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I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving. i want to send this out to see if a problem with my outboard sounds familiar to anyone. I have an 1989 Evinrude 90hp that was gone through 100% in August and given a clean bill of health. Recently it has leaked small amounts of what appears to be oil and gas, dark colored. My wrench sez not to worry, it overflow from the carb. Yesterday the engine started to clatter and cut out intermittently. I was lucky to make it back to the dock and get on the trailer. By the time I was on the trailer, the motor would no longer start. It would turn over however. Any clues? Thanks.

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Dave, do you know how many things it could be ? You might want to start with seeing if theres idnition..chec spark at a plug..could it be bad fuel or water in it..ck your filters..maybe check the compression in the cylinders..and thats just for starters..my 95 60 hp evinrude quit this past summer after all those trouble free years..all electrical stuff replaced..trigger..powerbox..etc..800 bux later its going good ! good luck

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I would drag it off to the mechanic and say.. big problem, now you fix it

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I do love those statements, "Gone through 100% with a clean bill of health"! I have been told this a number of times but right down the road a piece a major break down did occur.

My first guess with what you describe seems like a failure in the VRO system. Clattering from the engine does not sound like a good thing at all.

As Kamie said, take it back to your wrench and let him diagnose the issues and provide you with a more definitive percentage!

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why does everyone always blame the vro?

my guess would be carburettor issues, both of my engines made loud rattling noised and ran very poorly then not at all, when the carbs got gunked up. Everything went back to normal after rebuilding the carbs.

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I, too, don't see how this could be a VRO failure.

If the dark colored material is coming out from the lower part of the cowling then there are a couple of possible causes.

First, because the carbs are overflowing due either to a bad needle/seat or because the carb bowls are the old plastic kind and have warped from ethanol. Take the cowling off and look directly below the carbs. If there's fluid pooling there then the carbs are probably the culprit. And your wrench is wrong here: carbs should not be overflowing.

The second possible cause is that the base gasket--the gasket between the block and the exhaust leg--is leaking. If this is the cause your wrench is right, it's pretty common and not an immediate problem, though it will only get worse and should be fixed eventually.

John K.

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I mentioned the VRO SYSTEM! This, in my opinion includes all related items from the fuel pump, oil pump and the carbs themselves. The oil pump portion and the fuel pump portion may be functioning just fine but the dark fluid sounds like an overflow issue coming from the carbs. It could be a needle not seating or unburnt fuel that drips out when the engine is tilted. Could also be a bad fuel or oil line or a host of other issues all related to the SYSTEM. I simply suggested that the SYSTEM be checked and it is in fact a VRO SYSTEM.

One thing does seem apparent, the 100% clean bill of health was a bad call.

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I'm in agreement with Gamalot. The problem sounds fuel flow related.

The oily residue is probably a red herring. If you tilt the motor up after use, fuel can leak out, evaporate, and leave oil behind. This happens to me and is not an issue.

Try starting the motor while pushing the key to operate the primer solenoid. Play with it a bit. If that gets the motor running (not running well, just running) the problem is likely a carb issue. My guess is a stuck needle valve. The motor should die out when you stop messing with the primer solenoid.

"Started to clatter and cut out intermittently" sounds a lot like running out of gas. So either you have no gas, or its not getting everywhere it needs to be.

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I disagree, the carbs are not part of the vro, the vro mixes oil with fuel before the carbs and the only job the vro has is to mix oil with fuel at the right ratio. The carbs are a completely seperate system and has the tasks of mixing fuel and air in the proper ratios and controlling airflow through the engine. The carbs don't care if the vro is providing oil or you premix.

Everyone is always quick to blame the oil injection system, no matter what the symptoms are.

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Thanks for the education! If the VRO is over oiling there could certainly be some residual oil/fuel left behind. As I clearly said "In My Opinion" the carbs are a part of the SYSTEM since they happen to receive what ever the VRO is pumping. I refuse to argue this and hope in the future you will stick to stating your opinions instead of disagreeing with others! I do hope the OP will report back with what his "Wrench" has to say. Too much fuel or oil or not enough fuel or oil from the VRO pump spells problems. The engine should have alarms that are known to fail. I am not sure I ever said I blame the VRO pump, just that it is a good place to start and follow the fuel/oil flow.

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I really don't have a problem with this statement. at the point the mechanic looked at it, tested it, pulled it apart or whatever they did to it, it was functioning as designed. That is not to say that your first time or 100th time out on the water since then there is a problem that develops.

Dave, depending on how mechanically inclined you are, you can start with the the basics, do you have fuel, do you have spark? I have never taken the time to learn to pull an engine apart, so my first reaction is call the mechanic, hook up the trailer and drop it off outside his gate.

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Clean the carbs, clean the vro filters, old oil will gum up the filter not letting oil through, bad old gas will clog the jets in the carbs, (OMC carbs are an easy fix, cleaner, gaskets kits, air compressor, and do one at a time) Check your prime bulb as well and ONLY replace it with a factory one.

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The moeller ones are junk. One failed one me last year, almost stranding me. A spare that was on the boat (never saw gas) got hard just sitting. My new OEM (yamaha) works great. a year old and just like new.

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Gamalot,

I never once mentioned you, I was stating my experience as a marine mechanic and certified light sport aircraft mechanic who works on lots of rotax 2 strokes in light sport aircraft, that many times people blame the VRO. We can agree to disagree about the carbs being part of the VRO "system" There is no need to get so defensive, it was not my intention to attack your personal ideas, if that is what you felt. And to your statement about opinions, I WAS stating my OPINION.

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You can take out the VRO pump and tank and put in a non-VRO fuel pump and not have to touch the carbs, therefore the carbs are not part of the VRO "system".

Until the OP reports back with some additional information/clarification I'm not sure we can say much more about the cause of his problem.

John K.

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I had this same issue on my 40hp. It's the float on that particular carb. It's full of fuel. Fuel eats at them you may find it cracked or in my case a pin hole. Replace it and you should be GTG.