When purchasing a used outboard.................

[THEFERMANATOR]

Another thing to watch for in older outboards is corrosion. Many a person has bought a used engine with decent compression only to have it start blowing steam out the pea hole in a short time from a bad head gasket, or even worse block rot. Give it a good visual lookover, and check compression. I also like to pull the airbox off and hold my hand over each intake and turn the engine over to make sure it is pulling in good air, and the reed valves aren't bad and blowing out air.