Remove oil injection or not?

hense29 · July 27, 2017, 03:36:44 PM

'01 Merc 200 EFI on a '00 Nitro 901 CDX

Should I remove the oil injection and mix w/ fuel in tank? No issues with injection now, but repair shop suggests I do it before it breaks.

Thoughts?

Bud Kennedy · July 27, 2017, 03:46:15 PM

I too have an old motor and hear that stuff from various folks as well. My take is it is working just fine and I keep a close eye on it and I am not going to remove it at all. If it would happen to break then I would get another one.

This is akin to Changing your tires because they might go flat some day. My recommendation is that if it works fine and you are seeing your oil being used then leave it alone.

DonM · July 27, 2017, 05:41:02 PM

I have a '99 150 Merc, and oil pump is still working fine.

SteveTX · July 27, 2017, 11:55:18 PM

I have a 2000 Johnson 115 and the injector has always worked fine on it as well. I have been told the same thing about dismantling it and mix it myself. Either I am too lazy or just cant seem to bring myself to break something that has worked fine for 17 years and shows no signs of quitting.

The damn thing will probably burn up my next trip out with it after talking nice about it.

Oldfart9999 · July 28, 2017, 05:59:05 AM

Just keep an eye on it.
Rodney

Princeton_Man · July 28, 2017, 09:02:03 AM

If everything is working properly including your alarms, you should get an alarm if the oil injection fails. Providing you shut down when the alarm sounds, you can decide then to bypass or repair the oil injection then. While mixing in the tank works fine, I've been told the carbs should be re-jetted for mix to keep the same performance.

Gatordan129 · December 04, 2017, 07:10:29 PM

The alarm will not do u any good when one of your injector lines splits at the cylinder and it runs dry and burns up. That happened on my 125 mercury and now I have to find a new motor. The injector lines are just pressed on a fitting with no cable ties to help them stay in place. My system was just spraying oil inside the cowling. Recommend u inspect each line yearly, and probably replace every 5 years. Mine were not visible behind the oil reservoir. A few dollars of hose and cable ties could have saved me thousands of dollars. Hope this helps someone.

Mike Cork · December 05, 2017, 08:52:22 AM

The boat version of the Chicken and the egg....

If it's working I'd leave it. However as people have mentioned you have to pay attention to it because of age, All parts, as has also been pointed out, line failure at the block will cause catastrophic failure.

Something to keep in mind, the oil injections systems adjust the amount of oil to match the RPM's. If you remove it and go with premix, you will foul plugs every couple months. At idle or low RPM's the motor doesn't need as much oil, when burned this turns into extra carbon in the cylinder fouling the plugs. I've been told that today's additives can help a lot with this.

D.W. Verts · December 05, 2017, 09:28:41 PM

Good gas fixes so many issues...

I've been trying no to weigh in on this 'cuz I'm worried I'll step on some toes, but dad gum, I ain't real bright.

Gear-driven pumps, although not fool proof, are pretty darn reliable. But issues like the bad oil line mentioned above are why you should visually inspect your motor a couple times each year.

Now for the touchy stuff- If you have an OMC motor with the VRO (Variable Ratio Oiling) system it WILL FAIL. Eventually. The trick is will you get an alarm early enough.

These units have a diaphragm pump that stretches over time- indeed they begin to pump less oil than is needed (but not enough to set an alarm off) early in their life, depending on usage (less hours is NOT good), and fuel/oil quality.

I don't make this stuff up. I sold boats for 21 years and tons of Evinrudes. The VRO systems were a flawed train-wreck mess. Run a 50:1 mix with good oil & keep the 91-93 octane ethanol-free gas in your rig for the least hassle.

Mike Cork · December 06, 2017, 10:05:12 AM

Dale thanks for bring up the VRO, I've been a merc man for many years now and forgot about them. Is it still easy to get a kit and rebuild them every two years?

D.W. Verts · December 06, 2017, 11:33:50 AM

I imagine the kit is available, but they got HIGH after OMC tanked. Bets part is anyone can install it- no tech needed.

I swore off Evinrude (OMC) years ago- I could write another story (my wife said she'd leave me, it got that bad!).

All companies have their issues, and individual problem motors have always existed. But in my experience so many of these "issues" are operator error (sorry). Lack of maintenance, trying to cut corners, etc.

It seems from all I hear that Evinrude has their act together for the most part, at least on the G 2 V-6's. But I am and will always be an Optimax guy.

Unless of course I shoot to the top of professional fishing the next few years and Evinrude gives me a contract I can't refuse. Yeah, right.

loomisguy · December 07, 2017, 04:56:30 AM

No reason to remove the oil injection. That's a good system I've run EFI'S a lot ,never a Issue.
The E tec I owned was flawless. And the self winterizing feature really came in handy. The only disadvantage is re sale value at least it this area.
Mercury has issues with the first Optimax also, Poptimax.

D.W. Verts · December 07, 2017, 05:57:57 AM

Quote from: loomisguy on December 07, 2017, 04:56:30 AM
No reason to remove the oil injection. That's a good system I've run EFI'S a lot ,never a Issue.
The E tec I owned was flawless. And the self winterizing feature really came in handy. The only disadvantage is re sale value at least it this area.
Mercury has issues with the first Optimax also, Poptimax.

Loomis, we're talkin' about the old, OMC (pre-2001) systems, not the modern one.

Wizard · December 09, 2017, 06:53:31 AM

You're right, Dale. I had a 92 Johnson Fast Strike 150. The VRO system failed and I mixed in the tank. I suggest if people have an older motor that they carry some oil in the boat. It's easy to mix on the water and continue to enjoy the day.

Wizard

fishinfranklin · December 26, 2017, 09:41:17 AM

from what I have seen on the mercury's is that the gear around the crankshaft is plastic and runs a metal drive that turns the oil pump,, seen lots of the plastic gears stripped out and cause major engine trouble,,and it will give a alarm but it is to late. from reading on here and other forums it seems like the main cause is mixing different oils in the tank and it causes it to colagalate and get to thick to be pumped by the plastic gear. premixing you know you have oil but like said above it is too much oil at idle and will foul plugs if you idle a lot,,system works at 100 to 1 at idle and 50 to 1 at wide open throttle and is adjusted by a rod from the throttle to the oil pump.

BassSacker · December 26, 2017, 12:27:23 PM

for my 2 cents worth, blown to many engines I now am running a 2000 mercury 200 and oil injection has been removed. fouled plugs are cheap compared to a rebuild.

fishandkamp · December 30, 2017, 07:17:42 PM

The most important thing with a Merc is run Merc oil. The whole system is designed for a specific viscosity and the few pennies cheaper oil will save you is not worth it. To save money see if yo\u can buy their oil from his bulk supply. That is what I do with my dealer. I just refill my Merc jugs. I never mix it with any other brand and I always wipe everything clean before removing the cap to refill it. I have run 8 Mercs that have had everything from Auto Blend, Auto Blend 2, my 200 EFI had its own system and so does my current 75 HP 2 stroke.