need advice on used outboard purchase...

[THEFERMANATOR]

For a V-20 my first choice would coincide BIGSHRIMPIN's, and that would be a 2.0L MERCURY 150HP. They were light weight at around 385 pounds, made EXCELLENT RELIABLE power, fairly easy to work, and probably the best on fuel economy of any of the old school 2 strokers. The 2.4L and 2.5L MERCS are still reliable and TORQUE out of this world, but they are also THIRSTY! YAMAHA makes a good outboard as well with the exception of the steel shift shaft. There are also alot of parts avaiable for them as they are pretty reliable and don't need many. I'm personally not a big YAMAHA fan as they never impressed me power wise in the ones I seen. I really like the SUZUKI, but in the size range your looking I would avoid them as all of ther V-6's weigh in from 450-470 pounds. And if you wanna go with a JOHNNY-RUDE, my reccomendation would actually be a 140 from 85-94. They don't have the low RPM grunt of a V6, but once they hit there power band hang on. There also pretty good on fuel and very reliable. Downfall being weight as they weigh in close to 400 pounds. If you want a V-6 JOHNNY-RUDE, I would go early looper in a 200/225 configuration. They actually use about the same amount of fuel at cruise as the 150/175's did. They weigh in in the mid to upper 400 pound range though, and I would avoid them for the same reason as the SUZUKI.

These would be my choices and why I would consider each, and I would also seriously consider the weight issue as it says you have a fisherman model which should be a center console. The center consoles don't make the bracket conversion as easily as the cuddy did due to center of blance in the hull.

[willy]

Ferm, you are a pretty smart fellow


But I would disagree on only one point, Yamaha, I think that in the end even though they are a lower compression engine and do not put out the low end grunt of the Mercs they put out more than enough for just about any use short of around the pylon racing. What little they lose power wise they make up for many times over in outright reliability.
Now if I had your mechanical skills I would run mercs all day as I could fix just about anything that comes down the pike, but for an average joe blow like me the reliability and trouble free service far outweigh the slightly lower torque value.
As a second choice I would run JohnnyRude carbs and take the fuel hit for the longevity and durability factor.
The dozen or so friends of mine that have been very active boaters and very serious fisherman all their lives, men whose opinions I respect have had every motor there is, a few of them work on them themselves as they are skilled mechanics like you, but to a man they agree with the above statement. And to a man they have told me that for shear power it is tough to beat a Merc but have your wallet handy.

[THEFERMANATOR]

The 2.4L MERCS can get costly when something let's go in em, but the 2L's aren't as bad. They use a standard steel sleeve so they are not as expensive to rebuild, and electronics on them can be found easily and fit a wide range of years. YAMAHA's never really apealed to me as I remember being a kid and our 25HP SUZUKI flat out dusting a guy in a smaller boat with a 50HP YAMAHA. Not to mention all of the boats with YAMAHA's I rode in didn't seem to impress me with there grunt. They are solid, and 150/175's and quite a few of the 200's had good reputations for reliability and fuel economy.

[spareparts]

around here, the Yamahas are the most popular, thay have the percieved reputation of being more reliable. They generally cost more outright, usually packaged on more upscale boats, and are usually owned by people with more money and less mechanical ability. These people are more likely to have the shop do whatever it takes to make them run right and generally don't argue over price. They are serviced by the book with no skimping.( there are a lot of parraells here that can be referenced to certain brands of cars as well). The fact that these motors are generally serviced better has a lot to do with their reputation. I take nothing away form Yamaha, they build a very good engine. Depending on the hp and application, they usually rank either #1 or #2 in my choice of outboard power with Mercury. But they are not as good as a lot of people think they are, they break just like every other motor out there. Everyone tells me that Yamaha ignitions never give any trouble, you don't know how much time I've wasted diagnosing a rough running engine by ignoring ignition issues by believing they don't give any trouble. Ignitions are expensive!!!! for Yamahas, with virtualy no aftermarket replacement parts. Yamaha engines don't hold up to salt as well as Merc/John Rudes either. The paint they put on them holds up well, its where you cant see that they corrode(like most Japanese outboards). When we tear down a Yamaha lower unit, we allways get the torch out no matter how clean it looks. teh up side is that Yamaha complete new lower units cost about half as much as Mercurys. Every engine has its plus or minuses, consider the application, how its maintained, availabilty of parts and service, reputation, and resale when considering your purchase. Pay a professional thast familiar with that type of engine to check it out for you, its money well spent. If a good deal came up on a Yamaha, i wouldn't hesitate in buying one. Right now, I've got my eye on a 3.0L 225 carb Mercury that may end up on my V

[spareparts]

bstekel, I have seen some people replace their seadrive engines, reusing the bracket part of the seadrive. I don't know which ones will swap(Skools is the Johnrude guy around here), but if the seadrive bracket part of your motor is in good working order(trim system, steering system, etc), it could save you some money on repower. I had a picture of a latemodel "Eagle" series Johnrude in place of an older seadrive powerplant, but I can't seem to find it. If there is anything questionable about the seadrive bracket part, skip the idea, as there is very little available for parts for them

[bsteckel]

all good info .. thanks

i am making a deal on a flotation type bracket to hopefully help with some of those issues..

but avoiding extra weight would be a plus ..

[THEFERMANATOR]

The issue of weight that WILLY mentioned was my reason for reccomending the 2.0L MERCURY as my #1 pick. They're fairly light for a V-6 and PLENTY of power. I'm not sure on the YAMAHA's weight, but I believe it to be in the low 400's and the JOHNNY-RUDE will be in the mid to upper 400's. The 200 and 225 weighed the same from 86 on up, so there isn't much difference between the two. WEIGHT is your enemy here though, you gotta keep the weight down. I know others here have center consoles with brackets and they all have problems with sitting stern low in the water. The LIGHT V-4 would actually be best for this app, but not greatest for top end. And this is why the 2.0L MERC was my number 1 pick, it is actually lighter than my 140 V-4.

[bsteckel]

ok. ... now what years can i find a 2.0 mercury 150 ? are any years better than others?

[THEFERMANATOR]

1978 to around 2000. I would look for one from the late 80's that has the trim pump built in. The early ones use a remote mount pump for the trim and tilt. Nothing wrong with em, just prefer to have the leaner install of the later models. And the later models also came stock with the 40 amp charging system on them from around 88 on.

[bsteckel]

what do you think about goin to a 225 ... price is right, but i was told that my max on my boat may be 200?????