If i can get the OX66 complete with binaccle cables keys etc, for $3500 should i jump on it? Only issue its 550lbs.


Talked with the owner it has 530 hours but its a 30" shaft. He will let it go for $3500.

My dad just passed away and i had to use $520 of the outboard money to cover what insurance did not on the funeral and burial expenses. So i have $3000 to find an outboard.

hey I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know how much the 250 weighed. It is a great engine though. I have a 2.6L 225 Yamaha. It is the same weight as all the 150-200 2.6L's. they are older motors but I still see good clean ones every once and a while. Also watch for a V6 Excel. That's what they called the early 225's

I am really worried about the shaft length on the OX66. If it wasn't for that i might have already bought it.

Sorry about your dad, know the feeling as I lost mine 9 years ago. As for the YAMAHA 250, it is too heavy and way out of it's element for a V-20. The 76 degree YAMAHA's are best suited for pushing heavy loads as they drink as much fuel as the old OMC V-8's did, but make almost as much torque as they did. For a bracketed boat in teh 200HP range, you won't find a much better match than the older 2.5L MERCURY. They had a long production run, parts are easy to find, pretty reliable once you removed the oil injection, and they are easy to work on if you find a carbed engine.

Found a couple more motors that may work, not sure if they are 2.5L or a 3.0L. May have to do some "horse trading" to get one.

panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/3016036425.html

2000 Mercury 200 EFI $4000

panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/2995535437.html

1994 Mercury 2.5L 200 $2000

pensacola.craigslist.org/boa/3032228907.html

2000 250 Merc EFI (dont know how a 250 got here. :head: )

panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/2991667409.html

1991 Mercury 2.5L $950

Still waiting to hear from Kenny at Emerald Coast Marine about the twin 2003 Optimax 225's. Should know something this week.

I might be wrong but in '91 i thought the mercs were still 2.4's

I like that '94 for 2k.

The 2.5L came out in 90, but 91 still had some 2.4L engines coming out with steel sleeved engines.

Did some searching on craigslist for Yamaha. All i can find are blown engines. Did find an excel but lost where i found it.

I had a 2.4 Merc 175hp That thing pushed the Sea Ox good and man it was good on gas! BS just put it on his 23 Seacraft and loving it!

Found a 76 degree 225 Yamaha 420lbs for $3200 but its a 30" shaft. These 30" shafts are getting to be a pain.

mobile.craigslist.org/boa/3030928094.html

Add another 100 to that amount and you will be in the ball park of it's actual weight. I have a blown 250 76 degree YAMAHA, and it was a heavy SOB to get off the boat. They went to the offset cran kand 76 degree V to keep the engine from being so big that it wouldn't fit an average splashwell because it was such a big engine(3.4L with a BIG block design). The 76 degree engines were built for pushing heavy loads and to push out the OMC V-8 engines.

Nada must be off. I googled L225turv weight and got 494 pounds on a couple different sites. I have been pulling the weights from NADA.

blown engines are not necessarily a bad thing. If you get it cheap enough. Drop on a rebuilt powerhead and start off fresh.

76 degree V engines cost a small FORTUNE to rebuild, and even more to buy a running one. I've got one in teh shed in pieces, and I just can't justify building it as I would only be able to make a few hundred off of it rebuilt.

Right now i know where a carbed 1996 Merc 225XL is that has low comp on all cylinders. not sure if its a 2.5 or 3.0. Still trying to figure that out, as there seems to be an overlap when they produced a 2.5L and a 3.0L 200 at the same time. Would Capt Petes idea be practical? Right now i also have seen a 225 Excell on CL for $1000.

pensacola.craigslist.org/boa/2994949014.html

I have seen an ad on CL for outboard rebuilding for $1850, i know rebuilds can cost half that or ten times that, heres the ad

pensacola.craigslist.org/boa/3056815292.html

Also i have a V6 Yamaha counter rotating lower unit in the shed from the 250 Sportsman.

