99 Johnson 175 - No Wake Lake Use

[99Ranger]

I was on a small "no wake" lake yesterday morning that I fish quite often and experienced the following;

Oh yeah, my model # is J175PLEES.

I made several "idle speed runs" during the morning with no problems whatsoever, but before cranking the engine for the final time to go to the ramp I tilted the motor all the way up to clear some grass that was around the lower unit. I brought the motor back down and started it and all seemed ok until I put the motor in gear. The motor kept "spitting" and shutting down the entire way back to the ramp (maybe 2000 yards) and I had to stop and pump the bulb each time it stopped to get it to crank.

I pulled the plugs and they were a little wet but not fouled. I'm planning on decarbing the motor this week (BRP Engine Tuner, per the instructions). Any ideas on what happened here? The motor runs great on big lakes, no problems except for a little bogging on hole shots but I can live with that. If I'm going to fish the "no wake" lake alot, is there anything that I can do to help the engine as I understand from reading alot on this forum that no wake zones suck for carbed motors.

Thanks!

[ChampioNman]

with the motor tilted up all the way like that fuel may have come out of the carb bowls and caused a loss of prime. Also the float in the vapor separator tank could have hung. Try it again in normal positition and see what happens.

[99Ranger]

Thanks ChampionMan. I actually just ran the engine on muffs in the driveway this afternoon just to see what it would do and now the only way I can keep the engine running at idle is to pump the bulb occassionally. Once the bulb is firm, the engine will start and idle normally, after a minute or so there is little to no pressure on the bulb and the engine begins to act like it's starving for fuel......then squeeze the bulb a few times and it picks back up and idles fine for another minute or so and repeat.

I've read alot on this forum regarding fuel delivery issues and found that there can be several points at which the system can lose prime. This is a 99 model boat so I'm thinking that I should start at the tank by replacing the anti-siphon valve (don't even know if it truly has one, this is on the tank right?) and all the fuel lines to the motor, fuel filter, the water seperator and see what happens. 10 days ago the engine ran fine all day on a big lake. I only had to pump the bulb once during the day and when I did, I didn't pump it to "firm" and the motor ran fine. I started that day with close to a full tank of gas and I'm wondering if the pressure in the tank (maybe it's less with less gas in it??) is part of the problem.

Any further advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[ChampioNman]

The easiest and cheapest thing to do would be to hook up a portable tank to the fuel side mixed at 50:1 and run the motor to see what happens. That elimates a lot.

[99Ranger]

Ahhhhh, I get it. Will do tomorrow afternoon and post my findings. Thanks again ChampioNman!

[99Ranger]

Well I just finished running the motor on a portable tank and I've still got the same problem. The only way to keep the motor running is to constantly feed it fuel by squeezing the bulb. Before cranking, the bulb would pump up very firm but after maybe 2 mins of running, the engine runs out of gas and the bulb is completely empty.

When I bought the boat, the previous owner had an electronic fuel pump rigged up between the tank and the motor, I removed the electronic fuel pump and the boat ran great for about 8 fishing trips to both big lakes and the no wake lake.

The VRO was already disabled when I bought the boat. The pigtail is not plugged into the main harness and the oil intake on the VRO is capped. All I really know to do is to replace the VRO but don't want to just go spend $400 without truly knowing that this is the problem.

What does this sound like? Are there several possible problems? If so I'm going to send the boat off to a mechanic when I can.

Thanks

[ChampioNman]

More than likely the diaphrams are toast in the pump. The previous owner didn't do you any favors with the electic pump either. Find a used one somewhere, buy a new pump with the oil system working #5007420 or buy a mix your own for about $40.00 less. There are some web sites that show other methods not prescribed here.

[guisertj]

Could it be the primer bulb assembly? From the post I have read that was always the place that guys start at.
Not an expert by any means, just reading to learn.

[Johnny Dollar]

think about your first post......."everything was fine until you tilted the motor and then the problem started" with that being said, it sounds to me like you could have cracked a dry rotted fuel line, cracked a plastic fuel line clamp, maybe even made the connection where the fuel line connects to the motor loose. Try pumping the bulb with the motor hood off, until it gets tight and keep pumping the bulb and see if you can see the fuel leak anywhere. If it is loosing it's prime then you should also see a leak with some fuel pressure.

[99Ranger]

ChampioNman, where can I find a fuel only pump for this motor? The oil reservoir is gone so I'm just going to continue mixing my own oil in the tank.

Also, Does the Vacuum Switch have a "weep hole" on the face of it? When I was pumping the bulb to keep fuel in the engine, I could see fuel shoot out the front of the switch assy. Is that normal?


Modified by 99Ranger at 5:59 AM 6/8/2011

[99Ranger]

Johnny Dollar, thanks for the advice. I've looked at this thing with the motor cover and air box off several times. I've actually replaced all the seals in the carbs and replaced the float bowls because they were warped.

I think my course of action will be to replace the fuel pump with a fuel only pump and replace every inch of fuel line on the boat. I actually used a fairly new gas line/bulb assembly when I ran the engine on a portable tank to check it.

Munford? Do you ever fish at Glenn Springs?

[Johnny Dollar]

yes I fish Glenn Springs some, I don't bass fish. I like to get after the bluegill and shellcrackers at Glen Springs, I will put out jugs while I'm doing that and catch a few catfish. Do you ever fish there, or is that the lake where your troubles started?

[ChampioNman]

That may be your issue with the fuel system. Take the hose off the vacuum switch and put a golf tee in the hose. Pump it up and see if it holds. The vacuum switch needs to be replaced as the diaphragm is shot.

[99Ranger]

It definitely stayed primed for much longer with the golf tee stuck in the vacuum switch hose. I will replace the vacuum switch, but that leads me to yet another question.

Can I run the motor on muffs with the vacuum hose plugged and the switch disconnected?

Thanks again

[ChampioNman]

Yes but don't exceed 4,500 RPM. The vacuum switch monitors the fuel system for delivery issues (lean condition) and needs to be in place. May want to have a couple nitro glycerin pills handy the switch is pricey.

[99Ranger]

Thanks ChampioNman, I'll try it this afternoon. I've already looked at some pricing on the vacuum switch and you're right. I've come to realize, the hard way, that nothing is cheap on an outboard engine!

[99Ranger]

OK, I just ran the engine on muffs with the vacuum switch bypassed and it idled without shutting down at all. I stopped and started the engine several times without touching the primer bulb and it started and idled every time.

HOWEVER!!! I did find that the starboard side balance tube hose is now only connected to the balance tube itself. The other end is not connected to anything.......(that can't be good) it's just sitting in the bottom of the engine compartment. I'm guessing that the starboard side balance tube connects just below the pulse limiter where I can now see fuel spitting out as the engine idles. The plastic "nipple" appears to be broken off. When I tilt the engine up to put the transom saver on fuel spills out of the broken plastic nipple......explaining the problem that I had on the lake last Sunday when I tilted it up all the way to clear the grass from the prop.

Shazzzam, lol.

Am I correct that the part I need is a Lower Drain Nipple, part # 0340767 ?

If so, I'll just tack that on to the $100-$120 Vacuum Switch I'm about to buy.