Johnson 60hp

Just bought a used boat with a 60hp Johnson on it(1988 model). There's a separate reservoir for oil so mixing oil/gas is not necessary. However, the guy I got the boat from warned me that the oil pumps are notorious for going out and that I wouldn't know it wasn't working until the engine blew up. So he mixed 50:1 in the gas AND put oil in the oil reservoir. What are yalls thoughts on this? Isn't it too much oil? What if I just always mixed 50:1 and said to heck with the oil reservoir? Is that a bad idea? If I just went with mixing my own, what do I do with the oil reservoir? Thanks ahead of time...

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Originally Posted by craigodem

Just bought a used boat with a 60hp Johnson on it(1988 model). There's a separate reservoir for oil so mixing oil/gas is not necessary. However, the guy I got the boat from warned me that the oil pumps are notorious for going out and that I wouldn't know it wasn't working until the engine blew up. So he mixed 50:1 in the gas AND put oil in the oil reservoir. What are yalls thoughts on this? Isn't it too much oil? What if I just always mixed 50:1 and said to heck with the oil reservoir? Is that a bad idea? If I just went with mixing my own, what do I do with the oil reservoir? Thanks ahead of time...

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Doing both is definitely way too much oil. It will lead to more carbon build up than under normal conditions and premature fouling of spark plugs.

If you are not willing to trust the oil pump then just mix 50:1 yourself. As far as the oil pump, I would think that all that you need to do is disable the alarm and simply not put oil in it---again only if you pre-mix!

One more thing I recommend is the use of "carbon guard". I add it to to every tank of fuel, that and stabilizer

Knock on wood---I have a 1982 Johnson 60 hp and she is still running strong! This motor pre-dates oil injection, VRO, etc; however, I have a 90 hp Merc on my pontoon boat and I am afraid of this oilinjection stuff too, but, it is supposed to give an alarm if no oil is pumping.

Good luck to you!

It should sound an alarm if there is no oil pumping. However, that can be pretty hard to hear if you're flying down the lake at 50mph+

Premix for peace of mind. Also, I think you're supposed to take the pump off/disable it. Someone will chime in and tell you if that is necessary.

thanks for the input so far... I'd like to just take the thing off, but I just the boat (my first boat) and I don't know how to do it. Would it be real hard to do?

I've had that same motor on the boat I bought 4 years ago and I've always used the oil resivor. It's never given me a problem but I'd like to know more also. I will say it's been a great running motor. knock on wood.

An 88 should be a VRO motor...the VRO was one of the best units available...the earlier 80's oil injection was not so good. The unit does have an alarm. All you have to do to take it off is undo the alarm wire and tape it up. Then cut the oil line where it comes into the motor and plug it off. This will keep the engine from ever sucking anything else into it.

Be SURE if you take it off that you mix 50:1 before you dismantle it. Let it run on muffs for a while with the oil injection intact...once you are smoking REALLY good...you know the premix gas is in the carbs...now you can dismantle it. This keeps you from having a gas only condition for a couple minutes which could and would be bad! :eek:

There have actually been VERY few incidents of an oil pump going bad and blowing a motor...many will say different...but its true. Most blow due to another reason. Many mechs just blamed it on the oil injection. That was the easiest thing to say. A motor would drop a cylinder then they'd say oil injection..well, thats impossible...it would blow the whole engine...the oil injection injects oil into the incoming gas...not into each individual cylinder. So a cylinder does not mean oil injection. Most VRO's are very good units...ecspecially the newer ones...well late 80's early 90's. You know there is something to be said about a pump that is still going strong after 20 years of service. Think about that...where will most of the new engines be in say 20 or 30 years??

More about VRO. Submitted by Seahorse - iboats Boating Forums

This is a very good article from iboats.com about the VRO....thought you might find it interesting.

I have a 60hp Merc with oil injection. My alarm will go off when I troll at idle speed with it for about 10 minutes. I have to speed up just a tad to get it to send enough oil to kill the alarm. I wish I knew how to make it idle as slow as possible without setting the alarm off.

