blew my motor up :(

[Kajun]

i posted this on another site so instead of writing a new one i'll just copy and paste it....



where do i start lol...well me and russ was gonna go to the lower james/chick but i decided to go to hopewell *with hopes we might run into someone with a gill net or extra bait *;D ...the night before i went and caught half a icechest of bluefish ..russ had 3 frozen hickory shad and 5 live eels...once in the water..i decide to go cast net for some gizzards behind presquille at the boat house...casted for awhile and got nothing..so i thought about heading up to the osburne area for a place dayton showed me for bait...

well i knew about the flats on that side of presquille but wasnt thinking about low tide lol and had passed through this area with striperjoe before so i knew there was a way through it....next thing i know we was in 1.5 ft of water and barely moving ....lifted up motor as much as possible and motored through it...took a bit but we managed to get out of it.....once back in deeper water.....my motor died out...it was would start again but would not stay running neutral...

about 5 mins after we got out the mud....a boat was near us and watching us comes along and asks if we need a tow ..i accept since i didnt know if i could get us going again....the guy(John) also tells us that HE ALSO just hit the same mud flat as us about an hour earlier and he lives in hopewell and fishes this place all the time..his pisser was clogged with mud on his motor.

we get towed back in...we thank the guy and talk awhile....then i start trying to figure out what was wrong...it was running really rough..i fouled the plugs...but still it wouldnt idle in neutral...so i started adjusting things and got it running pretty good again and it would now idle .....so we said F-it we are here and we havent even wet a line..lets go fishing! lol

i noticed a loss of power ...down to 4200 rpms at WOT from 5000....setup at JP bridge but it was dead slack tide....once water got turned around and flowing we decided to go set up on the S.C. piers.......by this time it was dark.....we caught 2 catfish..on our small bait poles...a 4lb and a 2lb........i had 4 big bait poles out and got snags muliple times on 3 of them.....had a couple hits on one pole.. but that was about it.....10pm decided to call it a day and head back in......started motor,pulled up anchor and tried to get on plane....major loss of power.....now down to 3000 rpm at WOT..cruising back in the dark in front of city point park...yup...you guessed it.... HIT ANOTHER 1.5 ft FLAT!!!...this time was worst..we was stuck..no forward movement...i raised the motor as much as possible and by a miracle we was able to slowly motor out of it again!!..but this time...noticed alot of noise in the lower unit..yup alil gear grindage :)

as we limped back to the hopewell marina we was playing hell to stay in the channel lol...made it back to dock ..put it on trailer and went home....

all i can say is it was a terrible day lol but we didnt get skunked :) and we are alive and was able to get back to the dock both times without swimming .....at minimum i got a bad lower unit(i got a spare)....and probably a blown cylinder or head gasket......i'll find out soon if its salvagable or a black anchor...bout to go do a compression check on it.

moral of the story is and big lesson i learned is.......if you dont know where the f your going..dont f-ing go! ;D....i will prob never go behind presquille again and never will be on the james at night lol..but i'm not giving up on Kattin...i'll be back!!!

and no story like this would be complete without some pics :)

here's John towing us back in...thanks John!!

http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0021_001.sized.jpg


this is us under power....someone ELSE'S power *;D


http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0022_001.sized.jpg

6 hours after we launched the boat we managed to get a spread out *lol yup..6 hours... ;D

http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0023.sized.jpg

[Kajun]

continued....

i went out and did a compression check on it... 135/130/140/10...verdict....a black anchor! i took off the exhaust chamber cover so i could see inside to the pistons and found #4 cylinder with a nice sized hole in it and rings broke on it...definetly not worth rebuilding....i'll either buy another force from ebay or find a used yammy.

piston with a hole in it.....

http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0004_001.sized.jpg


both rings are broken on piston

http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0005_001.sized.jpg

a nice mud clogged water port

http://www.cajunmusicforum.com/gallery/albums/album01/DSCF0018_001.sized.jpg

[Mac_Attack]

Kajun sorry to hear about your motor. I have a force 150 if it dies and it will, they all do, I won't rebuild. Good luck keep us posted on what happens. Billy Mac ;D

[Skools Out]

sorry to hear about that. we need a spare motor section for guys in need don't we.

