Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

[SBLGFD1]

Well what am I doing wrong?
Last night I blew a hole thru a piston on my second engine for the season.
Running a pair of 1996 200 HP Ocean Pro. Mid June a lost the port engine to a piston failure. Upper let piston when looking from the back of the boat. I found what was supposed to be a good used engine to replace it. Last night blew the replacement engine in the same way. There is a hole thru the upper left piston.
Prior to trusting the VRO I ran the engine from a can and collected the gas/oil being pumped out of the VRO ?had good color, I then batch mixed my Aux tank 50:1 filled the oil tank and marked it , VRO pumped oil from the tank at the expected rate ? matched with the other engine in the pair.
New fuel filter was in place and running no ethanol gas with sea foam mixed in.

What am I doing wrong? Hard to believe this is just bad luck. ? Same cylinder on both units?

Oh and broke a shaft on the starboard motor in the spring ? it?s been an expensive year.

Looking for a good used pair of 200?s

Thanks

SBLGFD

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Did you move induction parts (carbs, etc.) from old to replacement engine?

 

[SBLGFD1]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

nope - moved VRO , starter, Lower unit, wiring harness

Thanks

SBLGFD

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Suspect the VRO is unable to provide fuel flow and pressure to keep ALL carbs full for sustained running, the fuel line length , yada, yada, yada. that cyl is too lean.

Change the fuel pump before to burn another engine down.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Sounds plausible but an alarm should sound.

 

[daselbee]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Well, it has been theorized that the VRO cannot single out ONE cylinder. If it is lean, there should be evidence of the condition on maybe #1 or #3, those being the "highest" cyls left in th block.

But, over on marineengine.com, there have also been discussions regarding the fact that on this family of engines, the #2 CYL ran too lean from the beginning design. The recommendation is to go to .002 larger main jets in the #2 carb only....

Here is a link to the discussion.
http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12478/252078.shtml

 

[SBLGFD1]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Thanks for the input - in the decision mode now - rebuild or repower. STB engine at 900 hours I would guess its next.

SBLGFD1

 

[daselbee]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Where are you, and what are you gonna do with those blown powerheads?

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

I'd have to go look at another engine to see if the fuel inlets are level side-to side. If the #2 cyl inlet is even 1/4 inch higher than the #1 then even a small pressure loss will reduce the amount of 'head' the pump is able to produce, possibly causing an additional leaning of #2. It's not hard to determine the VRO to be at fault if that is the ONLY common factor between the two engines failing in the same manner.

I like the idea of enlarging the jet slightly, tho I prefer to read plugs carefully before making any jet adjustments.

As to the question of repowering or rebuilding, I guess it boils down to time and money, my personal preference is to fix what you got so you KNOW what you got.

 

[SBLGFD1]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Motors are located in North East wisconsin - I actually have four total units 2 with blown power heads one runs great and a fourth with a hole in the block that was given to me from the guy I bought the last one from. I would entertaine selling the entire works.

 

[daselbee]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

I know for sure that the #1 carb is higher than the #2 carb, just as #1 cyl is higher than #2 cyl.

Sorry, Wisconsin is too far for me to go for these motors. Cape Canaveral, FL is my loc.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Let's start from the begining. A 1996 motor doesn't have a VRO pump. But no matter which oil injection pump you have, a hole in the dome of the piston is not an oil related failure. Nor is your issue a "piston failure".

Start with the basics. What spark plugs are you using? What wot timing are you using?

 

[SBLGFD1]

Re: Blown Ocean Pro 200 - Again??

Thanks for asking about location