CrappieReaper...are you sure its the oil alarm?? Reason I ask, ALOT of the merc/mariners will get hot when idling around...I guess there isn't quite enough volume at idle. I didn't catch what year yours is...but I know the 80's and 90's did. Some did, some didn't...but LOTS did. You cud bump them up some...and they'd cool back off...but idling real slow and they'd heat right up!

Might switch to premix if you are for sure its the oil...that would be cheap insurace...that buzzer goes off for some reason...its just a simple switch...temp or low oil get to a point, and it closes the circuit and beeps the beeper.

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Originally Posted by Crappie Reaper

I have a 60hp Merc with oil injection. My alarm will go off when I troll at idle speed with it for about 10 minutes. I have to speed up just a tad to get it to send enough oil to kill the alarm. I wish I knew how to make it idle as slow as possible without setting the alarm off.

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What year is it? Steady beep = overheating, Intermittant beep= oil.

98 model, steady beep. Sounds like an overheating issue. Know of anyway to address it? I wouldn't think a motor would overheat at idle speeds. Maybe the rubber is old. Not meaning to hijack craigodem thread.

OK... I feel better about the oil pump after reading these posts and the article at iboats. I'm going to stick with the pump and trust the alarm for any problems. All I was doing was going by what the guy said that I got the boat from and I don't have any experience with the VRO system at all. The fella who had it before me didn't have any problems with it either and he really never used the boat anyway. One other thing... the prop on this thing is pretty chewed up. Any advice on a new one that won't break the bank?

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Originally Posted by Crappie Reaper

98 model, steady beep. Sounds like an overheating issue. Know of anyway to address it? I wouldn't think a motor would overheat at idle speeds. Maybe the rubber is old. Not meaning to hijack craigodem thread.

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I would certainly replace the impeller. That is a sign of it wearing out. The edges get worn and it no longer has the volumn at low RPMs that it has at higher RPMs. I replace mine every other year. Its easy to do and its cheap insurance.

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Originally Posted by Crappie Reaper

98 model, steady beep. Sounds like an overheating issue. Know of anyway to address it? I wouldn't think a motor would overheat at idle speeds. Maybe the rubber is old. Not meaning to hijack craigodem thread.

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This is just a WAG, but have you checked the thermostat? It may be worn/dirty and restricting water flow at low rpms.

Craig...what prop is on it now??

Save money...aluminum

Last and more performance...stainless

Only problem really with aluminum is if you hit something with it...very good chance you will lose a blade...

Stainless if you hit something you may knick it or bend it...but probably will be fixable...you probably won't lose a blade...

There are many places to get a prop...I would try to try a few out from a friend or shop if you can. Do you have a tach?? You really need to be at the upper end of your rpm range...probably 5500 or so when you have an average load...you don't want to lug it.


I agree with IBNFISHN and PanMan...you should check both...I replace my waterpump ever other year also...some older mercs you needed to replace every year. The rubber in the impellor can wear out or even get soft and not have the contact it should...get the kit..not just the impellor since its been a while. Then just replace the impellor every other year...cheap insurace as said before. Check thermostats isn't too hard...find out what the temperature of your thermostat is and get a heat gun or some heat sticks...the stick will melt or not melt at a certain temp so you can see the range your in...you can also put them in various spots and see if you have a hot spot. Alot of merc/mariners will not pee unless the termostat is open...watch the temp gun and pee stream and see when it opens. An easier way is to just remove the thermostat and put it in a pot of water...put a thermometer in the pot and start to heat it...when it hits the temp it should open you should see this happen. If not replace...if so it may be something else...could be as simple as the water pump

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Originally Posted by Scrapper

I replace my waterpump ever other year also...

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Don't you have to own a boat for more than 9 months in order to replace the waterpump every other year? :D How many boats have you owned in the past 2 years? :D

Agrihawgs got jokes huh?? I'm out of the redoing boats business for a while...I need to fish.. :p

And the magic number is 6.... :o

I like boats...lol...I see potential