[shicks007]

Kajun,

Sorry to hear the news, I feel your pain. I hope you get up and running soon. Are you the same dude I see on Tidal fish on the Va angler board.?

[macojoe]

I have lost the whole season do to a ring failure!! I know your pain!!

Do not even think of another Force!!!!!!!!!

If your thinking of the control and stuff they will work on a Mercury and thats better then a Force any day!!

Good uck!

[willy]

Good luck Cajun, glad you all made it back in safe, thats the important thing. Now you get to shop for a new motor. ;D

[Hammerhead]

Sorry Bro. That sux.

[Kajun]

yup shicks.. thats me ...

i just put the boat and trailer on craigslist for $2950..who knows maybe someone will buy it ;D if not i'll repower.....as much as i want to go back with a force..i'll take ya'll advice and buy something different...its just i invested alot of time and money learning how to work on forces and got all the manuals for it and spare parts...oh well i'll just ebay everything.

[macojoe]

Mercury made Force that you have and I am sure the parts will fit a lot of merc.

[sfprovyn]

I would not get another Force if were me as there are lots of Johnnyrudes and others out there complete with controls for 2 or 3 thousand ...frank

[willy]

Kajun, just some thoughts based on my personal experience for what it is worth to you. I had a 50 horse Force that came on a 18 foot tin boat that I used a lot. It was a good basic inexpensive engine built on a Merc block and out sourced peripheral parts to keep cost down. It was never intended to be a top line and durable engine. Mine was reliable while I had it but it was very low hours. And even though I will get some sh!t about this this is my own humble opinion based on three engines and numerous friends experience, unless you are a good marine mechanic Mercury's will nickle and dime you to death, they will leave you stranded 3 to 1 or more compared to just about every other make out there. The Force was a inexpensive version of these motors so if you got some good running time out of the one you had count your blessings and move on to another make.
It kills me to say this because they are American made which is very important to me but very hard to live up to sometimes.
Some guys here are a lot more mechanicaly inclined than yours truly and could make a Jaberwarthy Marine engine from the 1940's run on nothing but their self produced methane if they had to and God Bless them but for the average bloke like me Mercury is a dead issue in my opinion.
Now after all the arrows pass overhead I will tell you that you can find a good used Johnson/Evinrude for a good price now and if you can get your hands on a Yamaha 2 stroke you will probably have the best two stroke engines ever made. If you are going four stroke then you can pick any one of the Yippanese models cause they are all good. And of course you got the ETECS of which I am holding my opinion in reserve at this point. ;)

[msbhammer]

Willy, I agree with you. Its ashame, that as proud as we are for being americans, products in America are not the top of the line. I have always thought this way since being a kid. A short story. I borrowed 20 bucks from my dad when I was a kid ti by a bicycle. The bicycle was only a block away. On the way home from buying it, the seat post completely broke off. The seat post was stamped "Made in America" :(
I dislike seeing everything that says "Made In Japan", but I guess they have better pride in in there job, I dont know. :-[ :-[ :-[

[reelapeelin]

Used to be made in America meant something...our politicians gave it all away w/ NAFTA and simular agreements...they get to line their pockets and rape ours... >:( ...

Sorry about your motor, Kajun...hope it all turns out your way ... :D ...

[msbhammer]

Boat shop is up for auction next Sat. Selling off everything, boats, trailers, motors, you name it. I'll look for a Force for ya if ya want.

[garycorbett]

FORCE is MERCURY with a force name on the hood - it is identical to equivalnet merc models and it is merc poor quality

[parishht]

MSBHAMMER,
which boat shop is up for auction?

[msbhammer]

Cant think of the name off hand, but its the only boat place on route south of 5 points. In the area of 1 and 24 on the southbound side. Its in the Cape Gazzette newspaper. Starts at 10 am.

