1990 Evinrude 175hp Running the engine without oil.

[Sumo]

I am a sick puppy right now! I took the boat out on Sunday and opened her up and within 3 minutes without warning the engine sounded funny and killed within seconds. I looked around the engine and did not see anything but being in the middle of the lake I wanted to get out of harms way so I trolled closer to the bank. When I finally had a chance to check things out I found that my oil hose coming from the oil injector tank had snapped off at the bracket that holds the hose. I tried to fix it but did not have anything to splice the hose nor was it long enough to extend and reconnect. The engine was not used for 20 minutes and I fired it up, it ran in idle but when put in forward it would kill without giving it gas. I ran it at 5 mph and it sounded funny.

I will replace the hose and run it but is there anything else I should do before or after the hose it replaced? Can anyone give me some pointer on what to check for to see what kind of damage has been done or am I just looking at a power head replacement? Help!!!

[SEAHORSE]

When was the last time someone checked your warning system and the horn operation? At minimum, that should be done annually or at the 100 hr. servicing, whichever comes first.

Sorry to say this, but your motor is most likely totaled if it ran that speed and that long without oil.

[rudetech1]

You need to run the compression first before doing repaires to the oil system. Before doing the compression, sray some tcw into the cylinders to lube them. Not to much, you don't want to throw off the compression reading.

[Sumo]

Since I just picked the boat up in June of last year and did not use it until October and only once I cannot answer when checks were made on the engine. I know the engine powerhead was rebuilt not too long before I purchased it. I do not know if any of the alarms work since I really never thought of checking those things at this point, I know I should have but I did not. As for the 100hr service I know since the powerhead was replaced there was no hr service since then and the engine only has 10 hours on it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[Sumo]

Thanks for the reply. I will do exactly as you suggest and squirt a little TCW in each cylinder and run a test on each one. What should I be looking for as far as pressure? If there is pressure but on the low side can the engine still be used or does that really affect any engine balance?

[lkhartwl]

again may I stress also that you need to hook up the oil first before testing! when you have it hooked up and sprayed , the compression should be no more than a difference in all cylinders of 10 points. Example if top right is 85 all the rest should be no lower than 75 , any lower you have problems and need to get it to a tech. I would also say this just to be safe let a tech check it out instead of you at least if he says ok you have a little peace of mind, if not well it is already at the shop and you dont have to mess with it again towing and such.

[Sumo]

I will be changing the oil hose and using a siphon to pull up oil from the tank before I install it on the engine. I will make the compression test and if it is about what you said I should be looking for then I will attempt to run it on the flush and see what happens. If when I run it on the flush it starts acting up then I will bring it in otherwise I will continue to run it at various speeds and check the compression and see if it is the same if not I will bring it into the shop and decide from there if I need to put another engine on the boat. I do not want to spend good money on a powerhead rebuild or replacement. I have been told by the shop that the cost will be $4000+ and if that is the case I think I will be looking at putting a 4stroke on it.

Thanks for the replay and caring!

[RUSTY63]

Sumo, I am with Seahorse on this one, I think you will have bigger problems, Sorry.

[Sumo]

Well I took the compression test last night and 5 out of 6 had compression reading of 96 to 100 but one had no reading. I now need to find out what can be done. I guess I am looking at a powerhead rebuild but for that year engine I am frowning on doing it.

I think you are right Rusty

[THE WITCHDOCTOR]

Thing to do is pull that head, see the damage and go from there. If you are lucky, MIGHT get by with doing the one hole, then again, I personally would want to look at all the bearings and cylinders....

[Neveredge]

$4000 for a rebuild on a crossflow is ridiculous.
You can probably find a good used powerhead for around $1000 to $1500.

I know where there is a 90 GT175 short block for sale for $250. My buddie is supposed to buy it but if he doesn't I'll let you know.

You can get brand new pistons on ebay for 50 bucks each. Your rods and crank should still be good and I'm guessing your heads are ok also. If not, heads are about $100. crank is $150 for a good one. Rods are really cheap. These prices are for used parts (except the pistons) and your motor won't know the difference.

Go over to Screamandfly and look for Bigobass on the board. He ussually has a good number of running crossflows for sale. Any year 235 or 2.6XP/GT will bolt up. So will 175s and GT175s from 85 to 90. And the GT175 from 91 also will work. You should not use a 78 235 though as it will require the intake be changed to work with your gearcase. The 78 and 79 235s are also small bore motors and not 2.6s like your XP175. But they will bolt up and work.

He is around $2000 for a complete motor, not just the powerhead. This way you would have lots of spare parts!

[Sumo]

Thanks for the website information. I see that there are alot of engines in the size and make that I am looking for in there and some are pretty reasonably priced. I know those dollar figures look huge but here in the San Francisco Bay Area everything is high, regular gas is now at $2.80 a gallon and climbing so I know our pricing here seems excessive and sometimes it is. I am not a outboard mechanic and in the past when I try to do something this intricate I end up spending more than if I let a pro do it.

I think finding a reliable used engine would be the way to go if I decide in that direction. I am capable enough to pull the old one off and put the replacement on and make all the normal connections.

I finally got the new oil line replaced and it was quite a chore, I see why they did not change it when they rebuilt the engine.

[302w]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sumo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I finally got the new oil line replaced and it was quite a chore, I see why they did not change it when they rebuilt the engine. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's some BS right there. Is this motor still under that "mechanics" warrenty?

[Sumo]

I cannot do anything about the rebuild since I bought the boat in June of 2005 from a fellow who had just split from his gal got kicked out of the apartment and was heading to Los Angeles for back surgery. I barely got all the paperwork signed before he left. I asked him about the paperwork and he said that all his stuff was trashed. I believe him since I had to do duplicates on all the transactions. I also would think that the rebuilder would not be responsible for changing a oil line but the previous owner should have since it was not part of the rebuild. Maybe I am wrong but not much I can do about it now. I know if it was me I would have asked if there was anything I needed to do after the motor was installed again or maybe a powerhead replacement does not entail removing the oil line. I really do not know.

I think if he did not split he would have kept the boat. He installed new seats, new steering and just got the powerhead done. I imagine he just wanted some of the money back that he put in.

[Sumo]

I pulled the head a couple of hours ago and was hoping it was a headgasket but it was not. I have a bad cylinder so it looks like I have to pull everything off to get it fixed. Neveredge let me know if the short block is available in case I want to go that route. I guess if I am going that far I might as well do the whole thing so I am going back to doing mechanic work again but instead of cars it will be outboards.

[rudetech1]

Get a factory service manual if you do. Do not use the aftermarket type. You will save time and a lot of$$$$$ this way if you do it yourself.

[Sumo]

Any hints on where I can find a factory service manual at a good price?

[Neveredge]

My buddy bought the short block. Sorry.

Ebay ussually has some service manuals. Look under Johnson or Evinrude or OMC in the ebay motors section.

[Sumo]

Checked ebay but I do not see a factory manual for the motor, it seems like they have all the rest. Neveredge I tried to look up BigoBass on the screamandfly website but could not find him any other leads on the motor listings?

[RUSTY63]

You can check with kencook.com, they have all the older Johnson/Evinrude manuals.