anotherrunner83
Active member
So, long story short, our Starliner was sent back to Checkmate to have it overhauled/refurbished. We made the decision to keep the 1988 Johnson GT200 on the boat as it still ran like a scalded dog. Fast forward 2 or 3 summers...
Boat had started to not charge the battery, slow coming out of the water and idled a little weak, as in it would die when idling without giving it more go go juice, thought this issue might be a result of the weak battery. Also thought the slow holeshot was a result of the stator winding melting and dripping on the timer base and locking it in the FOT position.
Before dumping more money into a 28 year old motor, we decided to check the compression on the old beast. What we found was a bit shocking and this is where you guys come in.
Every cylinder tested between 60 and 62 psi! We didn't trust the gauge so we hooked it up to another motor and pulled a 90 psi. So the gauge is good. We checked the compression with the motor cold and with it warm, same numbers. Motor starts dang near instantly and will idle on the hose for as long as you let it. Top end and mid range is still great.
Is the cylinder to cylinder similarity more important than the overall "low" compression. From what I'm reading, most internet "experts" say a motor is bad with compression under 70 and the things shouldn't run, let alone run well. What do you guys think? Is it toast? Does it make sense for it to run that well with that low of compression?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Boat had started to not charge the battery, slow coming out of the water and idled a little weak, as in it would die when idling without giving it more go go juice, thought this issue might be a result of the weak battery. Also thought the slow holeshot was a result of the stator winding melting and dripping on the timer base and locking it in the FOT position.
Before dumping more money into a 28 year old motor, we decided to check the compression on the old beast. What we found was a bit shocking and this is where you guys come in.
Every cylinder tested between 60 and 62 psi! We didn't trust the gauge so we hooked it up to another motor and pulled a 90 psi. So the gauge is good. We checked the compression with the motor cold and with it warm, same numbers. Motor starts dang near instantly and will idle on the hose for as long as you let it. Top end and mid range is still great.
Is the cylinder to cylinder similarity more important than the overall "low" compression. From what I'm reading, most internet "experts" say a motor is bad with compression under 70 and the things shouldn't run, let alone run well. What do you guys think? Is it toast? Does it make sense for it to run that well with that low of compression?
Any help is greatly appreciated.