purchased this boat/motor it was in storage for three years. So you can only imagine the condition. After going through the carbs and finding the jets clogged up with solidified oil / gas, totally rebuilt them with kits, installed new plugs Champion QL77JC4, all new hoses on everything, new VRO kit, flushed out the built in gas tank, refiled with new non ethanol "clear gas" and a dab of "seafoam" gas conditioner, made sure the anti-syphon valve was good, redone all the electrical. It still would not run right. Found the needle/seats were defective. Ordered new viton n/s and reset the float level 1/8 in above what spec from what the service manual called for, (it is the original OMC service manual) And then everything worked perfectly and have been boating for weeks. Then as stated was at the lake spent the day, running between 4500 RPM and idle all day, just as we were heading to load up, the motor started to sputter, would not go above 2200 RPM.

That is when I took the VRO apart that I purchased "used" only to find someone had left out the "O" ring on the pulse chamber, So my suspicion is that with a loss of pulse pressure, that it was starving for fuel. So that is why I have ordered a brand new VRO. And yes the gas micron inline filter is super clean. And there is no air leaks on any of the hoses. The spark advance is working properly.

And I ask again if the 90 PSI is to low, why would I have been able to be boating for weeks at any RPM from idle up to 5000 and the motor run strong and smooth?
Click to expand...
Hey if you dont want to double check the compression that is your call. I am not going to argue with you. More than.one compression tester has been bad from new.
 
Blunt question.-------Have you heard a new / rebuilt motor like that run, yes or no?-----You say it is running great.-----But a good one should be able to idle in gear at about 650 RPM.
 
No I have not. But when I say it was running great, I mean at 4500 RPM it was smooth and powerful, with no hesitation or misses, And in gear I would idle it back to 500 RPM and it was just fine going into a cove at the lake and would idle all day at that RPM if I so desired
 
I am sorry but I cannot help you. Your first post specifically says the motor will not go above 2200 rpm and the rest say 4500 rpm. Obviously you know more about your motor than I do so good luck, I am sure you will figure it out. By the way that motor should be at 5500 rpm all day not 4500 but I am sure you know that already.. Maybe you need to go see your well respected/reputable mechanic to help you with this motor.
 
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I think you are misunderstanding me. This motor has been running fine for days. It was turning 5500 all day with no issues, and would idle at 500 all day in gear with no issues. But I normally was running it at 4500 just because my 17' "Monte Carlo" would plane out perfectly at that RPM.

The issue is, that the other day I shut off the motor just to float for a while when I restarted the motor, it would not go above 2200 and the motor was stuttering I also had a solid warning horn sound. It was not overheating, because I had good water flow, and the oil was also flowing to the VRO. I turned off the warning horn and went to the boat ramp for loading, at 2200 RPM.

So that is where I am at right now. I pulled the plugs they appeared normal. At this point I suspected the VRO because it was not pumping any gas, or very little when I removed the output hose, so I have ordered a brand new VRO. Should have it by Monday. At that point will be able to repost what has happened, after I install it.
 
Two days and 17 post and now you say you get a warning horn. The horn is activated by temperature not "flow".Is
A solid horn is temperature
A halve second horn is no oil

A twenty second horn is lo oil
Witch did you have?
 
Why is getting you to do anything like pulling teeth. You give out info in dribbles which is annoying. If I take all the info you have finally given you have overheated your motor. The liquid cooled rectifier going crazy and the horn point to that. Go to a dealer now and have your motor looked at because to be blunt you are wasting peoples time here.
 
It was solid. But the warning horn (to my understanding) can be triggered by many issues. I know the two warnings for oil. and also overheating. But sometimes the horn was triggered solid before I even started the motor, so one can rule out overheating. It will (again to my understanding) also be triggered by a restricted gas flow. faulty electrical connections etc. I also know that the tan wire side goes to the knife switches on the 2 cylinders for overheating which is activated by a heat sensor switch. And the same is true for the oil, it has a make & break contact that will sound the alarm if there is no oil or low oil in the reservoir.

Again I had been running for 5 hours almost all day, with no warning horn, and when I restarted after a momentary stop is when I had the solid warning horn, and I was sputtering at 2000 RPM and could not increase the speed. But the water was flowing well and spurting out of the two exhaust holes so I know there was no overheating, I also felt the motor and the temp was normal.
 
badcrank 777 said:
It was solid. But the warning horn (to my understanding) can be triggered by many issues. I know the two warnings for oil. and also overheating. But sometimes the horn was triggered solid before I even started the motor, so one can rule out overheating. It will (again to my understanding) also be triggered by a restricted gas flow. faulty electrical connections etc. I also know that the tan wire side goes to the knife switches on the 2 cylinders for overheating which is activated by a heat sensor switch. And the same is true for the oil, it has a make & break contact that will sound the alarm if there is no oil or low oil in the reservoir.

Again I had been running for 5 hours almost all day, with no warning horn, and when I restarted after a momentary stop is when I had the solid warning horn, and I was sputtering at 2000 RPM and could not increase the speed. But the water was flowing well and spurting out of the two exhaust holes so I know there was no overheating, I also felt the motor and the temp was normal.
Click to expand...
You have a service manual,read it.
 
Update: After replacing the VRO with new, a new float valve assembly, and new water pump. Motor runs flawlessly.

To whom it may concern:

Never rebuild or buy a used VRO. Bite the bullet and buy it new, you will save yourself aggravation and or a wrecked motor.

Change the water pump after a few seasons, or in storage more than a year, your motor will thank you for it. Plus for 68.00 it is cheap insurance.

Case in point: This motor was in storage for three years, never thought about it, because the water was flowing from the weep hole. But after dropping the lower gear case, found the water pump had never been changed. With new water pump kit, the water flow was twice a strong and ended overheating issue.

One other thing do not worry about your compression if all cylinders are equal as in 90 / 100 / 110 etc across all cylinders are all just fine. Mine is at 90 and the motor runs strong and has no issue running up to 5800 from 900 in 3 seconds under load.

The time to be concerned is if there is a large difference in PSI between cylinders.

These Johnson V4 crossflow bubbleback motors are very good motors, and built to last where others fail. All that is needed is some preventive maintenance, and a little care.
 
badcrank 777 said:
Update: After replacing the VRO with new, a new float valve assembly, and new water pump. Motor runs flawlessly.
Click to expand...

You can do that - or simply eliminate the VRO altogether and run a standard fuel pump and premix in the tank.
Anyway, glad to hear you got things sorted.
I am partial to my V4 Johnson as well. It has been running great since I purchased it, with a few issues along the way - as one can expect.
 
Yes "CarMech1969" I have learned a lot in regards to this Johnson V4 motor since I acquired it and the boat last summer. Lots of work but worth it in the end. Like you say this motor is a strong and good reliable motor, with little issues along the way that is synonymous with any marine motor. Preventive maintenance is key!

I know that you can bypass the VRO and go the premix route, but I sure like the idea of just filling the built in 20 gallon tank with gas and going. If the new VRO ever gives out I might go that route.

I am running some "seafoam" (miracle in a can) in the tank just because this motor has 30 + years on it, but it is running super smooth at 900 r's or 5800 r's and everything inbetween. So I am well pleased.

Thank you
 
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