Johnson Faststrike Locked Up!!

[Ranger462]

Ok guys....Back a few months ago I had wrote in about my Faststrike loosing RPM's and finally shutting down. The mechanic determined that the VRO pump (imagine that) was the problem. He said that the VRO was oiling, but was not getting any fuel to the motor. I had him replace it. He claims to have tested the motor at 5000 rpms, and no problems. The very first time out on the water I put the boat on plane, and 3 minutes later, I had a blown motor. As soon as I trolled back to the ramp I went straight to the mechanic. He pulled the spark plugs and on the 4th cylinder, the plug was all bashed in on the end. He said the motor was shot, and there was nothing he could do. Is this pure BS? Do I have a claim against this certified mechanic? What should I do? I need all the help I can get here guys. Thanks in advance.

[Ranger462]

Also guys, I am not automatically putting the blame on the mechanic. I know s@#t happens, but it just doesn't seem right that it would go as soon as I put it back in the water from the shop. Just a little heated on the first post. Again, any information would be appreciated.

[Lockjaw]

I took a running boat to the shop for a tune up, and when they called me they said it had no compression on one cylinder, and it only had 3. I was a little miffed until I took it to have it rebuilt and the builder said it had water in the oil tank, which is what made it lose compression.

Bottom line is if it wasn't getting enough fuel, then that is probably what caused the damage.

[fishnfool38]

If he replaced the VRO there is a chance that he did not prime the oil line and pump, which would result in 3 min of no oil. You are supposed to do an oil consumption test after replacing the Vro. I do not know how many actually do it, I do know that I did both times I replaced mine!

[t-bone]

How did it seem to run in the three minutes? Great? Rough? A bad VRO pump will blow more than just one cylinder. If only #4 is blown its probably a plugged carb for that cylinder and i'll bet it started when it shut down the first time.

[Lockjaw]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fishnfool38 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If he replaced the VRO there is a chance that he did not prime the oil line and pump, which would result in 3 min of no oil. You are supposed to do an oil consumption test after replacing the Vro. I do not know how many actually do it, I do know that I did both times I replaced mine!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I pumped mine up until there was oil coming out, and ran a tank of pre-mix through it at the same time. Then I took it to the lake, with a full oil tank, and made sure it was using oil.

[fishnfool38]

It wouldn't necessarily drop them all at once. It looks like you would have to do a tear down to know for sure, wouldn't you? I'm not saying your wrong just asking.

[Ranger462]

When I cranked the engine, it idled a little rough, not bad though. It has done that before. Getting on plane and running was fine, no RPM loss until the very end when she did go. As it came off plane, I could hear the knock in the engine. I shut it down and then tried to turn it back over...locked, nothing. If he did not prime it, would it have blown up in the tank test?

[BigSmallie II]

Sounds like a Garage Liability claim to me.

Like you said......Sh*t happens........to everyone.

BS

[fishnfool38]

No, it would run just fine until the bearings or rings seized or came apart. The alarm if working should have gone off though.

[hulapopr]

this is why it is a good reason to always premix the first tank when you mess with an oil pump..but it probably was already happening when it quit the first time.