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  1. #1
    Member rlgdguy's Avatar
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    USA Replace the VRO pump or bypass?

    I am experiencing this VRO now. I have a 91 Johnson Fast strike 150. I apologize in advance for the lengthyness of this post.


    It was running very rough and using a lot of oil it seemed. I brought it to a very reputable marine mechanic that had actually rebuilt the engine himself 2 years prior for the guy I bout it off of. You can or could before this eat off of the engine it was so clean. I had not told him about the oil consumption at first (my bad). The previous owner had messed with carb adjustments, timing, etc. because he wanted more speed. The mechanic checked out the compression on all cylinders and they were all over 101 lbs and within 8 lbs of each other. He also told me that the timing and everything were not synched and the carbs needed a good cleaning and took care of all that. He said it was now running much better, especially at low idle. When I then mentioned about the oil consumption he said the VRO pump was probably bad. After wiping a little crud off the front of the VRO, there was a hole melted through the small cover, just above the oil line. He said it definately needed a new VRO pump and looked up the price. "Holy shit!" was his response (Not good for me!). An OMC pump was listed for over $500. Add in his labor and ouch! He advised to either invest the money and get the OMC or bypass the system as some have noted above by doing exactly what thos have said to do. He strongly suggested NOT buying a cheap Chinese knock-off from online, as they are mostly junk and not reliable. Either way he said to do something before running the motor more now. Well I went against his advice and went with a knock-off for about $200. Hey, it came with a 1 year replacement guarantee so I took a chance.

    The day it came in the mail, I installed it. It was very easy to hook up and did not leak anywhere when I had it on the muffs/hose in my driveway and I was on the water that same day. Not 5 minutes into driving away from the dock, it stalled. After numerous attempts to restart the motor, I popped the engine cover off. I then noticed a nice rainbow slick in the water behind me. While I was looking at the engine, I squeezed the primer bulb. Gas was pissing out from both sides and the top of the pump. I tighten the screws that I was able to just a tad and tried again. It made no difference and gas was still pissing out. I trimmed up the motor and fished completely on trolling motor power for about an hour and just ended up calling it a day. Got my money back from the guy I bout the VRO pump off of and he told me to just throw it away I provided action shots of gas pissing out sides), since it was of no use to him. I tried to exchange the protected circuit board and put it on my old pump (that was not leaking ever). When I pumped the oil bulb on top of the oil tank and watched, oil was now pissing out. I put the old one back on, primed it and no leaks Now I'm just back to where I started.


    I have decided to bypass the pump as some have suggested and by the instructions mentioned. I ended up finishing at 10:30pm, a little too late to start the boat on the muffs/hose. The neighbors would not have appreciated it. Now I am just going to pre mix. The problem or maybe just a challenge is that I had filled both gas tanks prior to launching. What is the best way to get the oil mixed with that gas? Today I am going to West Marine and over paying for a pre-mix bottle and some more oil. So I'm pretty sure that I can't just pour the 50:1 amount down the gas fill tubes, right? Maybe I can remove
    the gas gage units on top of each tank, pour it in and use a clean pole or something to mix or maybe I will have to just get a few gas cans and syphon out the gas in the tanks and then measure and mix the oil into those on the ground? A lot of work (and probably the most accurate) but I don't want to blow my engine.Suggestions on best methods mentioned or any others I haven't?

    Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my looooong post. I'll try to keep them shorter moving forward.
    Tight lines Y'all!

    1989 Ranger 361V
    1991 Johnson Faststrike 150hp

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    #2
    PMed. You didn't say if you have extra space in the gas tank. If you can sneak one, but preferably 2-3 gallons in, I'd calculate the ratio of oil needed for the entire tank of fuel. Add the amount of oil needed to a gas can and thin the oil by adding gas and sloshing it around to mix well (don't kill yourself) then add it to your tank. Now put a bit more fuel in your tank then go for a drive to mix it up. @ home, disconnect fuel line at the fuel pump and use primer bulb to pump fuel into a gas can. Do this until you see good mixed fuel coming through.

    It's all about getting the oil diluted and distributed throughout the tank. I always take a gallon can with me to fill up so I can dilute the oil before adding any to my tank. It is also good not to fill your tank so the fuel can mix through agitation better. Hope this helps.
    Last edited by dentpusher; 07-09-2019 at 05:48 PM.

  3. Moderator SEAHORSE's Avatar
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    #3
    A sharp mechanic would have mentioned to mix 50:1 in the tank and run the engine with the VRO still installed to make sure the engine had an oil mix in the lines before removing the pump assembly.
    -----


    A Technical troubleshooter possessing more tools than talent !

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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by SEAHORSE View Post
    A sharp mechanic would have mentioned to mix 50:1 in the tank and run the engine with the VRO still installed to make sure the engine had an oil mix in the lines before removing the pump assembly.
    Finding one is easier said than done. I appreciate your help and Champ, you deserve a raise!!!

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    #5
    Maybe next time he could ask on here our advice first.

  6. Member rlgdguy's Avatar
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by SEAHORSE View Post
    A sharp mechanic would have mentioned to mix 50:1 in the tank and run the engine with the VRO still installed to make sure the engine had an oil mix in the lines before removing the pump assembly.
    I actually did that on my own and neglected to mention that as one of my steps up above. The mechanic mentioned it as well, but at the time I was just going with another pump, so I didn't mention that in my book report above :-) . It just made sense to me to do first. So I siphoned out all the gas today from the tanks and filled 3 five gallon buckets up to the 5 gallon line. The 3rd was just shy. I measured out the proper oil amount with the marked oil bottle showing different ratios and mixed it into each 5 gallon bucket, sloshing each one around until it became a nice uniform blue color. Then I drove to the gas station and filled up another 5-gallon container to top the tanks off. I repeated the same process measuring out the oil and emptying into the can, sloshing it around and then pouring it into the gas tank. All of that alone I feel mix it all up well. I primed the fuel with the bulb and looked for any leaks, there were none. After about three tries the boat started right up on the muffs with the hose running of course and ran like a champ. There was smoke coming out of course but it was not the thick overpowering Smoke from before when my vro pump failed open, providing too much oil and causing the motor to sputter out eventually. It seemed to run real nice and I'm going to take it out on the water today to test it.
    Last edited by rlgdguy; 07-13-2019 at 03:34 PM.
    Tight lines Y'all!

    1989 Ranger 361V
    1991 Johnson Faststrike 150hp

  7. Member rlgdguy's Avatar
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    #7
    *Update* Took her out today and was very happy with how she ran! Hole shot was great, got up on plain very quickly without any hesitation and still no leaks.
    Last edited by rlgdguy; 07-12-2019 at 03:02 PM.
    Tight lines Y'all!

    1989 Ranger 361V
    1991 Johnson Faststrike 150hp

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    #8
    Thanks for the update, everyone likes to see those.

  9. Member rlgdguy's Avatar
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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by 316jughead View Post
    Maybe next time he could ask on here our advice first.
    Trust me guys, I read everything and try to get as much info as possible before doing anything. Without writing a 3 page reply on everything I did do, going forward assume I read these posts first and ask specific questions as needed. Thanks for any replies with info guys and gals! This forum is invaluable to us all and I am so grateful I found it!
    Last edited by rlgdguy; 07-13-2019 at 03:42 PM.
    Tight lines Y'all!

    1989 Ranger 361V
    1991 Johnson Faststrike 150hp