Just emailed the seller of the 2.5L Merc 200 for $2000, waiting to hear back on the shaft length controls and hours. I have the feeling the 2.5L Merc is a "weak" 200. Is this the case? Because they also have a 3.0L 200. But i bet the 2.5L would be less thirsty? I may say to hell with the Optimax and EFI and stay with my original idea of a carbed outboard that i can work on. I really cant afford to put one in the shop for work i cant do. May take a loss in speed. Is 50mph possible for a 2.5L 200 pushing a V20 on a bracket?

The 2.5L 200 MERC is not weak by any means. It doesn't have the torque of the 3.0L, but it will perform very well on a V-20. MJ pushed his 23 foot SEA OX with a 2.4L, and I don't think he ever complained about the power. A 225 is almost certainly a 3.0L. The main reaso nthey went to the 3.0L 200 MERC was for emissions and torque for heavier boats. The 2.5L engine was available all the way up to 280HP from MERCURY's performance division. Look over on scream and fly for an engine as well.

Yep like I said, I had a 2.4 Merc 175 on the Sea Ox and its a heavy boat, at 3300# before bracket, motor, 100 gal gas, tackle, ice and people! Ran a 15 pitch prop, got low 30's GREAT on gas!!!!I got it from BS and after I bought the 4 stroke I sold back to BS, he just blew his 200 Merc and put it on his 23 Seacraft and loving it.

IMO you need nothing more for a V20, never can use it at 50 mph 99% of time any how! Then the gas at today's prices, heck I am happy in the 30's any day!! lower then that most of the time.With the 200 HDPI I have now it goes great and the thing sips gas:beer:

You're running the V with 200 hpdi or other boat ?

jason, i'd stay away from the guy in milton. heard many horror stories locally about him & his "rebuilds". go the the hull truth & do a search under blackwater.

Thanks Phat!!! I am very glad you warned me about him. I never would have known. I guess the V will be getting a 2.5 Merc 200. If anyone knows where one is let me know! Btw i weighed my 1985 Johnson 150. 390lbs!

That's exactly the engine I'm putting onto my 21'. Took it off the Cruisers, Inc boat before I scrapped her. Great engine.. they just keep going and going and going.... :love:

Nope, look below in my signature, I got rid of the V20, 5 years ago. I now have a 23 Sea Ox with the 200 HDPI, The V had a 175 on it.

Destroyer you reminded me of a kingfish tourney a couple years ago. Guy had a brand new Cape Horn with twin 2.5 Mercs. I could not figure out why he put old engines on a new boat. Shotgun start he outran everybody!

Just talked with the gentleman with the 1994 Merc 2.5L 200. He said he has had it out about a dozen times, but needed a short shaft motor. It needs a cowling seal, the po took it out. He said he is willing to let me do a comp check. What all do i need to lookout for on this motor? What should my comp numbers be? Going to look at it saturday.

Compression should be around 120-130 for a 2.5L I believe. The only real downfall to them is the oil injection system, and the power packs for the ignition. Other than that they are strong reliable engines.

Should i plan on running premix or can i trust the oil injection if i replace major components? What should i be reading at the plug leads with a multimeter? Will Mercury new gauges work with it?

Also i might take what is left of the loan and get a Mercury 2 stroke kicker. Thinking 15-25hp 20" shaft.

there are 2 different schools of thought on the oil injection system. i have a 94 150 with 1500 hours, all on the injection system. it is a simple pump system that works off of a plastic ring on the crank shaft. if that ring breaks, pump no pump, engine no go. the only alarms on it are one on the pump that will sound if the pump quits rotating and another in the engine mounted tank that sounds if it runs low on oil. i have friends with the same motor that they have disabled the system. they use a lot more oil and have to clean carbs more often. i have never had the carbs off of mine. one day, i am going to get snake bit, but for now i like the system. i do carry a spare gallon of oil and at the slightest hint of a buzzer , i dump a gallon in the fuel tank. i have only had to do this once in 18 years because a hose split & the top tank was not refilling. the oil is moved from the storage tank to the motor tank by crankcase pressure. i do keep a eye on my hoses and have replaced them twice. to change out that ring, you have to take the whole motor apart.
i am sure 80% on here will tell you to run premix to eliminate a varible.
also make sure the steering arm is in good shape, mine almost rotted off and a major pia to swap out.

