Johnson outboard bogs down

Got an old 89 60 hp Johnson vro that runs great for 4 or 5 trips and then out of no where bogs down like it's not getting gas if I give it throttle. Took me an hour and a half to get from Cedar point area to East harbor. I thought it might have been the fuel pump but put a new one in and it did the same thing. The oil sender was removed years ago so I pre mix the gas. Tried turning it off and priming the engine but bulb was soft and won't prime not sure if that's normal. Wake up the next day and bulb is hard and it will run like a charm 4 or more trips. Can't figure it out. Anybody got any thoughts besides buying a new boat. Just don't have the cash flow.

Them engines have a diaphragm style fuel pump I believe. This would be on the engine side of the primer bulb. If the rubber diaphragm starts to degrade this can cause fuel deliver problems that act much like an air leak. Ethanol is rough on these types of things. Also it is very rough on a 2 stroke engine to run it while it is lean such as in the problem you are describing. Kent

I hated running it that far like that but at 6 miles per hour it runs fine when it's doing that. As for the fuel pump it's an after market pump and yes they do that but the new pump did the same thing. They don't make the OEM anymore.

Did you check the vent on your fuel tank and make sure it’s operating properly?

I haven't checked the vent but I did open the gas filler cap and it didn't change anything.

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Originally Posted by badboards

Got an old 89 60 hp Johnson vro that runs great for 4 or 5 trips and then out of no where bogs down like it's not getting gas if I give it throttle. Took me an hour and a half to get from Cedar point area to East harbor. I thought it might have been the fuel pump but put a new one in and it did the same thing. The oil sender was removed years ago so I pre mix the gas. Tried turning it off and priming the engine but bulb was soft and won't prime not sure if that's normal. Wake up the next day and bulb is hard and it will run like a charm 4 or more trips. Can't figure it out. Anybody got any thoughts besides buying a new boat. Just don't have the cash flow.

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Hello Badboards I wonder if you have a hose that is going bad from the inside and that is blocking the fuel the symptom of the bulb going soft till next morning then gets hard may be that its not able to pull any fuel out of tank or a pin hole in the line between the bulb and the tank will suck air and cause the pump to loose its prime , just a thought .

If you haven’t done so already, maybe just try a new primer bulb/hose assembly. The line connectors have orings also that can cause an air leak. Like having a crack in a straw.

It's on my list to try. I YouTubed that and it showed me the internals of the bulb. I probably will change the lines as well. Thanks for your reply.

filter in the tank,screen plugged up

Yes I believe you could be on to something there maybe it is a line going bad also I have a fuel filter before the engine that's clear not sure if this is normal or not but when I pump the bulb I see air bubbles in the filter. Not sure if that's normal.

It is pretty normal on clear filters to see them not full during operation at least on non fuel injected systems.

I think getting it fixed would be cheaper than buying a new boat. Outboard Motors in Port Clinton took care of the same problem for me. replaced the oil pump which you don’t have anymore. It’s a first come first serve operation so it may take a while to get it back…. This was 3 years ago not sure of status of business as of today but they were good.

Mark at Outboard Motor Service is who you are referring to. Call him and let him know whats going on. If you get there during the week, or on Friday, he can usually have things diagnosed to let you know how to proceed. Mark only works on Johnson Evinrude brands.

Also, Lee's Outboard Motor Service, (419) 734-1115 is also in PC. Lee used to work for Mark and knows those engines well too. He also is certified for Yamis and Mercs if I remember. I trust both of them with my engines a 200hp and a 115hp on another boat.

I would replace all fuel lines and bulb, emply water filter and replace that filter if not new this year first. Then you can pinpoint if a tank issue, or motor issue. If you have been running gas with ethanol, those lines might give you 7 years or so before they are Chit. I don't run ethanol in my boats any longer.

Rickerd

Im located in Dayton Ohio. There is a Johnson service located here I could try. My boat started right up and ran without an issue this morning. It's weird. I am going to order the bulb and hoses all together cost is $15 on Amazon. I believe this will fix it. When this first happened last year the guy I bought the boat from said it happened to him once and he found red pieces clogging the carb. I opened the fuel pump and found the red was the diagram inside the pump. Pump was not fasten together properly. I put it back together and it fixed it till now. My Johnson dealer said those after market pumps are crap. Probably made in china. But what's weird is why does it go away. I'll try to change the bulb and lines. Maybe that will work.

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Originally Posted by badboards

Yes I believe you could be on to something there maybe it is a line going bad also I have a fuel filter before the engine that's clear not sure if this is normal or not but when I pump the bulb I see air bubbles in the filter. Not sure if that's normal.

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air bubbles i think would be an indication of a hole in the line somewhere

I should be up at my dock sometime Thursday after noon working on my boat if your in the area I can take a look at it if you want

Air bubbles does make since in that theory. Is some air in the line normal to see or not. That's why I like them clear filters. I got one right after the bulb. I think it originally was a leak at the fuel pump I fixed last year but I never noticed any fuel leaking out. Just tighten it all up and it seemed to work.

Problem fixed. It was the bulb. I was looking at the clear filter and noticed that after I pumped it you could see gas in it and would get firm and about 5 minutes later it was empty. The bulb was letting gas flow back thru it and not holding pressure. Didn't realize that the bulb had check valves in it. Thanks everyone for your help.