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[email protected] October 13th 05 08:31 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
I would like to know if this is a good idea to buy a 19 or 20 year old
outboard motor. I am planning to buy a used boat, and add a new motor
in it. But most used boats come with old motor -- not that many places
sell only the hull. I am wondering whether those old motors are any
good in general.

The one that I am looking at has a 1986 Evinrude 90HP outboard motor.
Does this specific model of old motor have a good track record?

I know I will need to ask a mechanic to take a look of the motor before
accepting the motor. But I need to know if this is a good idea before I
spend the time and money to ask a mechanic to look at the motor.

Is a "rebuilt" motor better or worse than a plain old used motor?

You see. If I should avoid old motors (given the fact that I am willing
to buy a new motor), I will concentrate on "hull only" deals, and don't
bother with boats that come with motor.

Thanks for any info in advance.

Jay Chan


boater435 October 13th 05 09:43 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
good motor had one. Paul 1987


October 13th 05 09:52 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
wrote:
: I would like to know if this is a good idea to buy a 19 or 20 year old
: outboard motor. I am planning to buy a used boat, and add a new motor
: in it. But most used boats come with old motor -- not that many places
: sell only the hull. I am wondering whether those old motors are any
:
good in general.

I'd worry about the hull before I worried about the outboard. If you buy
a 90 HP Mercury outboard, for example, you'll be in for a cost of about
$5,500 new. If you later find rot in the transom or the stringers, you
may be in for a $7,000 rebuild job on the hull.

My approach would be to have an expert examine the boat hull (a local
boat hull repair person or a marine surveyor). If it's good, don't
worry about th engine if it also appears in good shape (the surveyor
could tell you). Then later if you need to buy a new motor, at least you're
putting it on a hull that is of good condition.

It's typical for many hulls to show their "weaknesses" after 20 years
in the form of rotting floorboards, rotting transoms and rotting stringers.
The guy who rebuilt my hull simply got a 3/4" socket (from a socket wrench
set) and tapped in various places of the hull. If it made a sharp sound
the wood wasn't rotten. If it sounded dull, it was.

There are some very reliable, old outboard motors out there. Yes, the
newer ones run much more smoothly and efficiently, mostly due to
environmental law changes but I wouldn't jump too quickly at the
idea of buying a 20 year boat without thoroughly exammining the hull
along with the engine and keeping it "as is" if it appears to be in
good condition.

barry


John October 13th 05 10:32 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
I don't know if this engine is old enough to have been derated by the
use of a thicker head gasket to compensate for poor quality fuel. So,
you may not get the 90 HP you're expecting.

If it hasn't been rebuilt yet, it's a ticking time bomb. Factor in the
cost of a rebuilt power head ($1800 - $2000) when negotiating final
price. The good news is, if it lasted this long, the previous owner
took care of it.

If it has been rebuilt, don't forget all the other original and
expensive to replace parts that were reused, i.e. the starter ($200),
alternator ($300), lower unit ($1000).

Now that OMC has changed hands, I don't know how long spare parts will
be available. Don't forget, 90 HP Evinrudes were available with the
FICHT nightmare. If it's a FICHT, that should be the deal breaker,
unless he's willing to deduct the full value of that motor from the
sale price.

John


John October 13th 05 10:55 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
I'm pretty sure FICHTs were around in 1990. The 90 FICHTs weren't prone
to the problems the later FICHTs??

John


[email protected] October 14th 05 03:10 AM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
...
Most service centers have a cut off point for working
on "ancient" outboards ... Locally, the cut off for
all brands is 1990 - sixteen years. ... you could
probably work on it yourself.

The real issue is how good is the engine. ... Have
them check the top end first, compression, spark, etc.
If it's good, then move on to the lower unit ... if
the engine tests good, it makes sense to purchase
the engine.


Thanks for the info. This means the old motor is still good if the
mechanic have checked it out and given it an OK. This sounds good.

But then when I bring it back home, I likely need to tune it up myself
because that mechanical may not want to work on the old motor (the
motor is older than the cut off point). This doesn't sound good because
I am not handy in fixing gas engine.

This means if someone knows how to work with motor, he should be OK
with getting an old motor. However, if that person (like me) only knows
doing regular maintenance but not more than that, he probably should
not get an old motor. OK, now I know what to do... Thanks for the info.

As to remans, they are available for this engine in short or long
block varieties.


I assume you are referring to motor that has been rebuilt. But I don't
know what is the significance of "short and long block".

Jay Chan


[email protected] October 14th 05 03:16 AM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
I don't know if this engine is old enough to have been derated by the
use of a thicker head gasket to compensate for poor quality fuel. So,
you may not get the 90 HP you're expecting.


I don't understand what this means. Please clarify. Thanks.

If it hasn't been rebuilt yet, it's a ticking time bomb. Factor in the
cost of a rebuilt power head ($1800 - $2000) when negotiating final
price. The good news is, if it lasted this long, the previous owner
took care of it.


I see. This means a rebuilt motor is better than an old motor that has
not been rebuilt yet.

If it has been rebuilt, don't forget all the other original and
expensive to replace parts that were reused, i.e. the starter ($200),
alternator ($300), lower unit ($1000).


I see. This means a rebuilt motor is a good value, and I should
consider it.

Now that OMC has changed hands, I don't know how long spare parts will
be available. Don't forget, 90 HP Evinrudes were available with the
FICHT nightmare. If it's a FICHT, that should be the deal breaker,
unless he's willing to deduct the full value of that motor from the
sale price.


I will have to research on this FICHT issue to know what this is all
about. Thanks for bring this to my attention.

Jay Chan


John October 14th 05 05:54 AM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
Jay,
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.

John


[email protected] October 14th 05 01:16 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 

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!!


[email protected] October 14th 05 01:17 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 

John wrote:
I don't know if this engine is old enough to have been derated by the
use of a thicker head gasket to compensate for poor quality fuel. So,
you may not get the 90 HP you're expecting.

If it hasn't been rebuilt yet, it's a ticking time bomb. Factor in the
cost of a rebuilt power head ($1800 - $2000) when negotiating final
price. The good news is, if it lasted this long, the previous owner
took care of it.


You don't know that! It may have low hours, and been maintained very
well. The year that it was made has nothing to do with anything!


[email protected] October 14th 05 05:23 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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


Ed October 14th 05 10:48 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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



Ed October 14th 05 10:48 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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



John October 15th 05 01:54 AM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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


Lloyd Sumpter October 16th 05 05:42 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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


boater435 October 16th 05 08:25 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
Plain and simple! Don't pay much for it. Paul,


[email protected] October 17th 05 02:59 AM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-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!


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


[email protected] October 17th 05 01:42 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 

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.


Harry.Krause October 17th 05 01:45 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 
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.


[email protected] October 17th 05 02:02 PM

Does This Make Sense to Buy a 19-Year Old Outboard Motor?
 

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!



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