need advice on used outboard purchase...

[bsteckel]

thanks for the info .. went to the marina and looked at the merc .. looks ok, was told that none of these engines have an air filter?? just an airbox which they say this one has. they ran it and it has a miss, also can hear it run on the ebay ad. stated they do not know what the miss is from .. could be as simple as a tune up or carb cleaning .. but to diagnose it, would be shop charge at $98 per hour. they have the motor for sale listed at $1800 but told me to make an offer of $1500 and that would probably take it. ebay auction is still at $710 with 3 days to go. maybe i will roll the dice and see what the auction brings.

As for the yamaha, the major flaw from what i can find out is the shift rod .. was told you can see if it is broken from the outside of the motor, but to fix it you have to take the power head off. upwards of a $1000 bill. how can i make sure this used yamaha i am eyeing up does not have shift rod problems?

keeping fingers crossed one of these motors will work out ,, if not.. the search continues.

Brad

[spareparts]

yeah none of the outboards have aircleaners(except Opti's), offer them $1000 cash, pending a compresion test, spark test, and check the gear lube. If they don't have anythign to hide, they should take it

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by spareparts

yeah none of the outboards have aircleaners(except Opti's), offer them $1000 cash, pending a compresion test, spark test, and check the gear lube. If they don't have anythign to hide, they should take it

They list the compression numbers in there ad, and they didn't look good to me. low side 110 and high side 135. They don't have air filters, but the air box is an important item to leave on them if they are jetted stock. They resatrict the airflow just slightly t o control the metering circuits in the carbs, and if you remove it on a stock engine it will cause it to lean out and burn a piston and cause a miss or lock-up. I wouldn't offer him a $1000 for an engine with compression numbers like he posted it has, let alone if it has a miss.

On the YAMAHA all of em prior to 94 had a steel shift shaft and they are known to rot in two and then you can't shift them. The repair can range from around $250 for the shift rod and base gasket on up depending upon what else you have to do at the time of the repair. If the bolts that hold the powerhead on are seized in then the repair can get expensive and labor intensive.

[Geekie1]

If the 92 200 Yamaha was used in fresh water only, the shift rod has probably not corroded and it's not ready to break . It doesn't take alot of saltwater use to cause corrosion fast however. The 150, 175, and 200 Yamaha's are close to the same weight.

As far as reliability of early Yamaha V6's is concerned, they are about as simple and reliable as they get. The oil system is very simple and reliable. With the exception of the shift rod replacement, or power head removal (broken bolts) they are easy to work on. Rebuilding the water pump is very easy and I have been doing this repair for years. (about a 1.5 hr job)

I have had and still have Evinrude outboards and like them very much. However, I never owned an Evinrude or Johnson bigger than a three cylinder 70HP.

All in all, the Yamaha's I have owned have been the most reliable outboards by far. They are not the most fuel efficient, or fast, and they require regular preventive maintenance. But when I head out of the inlet to the open ocean, I am glad I have the Yamaha hung on my V's transom.

Geek