Gotta start somewhere...Got me some goodies. Motor questions though.

B

BigHE

Member
There are a couple of things that I know I want on my V. I found a boat that had a lot of the items I wanted. The bonus is, it came with a running 1985 Johnson 140 HP V4 VRO. I think that will get me started. The PO says the engines "misses" while idling. Funny thing though, it sounds exactly like my 79 85HP did. I must have been running that thing while "missing" for years.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M45Xx4FiJ04&feature=youtu.be
 
I read the comment that was here a bit ago, but then it was deleted.

First thing, please don't assume that I didn't ask questions before I did what I did. If I was doing something wrong let me know. Isn' t that the reason forums like these exist? I was doing what I was told to do, as I was told to do it. I even watched a few Youtube vids. Everyone may not be as knowledgeable as you. Seems like I may have been told to do something you don't agree with.

I was even told to do the comp test removing only one wire, which I thought was weird because the motor will run with a shot cylinder. Right?
You can hear me telling my son "I was just checking". One the way down to the boat I was telling him I thought that it was weird that the guy told me to remove only one wire at a time. After reading your post, he may have meant to say one plug at a time.

You kept stating that I didn't know what I was doing. That's obvious. I didn't. That why I ask the questions. I'm not offended or anything remotely close. I have very little experience under the cowling and that's why I bought an inexpensive motor. Hence the title, "Gotta start somewhere".

I've done water pumps before. Successfully I may add (still not an expert nor claim to be). Stating that I don't know anything about that is another assumption.

I appreciate your feedback. It was valuable. I don't know why it was deleted. I'm going to look into the process again. Thanks.
 
i deleted my post as after i wrote it, i thought it was a bit hard on you! sorry! but you need to get a manual for what ever motor you are trying to work on, and look things up. whoever told you to do a compression test that way should be shot! you can get hurt real bad if that thing ever started, and you had a hand or something in the wrong place when it did!
first thing is get a good battery, then do the compression test, i said no worry about the water pump till you knew the motor is worth your time. you could start for a short period before it over heats and be fine, just turn water on for the little it will pump.
check the pee hole, mine was not pumping any waster out and all i needed to do was stick some stiff wire in it to get the mud wasp out, very comon problem.
ask all the questions you want before hand!! cause something you might think is small can ruin a other wise good motor. there are some real smart guys on here that know there stuff and will help!~
 
I appreciate that. I did find a better video on compression testing. It was a car though. I figure the process is the same. Unfortunately, the outboard ones never specifiedthat part of the process. At least the ones I saw. I'm going to hunt for a book today. I found a generic one online foe Johnson's around my year, but I'm going to see if I can find the specific. Guess you can't believe everyone at West Marine or maybe he just wanted to sell me more parts. Lol. Thanks again.
 
everybody's got their own way of testing, but i always warm the motor up. then pull the kill switch to prevent accidental startups. advance the warm up lever all the way to open carbs. and pull one plug at a time.
mj's right, don't worry about cooling till you get the comp #'s back & forget the generic manuals, you need the one specific to your model
 
Did the compression check, the right way. Thanks MJ. Here are the results.

CompressionTest.png


I'm trying to find the repair manual specific to my motor, but keep running into the Clymer and Seloc Manuals. Phatdaddy are you saying I should be looking for the specific owner's manual or repair manual.

Trying to find out what to do next. Just so I'm clear, I should not run the motor like that at all?
 
If you are SURE this is an 85 140HP EVINRUDE, compression should be up around 140-150 on it during cranking with a good battery. With 0 on one, I wouldn't put any money into it until you find out what is wrong with it. Could be a bad head gasket, but 85-87's were known to run hot and gaul the pistons. I would start by pulling that head off and see what teh cylinder looks like. be careful though as that engine has plain steel head bolts and they break off fairly easily if your not careful.
 
what ferm said, pull the heads and see what's goin on in that one cyl.
as far as the manuals, go on ebay or amazon and find one made by the engine manufactor for the engine you have. it is the shop manual they made for their dealers for that specific series of engines. clymer & selocs cover 8hp -250 hp for 10 years in one book, so you know the info is very broad and usually not very helpful to your situation.
 
I'm pretty sure its an '85.

2012-05-22_20-27-32_510.jpg


Cool. I'll pull the heads off and see what it looks like. The motor was pretty much free after all the other stuff I got off the boat. Hopefully I can save it though (or have it saved). That would be sweet. If I can't, what's the harm in running it locally till it dies? I'm willing to put a little money into it to have it fixed though.

I figure a motor that old will always require a little work. Am I right in that? The 60 psi would indicate a worn engine not really a bad engine. Meaning, some machine work would bring it back. Right? Just brainstorming. Thanks.
 
That serial tag is of an 85, the other questioon is does the engines welch plug serial number match the serail number on the tag? MOST 85's got replaced with new style engines under warranty as many of them cooked themselves. 60PSI is REALLY low, but this could also be due to the guage you used. I would try another compression guage if you can get access to one and see what you get then. As for running it with 0 compression in one cylinder, it may make it awhile or it may sling a rod through the block on the first run. If it isn't running on that cylinder and has no compression on it, then that means it isn't pulling any air through the carb for that cylinder. And when it doesn't pull any air, it isn't getting any fuel and no oil, so it is only a matter of time before a bearing in that cylinder locks up and comes un glued. Find out what is wrong with it first before your getting a tow in with a rod hanging out the block. It may just be a headgasket, or it could be a nic gouge down teh cylinder wall from a stuck ring that is just waiting to lift a sleeve out of teh block.
 
Look at head gasket like therm said but thats as far as i would go, save my cash for something worth while!
 
Got it. Check head gasket. New compression tester and DON'T run it as is. Any tips on removing the bolts without snapping them. I have done that in the past on a 90 Hyunday at the salvage yard. That sucks.
 
Pulled the head and found a tore up piston head, shavings and a broke ring. Got photos of the gasket as well. Some are the photos are repetitive but I was trying to make sure that the shadows weren't blocking something important.


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2012-05-24_17-04-17_203.jpg


2012-05-24_17-03-25_846.jpg


2012-05-24_17-03-17_702.jpg


2012-05-24_17-03-11_85.jpg
 
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i would say the 1/4 inch ring gap on the top ring might be where it all started. hard to tell, how does the cyl wall look?
 
I didn't see any gouging. But it was discolored you could tell it was rubbing. It still looks smooth to my eyes.
 
I would try spinning the fly wheel and see if that piston is moveing.I,ve seen where a cylinder had no compression and the rod be blown and the engin still run
 
That white t-stat housing I'm betting was the cause of the failure. OMC changed out those white housings to a black housing in 87-88 due to problems with the white ones sticking and overheating. That engine looks to be LOOSE to say the least from the looks of the lower cylinder. Personally I would reccomend finding a good used engine Vs rebuilding that one. Speaking from experience, the 85 is a nightmare to try and get to run decent, and it will always be on the ragged edge of living unless you do ALOT of upgrades to it. 85 is a one year only set-up, and tthey just aren't really feasable to keep alive. Look for an 88+ 140 to replace it with.
 
Well, DAMN!!! Not much more I can say but, DAMN!!! Guess I'll be content with the stuff I actually bought the boat for. Trashing a running motor seems so wrong. LOL
 
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