Was looking to buy a boat yesterday. While out on the lake testing it out the motor suddenly died while going wide open. We could not get it to start after that.
When you turned the key it would click once then kinda humm. Would the starter going out make it die like that?
Also when trying to turn it over with a pull rope we could not get the fly wheel to spin like it was locked up.
Sounds like there was no lower unit grease in the lower unit and you ceased it. Don’t ask how I know that 
That is exactly what it happen to me though.
At least it happened before you took it home.
Are you sure the kill switch was in the “On” position. (Is it possible it was accidentally knocked into the off or kill position?)
What horse power?
Are you sure it was in neutral when you tried to restart? If its a tiler, the throttle may have needed to be turned back down to the start position.
I’ve lunched a lower unit at wide open but that did not affect the motor.
If you blew a piston, you can usually tell pretty easily by pulling a plug and looking for metal shavings and other crap that is not suppose to be there.
Good luck.
-J.
When you turned the key it would click once then kinda humm. Would the starter going out make it die like that?
No, the starter going out would not make it die like that. Once the engine is running, the starter is disengaged from the flywheel and would have no bearing on the engine running or stopping.
If you put the engine in neutral and you still couldn’t move the flywheel, it’s toasted. Either the previous owner forgot to add lower unit lube or it’s broken a rod or a piston cracked and seized the engine.
Stick a fork in her, she’s done.
Grouse
It was in neutral and it is not a tiller. Its a 40 horse motor. Sounds like its worse then they thought. We were going throttling up and it just died. So i would assume now that the motor is locked up.
How do motors do after a rebuild if it gets it done? Do they last or is it not worth the cost?
Thanks guys.
It was in neutral and it is not a tiller. Its a 40 horse motor. Sounds like its worse then they thought. We were going throttling up and it just died. So i would assume now that the motor is locked up.
How do motors do after a rebuild if it gets it done? Do they last or is it not worth the cost?
Thanks guys.
I would walk away. Or if you love the hull, make an offer on the hull and trailer without the motor.
While out on the lake testing it out the motor suddenly died while going wide open.
Is this motor a two stroke or four stroke motor? If two stroke, I’m betting it was running on straight gas or too lean of a gas/oil mixture.
It had oil injection.
It had oil injection.
Which means if the oil pump quit working, the motor was running on straight gas or too lean of a gas/oil mixture. 
a lower unit going out can cause this as both forward and reverse run in constant mesh all of the time,either way,walk away from it as the cost to fix it is worth more than what the motor is worth in pristine condition for that model year.
oil injection pumps are gear driven off of the crankshaft,if it failed the motor is toast beyond toast,again,walk away.
too bad as that is/was a fantastic motor of the era.
pm me with further questions if you wish but the answer will be the same,sorry.
Ok thanks guys. Dont sound good. Not sure if he will have it rebuilt or not. But im not sure if id buy it if it was. Or how they are after a rebuild.
It would be fine if rebuilt correctly just not cost effective. A lower would be a cheap fix, you should be able to find a used lower.
How much was the boat because a rebuild is not cheap by any means. It’s hard to justify the price for rebuild over newer motor.
They were asking 3900 for the boat. Not sure what he plans to do. All i know is its at a shop waiting to get checked to see what happened. Or what it need.
Found a new boat i may look at. It has a 91 Johnson outboard on it. They say it takes mixed gas. Any input on this motor? The good or the bad about them?
Found a new boat i may look at. It has a 91 Johnson outboard on it. They say it takes mixed gas. Any input on this motor? The good or the bad about them?
What HP? If it had the VRO oil injection and they disconnected it, walk away. There was a big fad by armchair mechanics of removing the VRO system because they thought they knew better. More outboards have been blown up by owners who removed the VRO system and then forgot to mix the gas than were ever blown by a failed VRO.
BTW, having an engine blow due to a failed oil injection pump is incredibly rare regardless of brand.
Grouse
Its a 40 horse. Model vj40tleia not sure how to tell if that model had a pump or not
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