steering arm is the big issue, make sure its not rusted real bad, it would cost around $1500 to have it replaced, if it all came apart easy. I'd ditch the oil injection, if the motor was run on a regular basis, I wouldn't worry about it, most of the gear failures I've seen are from engines that sat a lot, if you want to gamble with it, mix some amsoil 100 to 1 oil at about a 200 to 1 ratio, if the gear dies, you have some lube in the gas to prevent immediate failure, then add oil to get you home

It would be nice not to have to premix, but if oil is in the fuel tank then i know its there. I think i found the oil pump gear, its called a "gear kit" on the crankshaft and is $40 but dam Phat was right you have to disassemble the entire powerhead. You would think there would be some way to retrofit a new oil pump onto the flywheel or something. I dont even know if the oil pump is hooked up or not. But i plan to have a premixed 6 gallons of fuel.

I learned from the Johnson to check the steering shaft etc.

good luck finding one(2.5 200), seems like the price on the newer four strokes have driven the price on good used two strokes up. Look on craigslist cities around big fresh water lakes. I've been looking for a 200 for a friend of mine, found a bunch of 150's, even a 175, but 200's are getting hard to find. The 225 Opti seems to be the most common used engine for a decent deal, you just have to deal with the weight

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/o...DSCF0481-1.jpg

spot on spare, that's why i keep this on standby, when my oil injection fails, i am only four bolts away from being on the water again...

jason, i'll keep looking over this way.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

Thanks, Phat. I might be over in your neck of the woods tomorrow looking at a 94 2.5L 200. Spare i agree Optimax's are everywhere now that i have decided against one. I have found a couple 2.5L 200s around town, my uncle from Louisiana is checking on one for me too. Hell i even found one for $950!!

panamacity.craigslist.org/boa/2991667409.html

I'm not talking about the 250. I'm talking about a 2.6l Yamaha. But even a 250, If you get one that has a good crank and just needs a piston or two isn't too bad. My 225 needed one new piston when I got it. It also needed a crank but I got that for free. I had the one cyl bored out and re-ringed the other five. I rebuilt the carbs,replaced the oil pump and water pump and thermostats. And it's been good ever since. I'm closing in on 400 hours.

a couple months ago I installed an electric oil pump conversion for a 2.5 merc. It uses an electric motor to run the merc mechanical pump. It all fit under the cowl with no real modification to the engine. When I go to work on Monday will try to find the papers for it.

Here you go. I honestly don't know why Mercury never made a replacement bronze gear for the crank.

But what if you lose battery power or somebody turns the battery switch off while running? I assume the 2.5L will run without a battery after its started. Do the 2.5L have an alternator?

Also what should i read on a multimeter on the plug leads? On my 1985 Johnson 150 it had low voltage on two plug leads. May be contributing to why it was so thirsty and had no power.

Priced out a Mercury binnacle control $334. May find an aftermarket cheaper but i would like to stay with all Merc controls and gauges. What about a prop, whats a good starting point?

Is this the electric oil pump?? www.marinesolutionswi.com/index.htm

That's it. Ironicly enough my Yamaha rep helped develop this product. It uses the merc oil pump and keeps all the merc alarm sensors. If I had a 2.5 Merc that's what I would use. Sure beats wasting expensive oil on premix.

http://www.propelledmarine.com/oil_injection.htm

$400, pricey, but a lot better than tearing down the engine & putting it back together.
with another plastic gear.

nice info , capt pete

Stuck in the house today. As if the pouring rain wasn't enough i have a killer toothache now. I hope to look at the outboard tomorrow weather permitting.

I like the EOI. But my only concern is if it loses power. The power wire is connected to the starter solenoid. Like i stated earlier what if the battery gets disconnected? $400 is a bit pricey but, when compared to carb cleaning and plugs changes associated with premix, i think it might pay for itself. Even just in the oil cost.