Anyone have experience with the older (mi-late 90's) Johnson v8 Two Stroke outboards.?
I heard they had a top-level over heading issue and was looking for a solution (larger skeg inlet holes or removing the Bob's lowers that were on them)..?

I ran 300 Johnson motors for almost 20 years and never had any issues with overheating unless I stuffed the Bobs low water pickups full of trash, wood, sand and or mud, If you keep the water pickups clean and keep 15 psi water pressure you won’t have cooling issues. Buying gas, that’s a different story.

Oh that's funny - yea i hear they GULP Fuel like a fat kid at a candy store!
Thanks for the heads up and feedback!
Dave

Check out Scream and Fly, they are an Outboard heavy sight. Good info too...................

Okay, so I have never had a chronic overheat issue with them, or any OMC looper for that matter. There are a few things that can effect them and cause overheating. Under normal operation contamination is the most common. Removing the thermostats can allow it to run hot. I have had two powerhead base gaskets fail on the water intake part of the gasket. I believe it was caused by race conditions, (water pressure spikes). Low water pressure due to air intrusion into the water intake flow will also allow it to overheat.

Yea i hear only the hack mechanics pull the thermostats and to definitely leave them in...
I was also told that head gaskets (yes the head) needed to be changed every 2 (two) years by the same mechanic -nobody i hear does that but again imagine if we did how long these older outboards would last...
It was such a B... finding (and still is) a decent used outboard i've decided to build an Outboard Directory OutboardListings dot com - soon to come / still in beta phase and when the time comes i'll advertise it on OSO for sure.
Thanks for the feedback guys - yes -i have a post also up on SnFly where the Outboard is more welcomed.
Again thx for the info.
Dave