Due to the lower quality of fuel, OMC decided to lower compression by
replacing cylinder head gaskets with thicker ones. The lower
compression lowered the horsepower rating a bit.

Thanks for the explanation. Seem like this is not something that I need
to worry about because I don't really care about having a lot of
horsepower.

Jay Chan

Don't confuse an 87 to an 86... 86 was the transition year for measuring
power at the prop instead of the shaft. I don't know about the 90 HP
but the 1986 225 Evinrude was a TRUE POS. It was the first of the new
model (replaced the old 235 model) and they had serious oil issues where
the boat would over oil and kill itself. I would personally not own a
1986 unless it was free... The new 1986 I had, I traded it a year later....



boater435 wrote:
good motor had one. Paul 1987

Don't confuse an 87 to an 86... 86 was the transition year for measuring
power at the prop instead of the shaft. I don't know about the 90 HP
but the 1986 225 Evinrude was a TRUE POS. It was the first of the new
model (replaced the old 235 model) and they had serious oil issues where
the boat would over oil and kill itself. I would personally not own a
1986 unless it was free... The new 1986 I had, I traded it a year later....

boater435 wrote:
good motor had one. Paul 1987

Let me guess, you think he should take the seller's word for the
quality and quantity of maintenance it received. If it "looks" well
maintained, all it means that it's possible that the seller could
afford some spray paint and some degreaser.

Assume the worst, and hope for the best is the safest way to go.

John

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 12:31:12 -0700, jaykchan wrote:

I would like to know if this is a good idea to buy a 19 or 20 year old
outboard motor.

The General Answer is Yes.

I've had experience with outboards that were over 20 years old and still
ran great. In fact, I was disappointed at how little better a brand-new
engine ran than my 25-year-old Johnson Seahorse.

That said, there's a lot of junk out there, and if you're engine's older
than about 10 years, be sure you know how to fix it!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36

Plain and simple! Don't pay much for it. Paul,

The General Answer is Yes.

I've had experience with outboards that were over 20 years old and still
ran great. In fact, I was disappointed at how little better a brand-new
engine ran than my 25-year-old Johnson Seahorse.

That said, there's a lot of junk out there, and if you're engine's older
than about 10 years, be sure you know how to fix it!

This seems to concur with another newsgroup memeber's suggestion:
- Old engine can be a good motor -- given that I know how to fix it.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix motor. This means I am better
off choosing a motor that is not very old.

I can see that a 2000 90HP motor is within my price range. This means I
should get an old boat hull (like 1986 model), and then outfit it with
a not-that-old motor. Now, I just have to figure out where to find an
1980's boat hull that doesn't come with an 1980's motor.

Thanks for the info though.

Jay Chan

John wrote:
Let me guess, you think he should take the seller's word for the
quality and quantity of maintenance it received. If it "looks" well
maintained, all it means that it's possible that the seller could
afford some spray paint and some degreaser.

Spray paint and degreaser doesn't do much for maintainence records,
compression tests, pressure leak down tests, etc. Research, ask his
mechanic about the motor, then have your mechanic look at it, if you
don't know what to look for.

Assume the worst, and hope for the best is the safest way to go.

Must be terrible going through life in such a negative manner.

In article .com,
says...


John wrote:
I'm pretty sure FICHTs were around in 1990. The 90 FICHTs weren't prone
to the problems the later FICHTs??

John

But it's an '86 motor!!


I pretended to have one of those once, it was great.

John wrote:
Let me guess, you think he should take the seller's word for the
quality and quantity of maintenance it received. If it "looks" well
maintained, all it means that it's possible that the seller could
afford some spray paint and some degreaser.

Where to hell did I say such a thing? Some spray paint and degreaser
wouldn't do **** for the compression. It wouldn't do **** for a trial
run to see how it runs and performs. Some spray paint wouldn't do
anything for the maintainence records, would it? Research! Go to the
guy's service man, and ask questions.

Assume the worst, and hope for the best is the safest way to go.


Must be crappy going through life like that!