1992 Johnson outboard not getting fuel.

[Levib21]

I have a 1990 Johnson 140 vro outboard that has been siting for 2 years. It was properly stored. Im having a hard time getting it running.
I replaced the following
- fuel pump
- compression is 125 psi
- new gas
- check all fuel lines no blockage
- cleaned out all carbs. They were very clean but I did it anyway
- new primer bulb
- Checked all vacuum hoses
- spark is great cleaned all grounds.
I had it running one day for a good amount of time then I’m not sure what happened. Not sure if I should try a regular fuel pump and delete the vro pump?
Help would be very appreciated thank you!

 

[dingbat]

I have a 1990 Johnson 140 vro outboard that has been siting for 2 years. It was properly stored. Im having a hard time getting it running.
I replaced the following
- fuel pump
- compression is 125 psi
- new gas
- check all fuel lines no blockage
- cleaned out all carbs. They were very clean but I did it anyway
- new primer bulb
- Checked all vacuum hoses
- spark is great cleaned all grounds.
I had it running one day for a good amount of time then I’m not sure what happened. Not sure if I should try a regular fuel pump and delete the vro pump?
Help would be very appreciated thank you!

What is it doing that you think replacing a new VRO fuel pump is the solution?

 

[Chris1956]

First connect the motor to a portable tank with a 50::1 gasoline/oil mix, just in case the VRO pump is not working properly.

Now, if you pump the primer bulb, will the motor stays running? If so, the VRO pump is not working properly. An air leak into the fuel line will cause that, among other things.

If you cannot pump the primer bulb there is a blockage.

if the primer bulb goes flat, your tank vent is clogged, the antisiphon valve is clogged or some filters are clogged.

You might check spark and compression again, to rule them out aa an issue.

 

[Levib21]

What is it doing that you think replacing a new VRO fuel pump is the solution?

It wasn’t getting fuel.

 

[Levib21]

First connect the motor to a portable tank with a 50::1 gasoline/oil mix, just in case the VRO pump is not working properly.

Now, if you pump the primer bulb, will the motor stays running? If so, the VRO pump is not working properly. An air leak into the fuel line will cause that, among other things.

If you cannot pump the primer bulb there is a blockage.

if the primer bulb goes flat, your tank vent is clogged, the antisiphon valve is clogged or some filters are clogged.

You might check spark and compression again, to rule them out aa an issue.

Checked spark and compression both are good. I do have it to its own tank. Not the boat tank. I took the drain plugs out of the carbs and cranked the engines and they were filling. I will try what you said and pump it. I replaced all filters and checked all of the lines they are all clear.

 

[racerone]

Checked flywheel key ?-----Pushing the key in and holding it in while cranking it over ?

 

[ericgarrard01]

Checked spark and compression both are good. I do have it to its own tank. Not the boat tank. I took the drain plugs out of the carbs and cranked the engines and they were filling. I will try what you said and pump it. I replaced all filters and checked all of the lines they are all clear.

one tip is to change your black rubber fuel lines out for clear line and gives you an advantage to see a little more

 

[brodmann]

You keep saying it's not getting fuel. You think it's the fuel pump. When you pump up the primer bulb, that puts fuel directly into the carburetors. That eliminates a problem with the fuel pump. The fuel pump maintains the fuel delivery once the motor is running. So, disconnect the fuel line from the fuel pump and pump the primer bulb. If fuel comes out, your primer bulb is working. Then put that fuel line back on and remove the drain screws from the carburetors. Pump the primer bulb and see if fuel comes out of all carburetors, if it does you don't have a fuel deliver problem, you have a carburetor problem. I don't mean to insult anyone, but there are a lot of folks that think cleaning a carburetor consists of making the bowl nice and shiny, but don't understand exactly what rebuilding a carburetor is all about. I once watched a friend use carburetor cleaner and a Q-tip to get the bowl of his carburetor perfectly clean, but all of the jets were still untouched and I saw him start to put it back together again, feeling that he had completed the job. I brought over my compressor and hose and my other carburetor cleaning tools and we went to work.
As some suggested, I'd look at the spark plugs and compare them to a chart you can find online to help diagnose your problem. The picture below is a set of jet cleaning tools I got off Amazon. Some auto parts stores have them too. They're what you need for "really" cleaning out clogged jets. They actually polish the inside and scrape away any build up inside them.

 

[Levib21]

It wasn’t getting fuel

You keep saying it's not getting fuel. You think it's the fuel pump. When you pump up the primer bulb, that puts fuel directly into the carburetors. That eliminates a problem with the fuel pump. The fuel pump maintains the fuel delivery once the motor is running. So, disconnect the fuel line from the fuel pump and pump the primer bulb. If fuel comes out, your primer bulb is working. Then put that fuel line back on and remove the drain screws from the carburetors. Pump the primer bulb and see if fuel comes out of all carburetors, if it does you don't have a fuel deliver problem, you have a carburetor problem. I don't mean to insult anyone, but there are a lot of folks that think cleaning a carburetor consists of making the bowl nice and shiny, but don't understand exactly what rebuilding a carburetor is all about. I once watched a friend use carburetor cleaner and a Q-tip to get the bowl of his carburetor perfectly clean, but all of the jets were still untouched and I saw him start to put it back together again, feeling that he had completed the job. I brought over my compressor and hose and my other carburetor cleaning tools and we went to work.
As some suggested, I'd look at the spark plugs and compare them to a chart you can find online to help diagnose your problem. The picture below is a set of jet cleaning tools I got off Amazon. Some auto parts stores have them too. They're what you need for "really" cleaning out clogged jets. They actually polish the inside and scrape away any build up inside them.

Thank you for your help. I’ve done basically everything you said besides comparing spark plugs. I have those tools in which I did use to clean out the carbs and each jet. I did test the fuel pump by keeping the drain bowls out of the carbs and turning the engine over it did pump fuel into carbs.