Had my 98 Johnson 200 worked on recently. Finally picked it up Friday. Shop said the #6 carb was flooding and fouling the plug. #4 needed attention as well. Took the boat out and it ran much better, but not as smooth idling as I hoped for, but performance was much better. On my way back to the ramp I was running around 5500 or 5600 rpm and the motor just bogged down and died. Had to troll my way in, because everyone that drove by me was looking the other way, so it was a long haul.

Pulled the plugs and #6 has a ring on top of the piston. I assume it went from flooding to extremely lean.

Wondering what to expect from the shop that did the work. Pretty sure since #6 carb was the original problem, that #6 didn’t get fixed completely, or something else failed on it. Just wondering what other peoples experiences have been on similar instances. Am I just stuck?

Not naming the shop. This isn’t a thread to crucify anyone. I’m just looking for other peoples experiences. Everything I’ve read about this shop has been positive and I realize [censored] happens to everyone. Just really bad timing for me.

Did they just sync and adjust the carbs for you ? If they were giving you a heads up that it needed additional work was there a estimate to do it or was it something outside of their comfort zone.

I have also blown up this same engine myself, VRO pump failure motor was a grenade

No, they went through the ignition and fuel system, to get it running correctly. Motor wouldn’t run over 4500 rpm under load. There wasn’t any additional work suggested. I’m running oil in the gas. VRO was replaced with dual manual fuel pump.

I would have a hard time blaming the shop to be honest. They may have got it to where it would get in the RPM range to be a problem but premix fuel probably has adequate lube to not be the only cause.


I would chalk it up to bad luck and probably that motor had reached it's expiration date.

I figure I’m screwed, but it’s pretty odd timing. I’d taken the boat out 10 or 12 times, before taking it in. First time after repairs and it seizes?

Hopefully they’ll work with me a little on the rebuild. I can’t afford a new motor, if I could even find one. Been looking for a used one and they’re scarce. HP rating is “Unlimited”, so I’m looking for anything between 200 and 250.

short story , The owner of Rockwall Marine and I are and have been friends for a long time. He is who sold me my 1st Basscat with this same motor same year and all. The real Johnson / Rude aficionados call them Looper Motors I think, they made a ton of power for their day.


Anyway I had access to great Marine Techs and OE parts , this motor was meticulously maintained and ran well. It still let go due to a failure.



I understand your hope but I think what happened is they made it run like it should so you could get it to the RPM range those motors like but it couldn't handle it. I have no clue what shop you are talking about and in theory he was warning you about a rich cylinder fouling a plug and creating a misfire performance type issue not a lean out type of deal. Any tech that feared a lean out on a 2 cycle would sound the alarm it would be a problem don't run it.

He actually fixed the flooding carb, and I’m sure something else either failed or something plugged fuel flow through that carb. All other cylinders are nice and brown. Compression ran between 122 and 128 psi warm. I’ve owned 3 of these. First one had an oil line leak and leaned out. Alarm went off, but it was too late. 2nd motor was flawless the entire time I owned it. This one never ran clean, so I had it checked out.

Sucks. I know every outboard is just a grenade. You pull the pin when you start them….it decides when to blow.

Ah, I misunderstood you there.


All a guy can do is ask them , can't hurt