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1985 Evinrude 90 hp. I think that this is shortly after the VRO pumps were introduced. The whole concept makes me nervous because the consequences of the VRO system failing are so serious. I don't mind premixing the oil.

Has anyone disabled the VRO pump and gone back to premixing?

Is this a job that I can do or should I go to a mechanic?

If I can do it, exactly what are the steps?

Thanks

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Howdy!!

Disconnecting the VRO is pretty common and I've done it to my old Evinrude at one time too. Here's a few links that may help you out.

http://forums.iboats.com/Evinrude-Out...oards/1985

http://www.outboardrepairs.com/topics...14522.html

Good luck and let us know how it turns out for ya.

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I did it to my 70... figured Id rather take the time to pre-mix rather than burn up my engine. On my older engine I didnt want to take the chance the VRO would fail on me... or my kids when they were out.

My problem was finding the bracket to mount the regular fule pump after I removed the VRO. I didnt even try to simply remove the hoses.. I emoved the whole system.

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Help me understand - your motor is a 1985, and you're worried the VRO is unreliable after it has just demonstrated 25 years of reliable operation? I don't get it.

Tim

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I had my mechanic with decades of outboard experience do it when I first bought my boat - he was doing the exhaust seals and impeller, and told me he was going to disconnect the VRO whether I wanted him to or not - no charge - while pointing to a pile of junked Johnsons and Evinrudes. Buy yourself an oil ratio measuring cup at Walmart or West Marine and premixing takes no time at all - just do it when you fill up so you don't forget.

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Yes, I understand that "VRO or not" is a religious discussion along the lines of "PC vs. Mac" but I was just pointing out the irony of it in this instance.

My 20-year old motor came with the VRO already disconnected, so I did not have a choice unless I wanted to shell out for a new oil tank, lines, etc.

Tim

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I hate pre-mixing... Never want to do it again. I would rather use oars and row my boat rather than pre-mix.

Having said that, I can understand if someone would want to disconnect the VRO if something was wrong with it and they couldn't afford to fix it at that time.

But just disconnecting it because something might happen doesn't make sense to me.
If it is leaking or weak, then get it fixed. The VRO or now called the OMS (Oil Metering System) is a good system and I wouldn't remove it.

Just removing because something might happen to it would be like disconnecting my power steering and/or my power brakes on my automobile because it might wear out and cause an accident.

I have never had any problems with any of my VRO systems other than a few minor leaks due to hose clamps or old hoses. As long as a person takes care of the system, there shouldn't be many problems. I had a 1985 70 hp and now a 1985 150 hp and the system is working just fine.

However, some people just want to remove it and pre-mix which, in the end, is entirely up to them of course.

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If it has worked for 25 years, why disconnect?

My understanding is that this system alarms when the oil level in the reservoir is low but not when no oil is being delivered.

A number of years ago this motor would run great except when running at wide open throtle. It would suddenly stop and would not crank. After a few minutes it would crank, start, and run fine until full throtle again applied. After much sorting out, it was discovered that there was a small crack in the plastic tube that delivered the oil to the pump in the depths of the interior of the engine. It would not leak oil but it would suck air and deliver no or inadequate oil.

So the engine would seize and would recrank when it cooled down. Required reboring the cylinders and using oversized pistons. It has been a long time but it was pretty expensive.

Bottom line is that on this engine, the system can fail with no alarms to indicate its failure and the fix is real expensive.

My paranoria is such that I mix oil in my gas at 1:100 to try to cover my bets. Might as well mix it at 1:50 and forget the VRO unless there is a real advantage to the fact that the VRO actually does deliver a variable amount of oil that is appropriate the engine speed. Does anyone know of an advantage other than convenience?

As the country song says "that's my story and I'm sticking to it!"

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Most of the VRO systems have been upgraded through the years.
I believe the original ones had a 3 wire system but later changed to the 4 wire system.

Mine was upgraded to the 4 wire system sometime before I bought the boat from the original owner.
So, YES, the 4 wire system has an alarm that alerts for "NO OIL"....

You might want to take a look at this article that we have located right here on this site.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...ticle_id=9

The above article shows how to check your VRO alarm system.

The later OMS systems are slightly different as they have added a "Check Engine" alarm which means a fuel delivery problem.
Some older systems may have had this added but my 1985 does not.

Check to see if you have 3 or 4 wires coming out of your VRO pump.
If you have 4, then your VRO has been upgraded.

As far as your scenario above about overheating, many engines have a feature like this.
If the engine gets too hot for any reason, it shuts down..
This could be from cooling problems too...
A weak water pump could cause an engine to overheat when running at full throttle but run fine at slower speeds and at idle.

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I ended up ditching my VRO for a standard fuel pump that is used on the SPL 88 models. Bolts right to the housing and cost me about 75 bucks new last year. My VRO failed for unknown reason and after replacing all the fuel lines to the carb it was less than 1/4 the price for a new VRO to use a standard pump. If you look under the evinrude parts website the 88 SPL pump is listed under all the standard v4 engines of your era.

Before I ditched the VRO i replaced the warning horn thanks to great advice from Joe Kriz. If not for the alarm sounding for no oil, I could have burned the engine up when the VRO kicked the bucket. I would test your warning alarm system whether you keep the VRO or not.