How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

[nebraska_woody]

I bought a 1989 Cajun 195 with a GT200 Johnson (same year motor) last year. The seller never told me whether he premixes the oil or not and I haven't ever questioned it going from my last motor 1976 Evinrude 80hp whether I should be premixing gas. I was taught to run 50:1 ratio in my older motors, and have been running the same in this latest motor too so far. My question is how do I know if my motor is equipped with the VRO? I don't know what to look for on the motor to see this. Is there an oil reservoir inside the motor cowl somewhere that should be filled with oil all the time? This may sound elementry, but if the VRO IS working, and I"m premixing the oil as well, would that be a reason for it to run rough at idle and lacking power on take off to pull up skiers? (that is my main concern with the motor) I have a 4 blade SS with I believe 14.25 X 23 pitch prop. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Hooty]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Ya really oughta get a manual for that thing, Matt.<br /><br />There should be a remote oil tank for it somewhere, close to the battery, fuel tank, etc. Find it, be sure there's oil in it and mark where the level is. Continue premixing and notice if the oil level goes down in the tank after running a while. If it does, you know it's working so you can discontinue premixing. With premix and VRO, the engine may smoke considerably but it should run ok.<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[nebraska_woody]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Hooty,<br /> Your right on the manual idea for sure..... my problem is everytime I think about a manual I get sidetracked with other bills, and then dont have enough money for the fun stuff..lol. I've never seen anything like that (talking about the oil reservoir) before when i'm climbing around the boat, but next time i'm able to see the boat,(tomorrow night) I"ll make a point to take a closer look for something of the sort. Do you have an opinion about the prop that I have.... if it's too steep for pulling skiers or what the best prop for that size of boat is? I bought the prop blind last year (not knowing anything about diameter and pitch) so I dont know if it was a bad purchase and I need a different prop, or if the motor is mechanically "weak" and in need of an overhaul. In my mind, this boat should without hesitation pull my 230lb butt out of the water, but unfortunately it struggles something terrible with a few people in the boat and an adult behind on skis.

 

[Hooty]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Somebody may have removed the VRO, a lot of folks do. They don' trust 'um. You'll just have to look. You didn't say how many revs your engine could turn with the 23" four blade. At wfo the engine should be turning 56-5800rpm. If you think ya got to much prop, go to your local prop shop and try a 21" and see what happens. <br />A 230# skier and a "few" people in the boat may be just a little to much for the 23".<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[nebraska_woody]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Hooty,<br /> The tach read right at about 5600 at WOT when the darn thing worked. I do remember that. It is an aftermarket tach as the original didn't work (teleflex is the new brand). When I first bought the boat, and had the tach replaced, the guage worked fine, and then after about 3 months it quit working. I tried to replace the guage face, but to no avail.... so far it still doesn't work. I was told that it could be the rectifier/regulator (which I dont understand what it does yet)that went bad but I haven't had the money to have a shop work on it yet. Bouncing around on topics....If I backed down to a lesser pitch, would that also lessen the overall top speed too? I hear people saying "my boat hits 60 mph or 65" or whatever...... the only time mine sees that kind of speed is when i'm going downhill with it hooked onto the trailer behind the truck..lol. Mine will top out (with one person and a half of tank of gas) at about 48mph at most. It might be partially just bragging rights or a male pride thing, but I really dont wanna go any slower than what I am now and just wonder what kind of setup other people run to be able to get that kind of power and speed out of their motors.

 

[nebraska_woody]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Hi all... I wonder if it's legal to turn this thread into a prop topic? I am going to be looking at the VRO (or the lack of it possibly) tonight when I get home, but can anyone give me any feedback on if my boat is propped right or not? I can't think of any more information needed than what I have there now. If anyone has a thought on the correct prop for mine... please let me know.... Thanks. again.. boat is 19.5' Cajun 195 with a 1989 GT200. RPM is 5600 at WOT with a 4 blade... 14.25 x 23 pitch stainless steel prop.Only thing is I dont know what the weight is of the boat..... never investigated that part yet. Thanks again for any help.

 

[Hooty]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Props, as a rule, are a comprimise. One prop may give you, with one person in the boat and 1/4 tank of fuel, 60mph but you couldn't pull a skier up with two or three people in the boat with a full tank of fuel. If you're gonna use the boat for several different things and make one prop do it all, you're gonna have to sacrifice a little everywhere. <br /><br />You're right, the boat should be going faster then 48mph at 5600rpm with a 23" prop and one person in the boat. I suspect you need to work with the trim of the boat. <br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[nebraska_woody]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

that speed of less than 50 is the most I can get out of the motor. I've adjusted the trim height from bottom all the way to almost too hi that the prop was out of the water. I have a jack plate that I took off to have repaired sometime back.... if I put that on, could that help even more? it always settled down for me... seals were going bad. I've read about an "over and through" exhausted prop.... does anyone know about those? I've read that they help the motor build up RPM at take off... but would they accellerate as fast, or would there be more slippage with the prop before it grabbed the water solid?

 

[Hooty]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

The prop on the left is a through-the-hub exhaust and the one on the right is an over-the-hub. Usually over-the-hub props don't come out of the hole very fast (depending on what type boat) and are not suited for pulling skiers. Your prop is probably a through-the-hub. They're pretty conventional. The through-the-hub prop (left) is also vented (arrow) in front of each blade. This allows exhaust to mix with the water going through the prop, causing the prop to slip, like slipping the clutch in a car. This reduces the load on the prop and allows the engine to spool up. After a little speed is picked up, the water moving across the vents closes them, forcing the exhaust out the rear of the prop.<br />The jack plate will definitely help. It raises the engine up, getting more leg (drag) out of the water.<br />Like I said earlier, get with a good prop guy and work with him. If he's good, he can be lots of help.<br />Did you ever find out if the VRO is there or not?<br /><br />

<br /><br />c/6<br /><br />Hooty

 

[nebraska_woody]

Re: How do I know if I have VRO and if it's working or not?

Hooty,<br /> I did look at the boat.. although not for very long last night as we were in a bad thunderstorm and my time was better spent getting the dogs into the shed from the rain and hail. I dont have a VRO attached to it anymore.. i'm positive of that. I have 2 batteries in the battery box with the room for a third hooked up, but no oil reservoir in sight. Everything else in the boat is either an access for livewells or storage compartments or skiis or something. A new one can be put on though right? Is there a place I can order it from? I was reading another thread from someone else who had recently took off their VRO on their evinrude (I believe) and they said they had the same rough idle and loss of power symptoms that I have with mine. His was just a smaller motor around the same 89 or 88 year. Could adding the VRO system back onto mine help the motor run more smooth and consistant? Thanks for the pictures and the replies.... yes, mine is like the one on the left.. the vented prop.