1997 Two Stroke 150 EFI Oil Gear?

[skraye]

First of all thank you all for the great forum and letting me join. This is my first post but I have been searching and reading posts for about 10 days. I have a 150 EFI that I purchased in 1997 and has about 86 hours on it. The motor is typically run at 5200 RPM or lower on an 1997 Astro 20 foot bass boat. The boat and motor have been garage kept although it did sit unused for maybe 10 years. After it sat I of course had to figure out how everything worked and do a refresh of the fuel system with a new high pressure pump, hoses, ,fuel water separator, and a pulse pump rebuild. After that it has run great for the last few years.

While researching parts and rebuild procedures I ran across information about the plastic gear on the crank that drives the oil pump. Ever since that time it has been in the back of my mind and I am concerned about it. Reading threads all over the internet from various places I saw what appeared to be a 50/50 split on weather to leave it alone or do the block-off kit and premix the fuel. Some of these threads are older and the gears have many more years on them now so I am wondering if the advice would change? While I have seen plastic that is 27 years old be in good condition I have also seem plastic that old that is brittle and falling apart.

Your input on this would be appreciated.

Kelly.

[XstreamVking]

Low hrs and recreational use only, staying at lower revs I would leave it stock. If you want to have a little insurance add a little oil to the fuel. Maybe mix at 100-150 to 1. To remove the oil system you need a block off plate and the oil inj box disconnected. If it fails it should give a warning. 2 beeps at key on says the system is working. With a little oil mixed in the tank you could safely fast idle back to the dock. Or, add oil from the main tank to bring it to 50-1 and run normally.

[skialot2]

Oil injection is nice and convenient. But it is very common for that gear to strip. When it does strip, it doesn't take long for your motor to be destroyed.

[James45157]

Low hrs and recreational use only, staying at lower revs I would leave it stock. If you want to have a little insurance add a little oil to the fuel. Maybe mix at 100-150 to 1. To remove the oil system you need a block off plate and the oil inj box disconnected. If it fails it should give a warning. 2 beeps at key on says the system is working. With a little oil mixed in the tank you could safely fast idle back to the dock. Or, add oil from the main tank to bring it to 50-1 and run normally.

one thing you should check is the oil line from the oil pump to injectors those gears should last 300 to 500 hour of reg use but thats up to you as the owner

[tlwjkw]

its a "part" jus like any other part.. they can and will go bad, wear out, but usually for a reason.. tha absolute "killer" of tha gear is heat.. one severe over heat or several minor high heat episodes over a period of time.. if you know for sure that tha motor has never been over heated then ya probably good as ya can get.. its not "plastic", its a fiber composite.. tha gear usually gets a bad rap from goin' south because of an information failure (some jus flat out lie about it) from owner ta owner..
if ya know its history ya golden.. if not get rid of tha injection............ jmo

jan: 100 ta 1 in main tank will keep ya safe till ya decide...

[rhardwick]

The oil drive gear is good so long as the engine has not been overheated. Remember the gear is plastic and overheating will soften it and starts to melt. Check around the heads where the overheat sensors are to see if the sleeve around the wires is melted to the block. If not melted you should be good to go leaving the oil injection in place.

[rock]

For no more effort than it takes why not delete and be sure. These things are really expensive to repair.

Rock

[skraye]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

I agree it is convenient not to have to premix but I premix for my giant scale model airplanes, chainsaw, etc. so i'm familiar with the process. The system has a rotation sensor and of course the level sensor in the cap of the secondary tank. With EFI I have a VST tank (we can talk about deleting that later :-) ) with about a quart of oil mixed fuel. If the alarm were to go off I have a few hundred yards worth of running time I assume to get out of the way and into a safe location?

I should give the 100:1 mix a try, that way I can see how much smoke it will produce at idle with the pump adding 100:1 on top of it.

As a side note what is your overall opinion on the 1997 150 EFI? I have considered repowering but the cost is $18,000 min. and this motor runs strong and seems relatively simple to repair. Parts availability? Even simpler if I eventually delete oil, VST, and maybe the ignition advance.

[25two.stroke]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

I agree it is convenient not to have to premix but I premix for my giant scale model airplanes, chainsaw, etc. so i'm familiar with the process. The system has a rotation sensor and of course the level sensor in the cap of the secondary tank. With EFI I have a VST tank (we can talk about deleting that later :-) ) with about a quart of oil mixed fuel. If the alarm were to go off I have a few hundred yards worth of running time I assume to get out of the way and into a safe location?

I should give the 100:1 mix a try, that way I can see how much smoke it will produce at idle with the pump adding 100:1 on top of it.

As a side note what is your overall opinion on the 1997 150 EFI? I have considered repowering but the cost is $18,000 min. and this motor runs strong and seems relatively simple to repair. Parts availability? Even simpler if I eventually delete oil, VST, and maybe the ignition advance.

If you use your boat a lot get yourself a 4stroke. Do it. Is it worth the money, no. It aint worth 18k. They are overpriced. But you will like it. Honestly you will thank yourself for it in a year or so. You'll fall in love with it. I'm not biased, I own both and run both all the time. And I rebuild plus service both. The 97 was a good motor for sure, but its not for the recreational fisherman (in my opinion) unless you are broke. You know from reading on here theres a number of minor things that can go wrong with those engines that cause major problems. The fourstroke has none of that. They are 100% solid motors that last a minimum of 2500 hours with nothing but basic service. No 2 stroke will do that to you. Not to mention the fuel savings an no smell of burning oil. I like burning oil. Race oil and race gas with 180psi of compression...but not while I am fishing. I have 894 hours on my fourstroke now and its a 2020. Nothing but basic service so far.
My 0.02

[skraye]

I would like to but I have several major expenses in front of me. I need a new (or used)truck, my oldest daughter needs help with a vehicle, my twins are collage age, one of my 2 HVAC zones is 24 years old so that a $10,000 bill waiting to happen! LOL everything kind of hit at the same time!