is this a decent motor?

[peiserma]

Im considering this motor for my v20:

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/boa/4667359177.html

Looking for feedback if this model is worth considering, or does it have a history of problems? Is the price reasonable? I would of course do a compression test and look at the oil in the lower unit before buying.

Thanks.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Standard 2.5L MERC. Good engines, but all of them I have had were a bit thirsty for there size. Only downside to them is the oil injection system they used was junk, but if you ditch it and premix they are fine engines. His price looks a bit high(but not out of the ballpark) unless it is a really clean engine.

[spareparts]

good motor, price is good(especially if it comes with the prop), offer $2500 if it checks out. Check compression and spark. Make sure the charging system works. Check the gear lube, look at it for corrosion. If you can take it for a spin on the boat its mounted on, thats a plus. Go ahead and figure having the carbs gone thru, oil injection removed, and put a water pump in it and you'll be good to go. If you need it checked out, call Bell Hart Marine.

[THEFERMANATOR]

good motor, price is good(especially if it comes with the prop), offer $2500 if it checks out. Check compression and spark. Make sure the charging system works. Check the gear lube, look at it for corrosion. If you can take it for a spin on the boat its mounted on, thats a plus. Go ahead and figure having the carbs gone thru, oil injection removed, and put a water pump in it and you'll be good to go. If you need it checked out, call Bell Hart Marine.

I keep forgetting engines bring more up north. Down here that would be a $2K engine on a GOOD day. I bought my 150 XRI that was clean enough to eat off of with a boat and trailer for $2400. Sold the boat and trailer for $300, kept the trolling motor off of for my current boat, and sold the lower off of it for $500 and swapped my low water pickup one from the blown engine onto it.

[peiserma]

Wow! Quick replies. Exactly the kind of feedback i was looking for. I have a spark checker (cheap $5 inline from Harbor Freight), a voltmeter to test the charging system, and a compression tester. Although i have never bought an outboard, I feel confident that i can check these basics.

I know each cylinder needs to be within a few psi of each other, but what range can I expect with this engine? I'm guessing 105-125 based on prior experience, but i know there's variability among models.

[peiserma]

I keep forgetting engines bring more up north.

No offense taken, but we don't consider ourselves as being "up north" :zip: Though it's all a matter of perspective, i suppose. In any case, that is why i asked if the asking price was reasonable (never having bought one, i have no frame of reference)

[EDIT: I really do appreciate the replies]

[spareparts]

yea, whats this up North Crap? You'd think it was Charlie asking about this motor:hide:


Seriously, pay a good mechanic to check it out, it will be worth it in the long run.

[garbubba]

Used to say anyone north of I-10 was a yankee, then I move 5 minutes north of the 10. I guess the new line is Hwy 98;-)

These guys know these motors & are giving good advice, One thing I'd add is to check out the rust in the middle, I can see it looks like mine. Years ago, I had my shift cable freeze up & the mercury guys couldn't get it apart, the bolts were so rusted. I found a guy who could, & it's still running.

I know later models had more stainless parts but not what years.

They are reliable, powerful & suck gas, can't have everything.

[THEFERMANATOR]

When I say up north, I mean any place that has a boating season. Down here in FLAWDA, it is YEAR ROUND. We don't know what that winterizang stuff is.

[smokeonthewater]

I wouldn't say up north here either but at least we don't fire up the furnace and break out the north face coats when the temp drops below 80 LOL

[THEFERMANATOR]

I wouldn't say up north here either but at least we don't fire up the furnace and break out the north face coats when the temp drops below 80 LOL

When the temp drops below 80, we open the windows. Unfortunately that's only a few months out of the year.

[randlemanboater]

I wouldn't say up north here either but at least we don't fire up the furnace and break out the north face coats when the temp drops below 80 LOL

We were in the Keys one December when it was way down in the 60's for a couple days, you would have thought it was Alaska the way the locals were bundled up.

[smokeonthewater]

lol

I have a couple friends who moved down there... on is in west palm and the other is in orlando...

in phone calls they will complain that they are freezing cause it's in the low 70's and I'll tell them it's sunny 60 here and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt headed to the river LOL

On the other hand I go visit them and it's 240 deg outside with 900% humidity and they say it's pretty warm while I can't say anything cause I'm trying my best just to breathe. LOL


At least we don't ever hijack anyone's thread here :D

[THEFERMANATOR]

Were not that bad down here. We like weather in the 50-80 degree range, it's comfortable. And the absolute most MISERABLE heat I have EVER experienced was up north coming across Kentucky followed by going across Missouri in the middle of the summer. I remember clear as day seeing 118 on a thermometer in Missouri in the summer of 99, and it dropped down to a nice 102 at 8 when the sun started going down. We rarely break 100 down here, we do have a good bit of humidity, but we normally have a nice breeze in the summer to keep it tolerable. I find summer much more bearable down here in FLorida than I have most naywhere else(I'm talking about the worst heat of summer), only drawback is ours lasts ALOT longer than most other states summers. As for winter, I enjoy not really experiencing one. For the most part we only freeze a few days a year, and once or twice a decade get 2ingle digit temps for most of the state.

