Hi folks.<br /><br />We've just upgraded from an 80's 17.5' sterndrive to a 22' Sweetwater monster. It came with a 2004 model 90hp Johnson 2 stroke outboard.<br /><br />There is a very bad vibration/shaking on the outboard between 1000 and 2200 RPM (no wake speed!). It's completely smooth everywhere else.<br /><br />I've got perhaps 1 hour on the motor, and am mixing fuel and oil in addition to having oil in the injection system per the breakin procedures outlined in the manual.<br /><br />I can't imagine the vibration is normal, although the dealer (Chatlee in Sanford, NC) keeps insisting nothing is wrong. My wife brought the boat by and they took it out on their test puddle and they told her the same thing.<br /><br />So, I guess my question is... should a brand-new 90hp 2 stroke violently shake and vibrate a 22' pontoon boat? Could this possibly be related to the large amounts of oil?<br /><br />Steve
I called another Johnson dealer (closer to me, too) and they said the same thing as you. "No, no no it shouldn't shake." I like these people already. I'll happily bring them my business.<br /><br />If this issue is indeed caused by a rich condition, I'm safe to assume there isn't any damage caused by finishing the 10-hour break-in, correct? I know lean would be bad.<br /><br />Seahorse: I will have to investigate that prop. I do run exactly 5500 RPM full throttle with light load (me and my wife and not much gear). This will be our 90%-of-the-time loading. As I figured, there's not much change in RPM/speed with trim, so I just trim it for best steering (gauge indicates middle).<br /><br />I already had a problem with the SLOW system/gauge indicator. Day one (purchase day) it made faint squealing sounds .. ticking noises and generally annoyed me. Day two that went away and it would emit that ear piercing squeal and the water temp light would illuminate. The actual SLOW system did not activate (ie I could full throttle) and I knew it was instrumentation because it did it *all* the time, even after the boat had sat for 12 hours. The dealer replaced the gauge.<br /><br />On a side note, I'm still waiting for a drop in the oil tank, hoping that the oiling system is working - dealer somehow "forgot" to premix. I noticed this when I opened the fuel tank compartment to see how much fuel I had - the gauge went from 1/2 tank to 1/8 tank on the trailer drive home. The float was rubbing against the side of the tank.<br /><br />I really hope all of these issues get resolved - our $3500 1986 Sunbird with it's Mercruiser 140 Alpha One had less issues than this brand-new 2004 boat... Perhaps I've just been spoiled?