[Seacrets]

An engine blows a piston due to mud clogging the cooling system and the motor brand is junk? Mercury is junk? To think mine (150 hp V6) ran for 22 years with the original oil pump still hooked up. I could have bought any brand I wanted, but I bought another Mercury. This is personal preference guys. Not all forum members have Yamahas, Etecs, EFI's or 4 strokes. We do however get a little tired hearing our brands are junk. Not all of us have V20 trailer queens either. We're out fishing almost every weekend (that's why I choose to live in Florida). Also good maintenance, quality oil and parts doesn't hurt, regardless of brand. Sorry for the rant. Just my $.02.

[Blue_Runner]

Also good maintenance, quality oil and parts doesn't hurt, regardless of brand.
Amen to that Seacrets.

[sfprovyn]

Seacrets: I for one am not a Merc basher and I used to have that kind of luck with the 80's and up to mid 90's Mercs and I think the Black Max was pretty much bullet proof and in the same league as the old "90hp tower of power". Unfortunately the hundreds of early Opti max power head failures and Mercs hostile and arrogant attitude towards the owners ran off a lot of business that willl never come back including the commercial guys. If they had admitted the problem and tried to help guys out with legitimate warranty claims they would of been ahead of the game as I think they now have a good product but they are not selling . Sucking mud is a very serious problem for any outboard and I did it big time this morning when I missed the channel in the dark going out early but I was lucky as I managed to shut it off quick. If it had blown it would not of been the fault of the old johnson it would of been mine. Frank

[Seacrets]

From time to time all manufacturers have had problems, ie. Fichts, Yamaha shift shafts and large HPDI's, VRO pump failures with some manufacturers etc. It's true, customer service is extreemly important and when you need them, they need to step up to the plate. *Let's face it, OMC was in the dumper until Bombardier bailed them out. *Also a Force by Mercury is not the same as a Mercury. *Did anybody ever see a supercharged or a 4 stroke, or EFI Force? *How about an Opti type Force? *This is the same as bracket, I/O or outboard. *It just doesn't matter, we all enjoy the same V20 boat and what does it matter what's hanging off the stern for power. Sorry for being longwinded. * * * *

[Skools Out]

Seacrets i dislike an I/O but i'd love to have the money to take a V20 I/O and put a Volvo penta dual prop with a diesel in one. gosh that would be the best boat ever built in my opinion. I agree we all like the same boat Hull

V20

[Airslot]

Saw an ad today for Volkswagen Marine Diesel ranging from 40 - 250 hp. Hook one of them up to a duo prop...

Airslot

[Seacrets]

Some of the newer diesels are as light as gas engines, so weight is no longer a problem.

[Skools Out]

wouldn't that be great Mercuriser make a GM 6.5 turbo diesel in marine app now which weighs the same as a big block. would that be nice to a merc outdrive with 6.5 turbo 230 hp diesel.

[Airslot]

Here ya go...
http://www.vw-marine.de/cms/index.php?id=2&L=1&tx_lienginesheet_pi1[engine]=20

225 hp for 335kg, whats that, about 800 pounds? It's a V=6 and would probably fit in a V-20.

Airslot

[Skools Out]

WOW Air we need one of those boats on our site to pass around as a loaner lol

[sfprovyn]

Seacrets: Thats true that Force is not identical to Mercury like Johnson is to Evinrude or Mercury is to Mariner etc. I have nothing against them but Force like Chrysler is very difficult to get parts for and very few people will even work on them. Its also true that all companies made some lemons , elven the almighty Yammies have blown some power heads in the recent 250 HP verson..Frank

[imported_admin]

The older merc two strokes are simple to work on and really strong motors . . . great power to weight ratio!! The early merc v6 200hp two strokes weigh in under 350lbs . . .

The inline 6 cylinder 150hp motors were 275lbs.

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/albums/album07/SeaCraft_Triples.jpg


I'm running a 1979 v200 and 1981 v225.