[macojoe]

up here in the north we were at 36* the other night!! The heat was on for the first time this season, Man in my old disabled body I really hate the winters now!
Back to the motor, had a 2.4 175 and that thing was bulit proff! Its still going, bigshrimp has it on his 23 seacraft, told me the other day hes getting 3 mpg and can top out over 40mph!!

[peiserma]

Finally got in touch with the seller. Unfortunately, it is a 25" shaft and I need a 20". The search goes on...

[randlemanboater]

You can adapt a 25" motor to a 20" transom pretty easily, you just need a manual jackplate....so if you find a real good deal on a real good 25" motor, go for it.

[THEFERMANATOR]

You can adapt a 25" motor to a 20" transom pretty easily, you just need a manual jackplate....so if you find a real good deal on a real good 25" motor, go for it.
Yep, a 25" motor goes on a 20" transom REAL easily with a jackplate. The other way around, not so well.

[peiserma]

In the immortal words of Homer "doh!" I never even thought of that. Of course, the total cost goes up by the jack plate, but it does open up my choices. What about the steering cable? Is there typically enough play, or does it need to be replaced? What kind of setback should i be looking at? And lastly, what about the engine weight? Since the engine is now away from the transom, do i need to worry about cantilever, or am i overthinking this?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Most jackplates will be in the 4-6" range for setback. You can normally pick up a used one for $150-300 depending on how fancy of one your looking at. With the minimal setback the weight issue isn't much of a concern. When you start going back an extra foot it becomes an issue, but 4-5 inches it isn't much.

[smokeonthewater]

OR you can make your own plate from stainless angle and a few bolts for next to nothing.

[spareparts]

I went to the scrap yard and found some nice aluminum angle that was thicker than a factory jack plate, it worked out nice

[peiserma]

Make my own? This site never ceases to provide inspiration. Something as simple as what this guy did? Maybe glass and gelcoat the plywood. Any words of advice on thickness? I'd hate for the motor to go down into Davy Jones' Locker!

[smokeonthewater]

you don't want ANY plywood.... just 4 pieces of angle bolted together to form 2 channels OR just 2 pieces of channel tho the double angles are more easily adjustable

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Q8ZEkre1ROs/TBg5-ZrbowI/AAAAAAAABWw/huj7O4wT1PQ/s640/DSCN1336.JPG

[spareparts]

heres what T&H offers in a fixed jack plate to give you ideas, or you could buy what you need for under $200
http://www.thmarine.com/products/Outboard-Jack-Plates/Static-Height-Plates


I may have parts off of an old adjustable jack plate that may work for you, you will have to figure out how to make it non adjustable, I'll get a picture of it Monday, asking $50

[peiserma]

You guys have been great, and i hope you'll indulge in one or two more motor questions as I work through this.

Since a 25" is now an option with a jack plate (for which i will start a separate thread if the time comes), what about this 2006 mercury efi? http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/bod/4676921190.html

It is about $1000 more than I was hoping to get away with. Does not include controls, but i was planning on buying a new control box and gauges anyway. Does not come with a prop. So i would need to spend extra for the prop and jack plate.

Is going with a newer fuel-injected motor worth the extra initial investment? I would like to think so. Do you think a marina ought to include some sort of warranty? Season is close to an end, so I have no issues waiting for the right motor to come along. I want my investment to last as long as possible, but i need help figuring out what the right price is. I want that to be under 3k, but that is somewhat arbitrary. I only have so much money. But if it takes $2500 to get a 97, and 4k to get an 06, then theoretically the 06 is a better buy because i would expect it to last ~10 years longer. $1500 spread over 10 years is $150 per year. Am i thinking about this the right way?

Thanks for any opinions and feedback. It is a lot of money to spend, so I hope you'll forgive me asking a lot of questions.

[Destroyer]

You guys have been great, and i hope you'll indulge in one or two more motor questions as I work through this.

