Hello.
I am having some issues with a 1998/1999 Johnson 90hp outboard motor. I have owned this boat/motor for about 10 years. It has always started up decently well and ran great. About 5 years ago I replaced the fuel separator gasket after hearing a leak whenever I primed the fuel bulb. About a year ago, I noticed a lot of fuel/oil in the bottom of the motor area when the cover was removed, and realized fuel/oil was leaking out of most of the carb float bowl seals. I replaced all of those seals at that time but didn't bother replacing any of the other seals that came with the carb rebuild kits because none of those seals were leaking. Boat started well after this service but wouldn't stay primed as well as it used to. I didn't think a whole lot of it at the time.
Fast forward to last weekend. I took the boat to a lake 3 hours away that is relatively low elevation (for Colorado standards). I had to crank and prime and crank and prime and throttle up the motor for a good 3 minutes before I could get the motor to fire up and idle. I then turned the motor off to go park my truck and when I got back to the boat, it was more difficult to fire up the motor than it ever has been before. After that initial difficulty, the motor ran well and started okay for the rest of the weekend.
I got back to my house and tore into the motor. Here is where it gets complicated- I removed all 4 carburetors, and they all have pretty obvious warpage of the plastic where the float bowl meets the plastic carb body. The seals were obviously wet with oil/gas mixture. I had just replaced these seals a year ago and don't remember seeing this much warpage. I also looked closely at the VPO pump and I can clearly see where the top seal of that is leaking and it also looks warped where the plastics meet each other.
I have been researching replacement parts for about two days now on all of the various boat motor part shops. Not a SINGLE place has new carbs in stock. I would have gladly thrown $100 each into 4 brand new carbs. I can find some used ones on eBay but the pics show similar warpage to what my carbs have.
I HAVE found a couple options for replacing the VPO pump to the tune of about $650. That is a little harder to swallow. But I think this motor would run well another 4-5 years with new carbs and a new VPO so I am not as worried about dropping the money on a new VPO pump- and I am not all that interested in going with a non oil VPO pump, as I don't want to mix my gas, and those are like $500 anyways.
So... the real question- what are my options for the carbs? Can I use some type of sealant/gasket maker to take up the space where the plastic is warping? Can I somehow add some screws along the sides that are warping to suck it down to the existing seal? I am going to start with new float bowls because I can find those from a reputable source, but I am not holding my breath on that curing the warpage, because it seems like the plastic on both sides of the seal (float bowl and carb body) are slightly warped.
If I get this up and running well, I might sell it and just by a new 4stroke for the boat. Any idea what a 1998/1999 Johnson 90hp would be worth?
I am having some issues with a 1998/1999 Johnson 90hp outboard motor. I have owned this boat/motor for about 10 years. It has always started up decently well and ran great. About 5 years ago I replaced the fuel separator gasket after hearing a leak whenever I primed the fuel bulb. About a year ago, I noticed a lot of fuel/oil in the bottom of the motor area when the cover was removed, and realized fuel/oil was leaking out of most of the carb float bowl seals. I replaced all of those seals at that time but didn't bother replacing any of the other seals that came with the carb rebuild kits because none of those seals were leaking. Boat started well after this service but wouldn't stay primed as well as it used to. I didn't think a whole lot of it at the time.
Fast forward to last weekend. I took the boat to a lake 3 hours away that is relatively low elevation (for Colorado standards). I had to crank and prime and crank and prime and throttle up the motor for a good 3 minutes before I could get the motor to fire up and idle. I then turned the motor off to go park my truck and when I got back to the boat, it was more difficult to fire up the motor than it ever has been before. After that initial difficulty, the motor ran well and started okay for the rest of the weekend.
I got back to my house and tore into the motor. Here is where it gets complicated- I removed all 4 carburetors, and they all have pretty obvious warpage of the plastic where the float bowl meets the plastic carb body. The seals were obviously wet with oil/gas mixture. I had just replaced these seals a year ago and don't remember seeing this much warpage. I also looked closely at the VPO pump and I can clearly see where the top seal of that is leaking and it also looks warped where the plastics meet each other.
I have been researching replacement parts for about two days now on all of the various boat motor part shops. Not a SINGLE place has new carbs in stock. I would have gladly thrown $100 each into 4 brand new carbs. I can find some used ones on eBay but the pics show similar warpage to what my carbs have.
I HAVE found a couple options for replacing the VPO pump to the tune of about $650. That is a little harder to swallow. But I think this motor would run well another 4-5 years with new carbs and a new VPO so I am not as worried about dropping the money on a new VPO pump- and I am not all that interested in going with a non oil VPO pump, as I don't want to mix my gas, and those are like $500 anyways.
So... the real question- what are my options for the carbs? Can I use some type of sealant/gasket maker to take up the space where the plastic is warping? Can I somehow add some screws along the sides that are warping to suck it down to the existing seal? I am going to start with new float bowls because I can find those from a reputable source, but I am not holding my breath on that curing the warpage, because it seems like the plastic on both sides of the seal (float bowl and carb body) are slightly warped.
If I get this up and running well, I might sell it and just by a new 4stroke for the boat. Any idea what a 1998/1999 Johnson 90hp would be worth?