Getting her running

[rebel44]

Hi all,

I have been lurking here for a few months and reading up
since i bought a 1986 center console V20.

It has a 1990 200 Johnson on it...rebuilt powerhead..but it's not wired..
i am currently in the middle of sorting out the rats nests of wiring on board which consists of 4 different wiring harnesses and ignitions.

This engine has not been run in 2 years.

Question is...what steps should i do before cranking it?

I plan on using the VRO...i will go ahead and crank it with the 50-1 ratio
in a temporary gas tank and verify the vro works ok.

what about carb cleaning?

Change out the lower end lube?

looks rough...not for long though

[macojoe]

Welcome to the site!!

I will be the first but not the last to say JUNK the VRO!! They are unreliable at best and there has been a ton of blown motors cause of them!! That motor will run just fine on a 50:1 mix!!

Rip out all the wires and start new!! Its not that hard to redo, th motor you have should have its own harness with the red plug and work perfect with a good set of controls.

Lower unit is easy!! Buy a pump for the lower unit, remove the bottom screw first then the top to drain. Ck oil for any signs of metal. now screw the pump to the lower screw hole and pump oil in slow. When the oil comes out the top hole replace screw plug, then remove pump and replace the lower screw plug.
Filling from the bottom to the top pushes the air out as you fill so you get no air pockets!
Don't forget to get 2 new plastic gaskets for the plug screws!!!!!!! They get compressed and will allow oil to leak or worse let water in! Always replace these when you change the oil!!

Any good carb cleaner will work, but clean before or after you run the motor, as when it is running you want to be careful as it will clean the very oil you need to run he motor!! If they really need a cleaning that bad, I would remove them clean well and replace.

Lastly looking at your boat, if it doesn't need a transom yet it will soon if you don't do something about the transom cap!
The alum cap the factory put on was not sealed well to begin with and yours is half missing! A few here have removed the motors and glassed over the cap and got rid of the angle all toghter!! But what ever you do, seal with 4200 at least and replace with new angle to seal!! you will be glad you did!!

You might want to ck the transom now, do this buy leaving the motor up like in the pic, and lift up and push down hard on the lower leg, there should be no movement or cracking sounds. If there is you could go into the boat and drill a couple of small 1/4 inch holes starting from the top to the bottom. If you get wood great, black wood its wet, dirt its rotted. This will give you a idea of how bad the transom is if you have movement. seal the holes back up with 4200 when done.

Good Luck!

[bradford]

What he said! Welcome to the site!

[tsubaki]

Welcome to the site.
Yep what MJ said.
The motor not being ran for two years wouldn't be a problem if it was ran dry of fuel the last time, however if it was stored with fuel in the carbs it most likely will need cleaning before it will start.
Get a 6 gallon tank and hose add new fuel mix to it (50:1) and see if the bubble will prime and fill the carbs and try to crank the engine. Running it a little with the added oil isn't gonna hurt.
Let us know as you progress and keep posting pictures.
Add to your signature the boat and motors size, type, year and your location (this will help in problem solving later).

[THEFERMANATOR]

What was said above, except for the carb cleaning. That engine has the plastic carb body's that WILL melt with many carb cleaners. And also if it isn't running smoothly when you start it up like a cylinder isn't getting fuel. Then shut it down immediately! Remember that no fuel = no oil.(even with the VRO hooked up) If you have any specific wiring questions, post some pictures and we'll be glad to help sort it out.

[nothingbuttrouble]

Hey if you really wanna junk the motor, and its not seized, ill take it off your hands free of charge. Reliable or not that 200hp motor will move my V-20 a lot quicker then the 88 SPL i got does.

[rebel44]

Thanks for the replies, good thing i asked....

Ok i will disconnect the VRO.

I did the transom test thoroughly and it is rock solid...very...will fix cap.

The motor powerhead was rebuilt by the mechanic who owned it...
i don't think it was run much since the rebuild a couple years ago.

The boat was used as a shrimp boat and has a lot of gouges and scrapes.
The deck is soft in front of the console but not bad. That will be a project for later.
my goal is to get it in the water first..make it pretty after that.

I did find the correct wiring harness with the red plug and an OMC ignition switch
and i got it mostly wired...just need to get a battery and hook that up and test and crank.

I previously rebuilt a delapidated 1973 Winner with 305 OMC inboard..so i know what to expect and i like that sort of pain. It came out beautiful.

The trailor is bad off.

First item i bought was a boat cover.

thanks for being there no doubt i will have some questions in the next few days.

[rebel44]

i called the previous owner.
He ran all the fuel out of the carb before storing the engine.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for the fuel tank?

Is there a way to verify if it is clean or dirty inside?

[macojoe]

Just start her up!! New gas, the new gas will clean it right up. Don't go looking for trouble!