Since a 25" is now an option with a jack plate (for which i will start a separate thread if the time comes), what about this 2006 mercury efi? http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/bod/4676921190.html

It is about $1000 more than I was hoping to get away with. Does not include controls, but i was planning on buying a new control box and gauges anyway. Does not come with a prop. So i would need to spend extra for the prop and jack plate.

Is going with a newer fuel-injected motor worth the extra initial investment? I would like to think so. Do you think a marina ought to include some sort of warranty? Season is close to an end, so I have no issues waiting for the right motor to come along. I want my investment to last as long as possible, but i need help figuring out what the right price is. I want that to be under 3k, but that is somewhat arbitrary. I only have so much money. But if it takes $2500 to get a 97, and 4k to get an 06, then theoretically the 06 is a better buy because i would expect it to last ~10 years longer. $1500 spread over 10 years is $150 per year. Am i thinking about this the right way?

Thanks for any opinions and feedback. It is a lot of money to spend, so I hope you'll forgive me asking a lot of questions.

Asking questions is how we learn. I'm willing to bet that even the smartest person here can still learn something. We never stop learning. Nothing to forgive.

Although on the surface, I would tend to go along with your calculations as to engine life, just remember that maintenance and attention is KEY to a long engine life, so really, although the newer engine sounds like a better deal, how an engine was maintained is much more important than it's initial price or year.

[bgreene]

Price is high in my opinion, based on my own selling of two 150 Evinrude mid 90's loopers.

I've found real solid used outboards can be hard to find, so I understand your enthusiasm.

Did you check NADA retail selling value ?

Good luck either way you go.

[spareparts]

not having gauges, controls, and a prop adds up pretty quick. The newer engine isnt that much differnt from the older engine. It does have the CDM ignition. EFI has a lot of expensive parts over a carb motor with minimal difference in fuel use. That being said, that does look like a clean motor and it probably will sell near that price.

[smokeonthewater]

Tell ya what.... Come up here and snag one of these and I'll let ya buy me a burger LOL

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4645417988.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4687835694.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4649603150.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4649385693.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4644389727.html

[spareparts]

Tell ya what.... Come up here and snag one of these and I'll let ya buy me a burger LOL

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4645417988.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4687835694.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4649603150.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4649385693.html

http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/4644389727.html

this=fresh water motors!!!!!!!!!

I want whats left of any of those boats when you are done stripping them, I keep thinking I can make a heck of a flats boat out of one of them

[bradford]

this=fresh water motors!!!!!!!!!

I want whats left of any of those boats when you are done stripping them, I keep thinking I can make a heck of a flats boat out of one of them


Great deals there Smoke!

Spare I hear ya on the flats boat thing. If I were into them I'd find a good old bass boat and strip out all the carpet and put a paint job on it. There's a guy near me that cut the front deck out of a Hydrostream Vector and painted it white, put a little teak trim on it and a poling platform and has a great custom flats boat.

[THEFERMANATOR]

A few guys down here have converted bass boats to flats boats, and weren't real happy with them. Said the squatted to much trying to plane out, and were pretty deep in the draft. Some have said they took the rearmost portion of the keel and put a wide pad there, and made them into decent flats boats that way.

[spareparts]

i actually like that baja hull the best

[peiserma]

Going to look at the 175 merc offshore tomorrow. NADA says $2500, we shall see if it checks out. The place where I store the boat says they can get a bracket fab'ed for a price I can live with (should I decide to outsource that portion, which I am seriously contemplating so I can move on to other projects that need finishing)

[peiserma]

Small world. I work with the seller's brother! All the basics check out. Motor started right up, goes in gear, hydraulics look good and work. Compression 105 to 110 on all cylinders. He will take it off and put it on my boat (still need a a jack plate later, but this way i can drive it back to the mechanic and don't need to borrow a pickup or a trailer) Thinking to offer him $2600. What do you guys think?

[smokeonthewater]

I think that IF you have it mounted for you then you should consider taking a jack plate WITH you to mount at the same time

[peiserma]

If i had one laying around, i would. But i don't, so I'll have to do it again once i have the bracket. Maybe I can find someone local to fab one, else I have to pay the mechanic for turnkey service. Not sure that I know enough to build my own, unless I get help here. Doesn't look hard, but the devil is in the details.

We agreed on a price, and later next week I will have a new-to-me motor!

[smokeonthewater]

Off the top of my head I'd say 4 pieces of 3x4x3/8 or 1/2 stainless or aluminum angle and four 1/2" stainless bolts n drill 16 holes... Done..... Couple of the others can cross check my thoughts here.... Might suggest other materials.

[peiserma]

Alright, now we're talking specifics. Excellent. Time to start a new thread!