VRO Johnsons

[PressureDrop]

will be looking at a 1988 140 VRO johnson, how are these engines as far as dependabiblty? also its going on a 20 seafari, its not a speed boat, and im not a speed freak, but will a 140 provide enough power to be confident?

[JohnB]

Ben,
I have a '89 140 VRO on my 22 foot Scandia (not a seacraft),
and it runs it up to about 38 mph. Has a SS prop on it.
I have had that rig for 9 years (it's for sale), and it has been very
reliable (carbed engine). Corrosion has been minimal, and
it is pretty good on gas. I think alot of it will depend on
how much weight you put in the boat (people, gear, gas,
full baitwells, coolers) and how you distribute it.
When I put alot of weight in the Scandia, it sometimes cavitates, but
other than that, a pretty honest motor. Have a mechanic look
at it, or at least do a compression test. For some reason,
some of these motors have scored cylinder walls. I disconnected
the oil injection the day I put it on the boat. I believe some
of them where vacuum operated and highly unreliable (I may
be wrong). Most I have seen run with premix gas, (those
that are still running). I'm not a motor expert, but that has
been my experiance with that type of motor.

[squidrig]

Hey Ben,
I have a pair of the Johnson 140 vro's on a bracket push'n my 23' Seacraft. The boat cooks. At about 3800 I can cruise around 35knots. The engines blocks on these outboards where sort of overbuilt for the 140 horsepower, in that it is the same block for the larger engines. The late 80's and early 90's are generally considered a great vintage for Johnson motors in general. I still have excellent compression on all cylinders at about 120-125 with the powerheads done about 300 hours ago.