Repair or Replace engine

[empty]

I currenly have 1986 70 horse Johnson that is in need of some major repairs. Lower unit is damaged from hitting a rock and i have since found out that the #1 cylinder is bad. I have spotted a 1994 75 horse Merc and a 1990 70 horse Evinrude for sale. Looking for any advice on the 2 engines for sale. i am aware of the oiling issues with the Johnsons/Evinrudes but don't know much about the Merc.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have an 87 Johnson 70 HP.

I have rebuilt the lower unit and the powerhead.

A service bullitin has gone out to dealers a few years ago about cooling issues and how to make the repairs. It's fairly simple and inexpensive but needs to be done.

I'm not knowing about the merc motor in question. Even though I had to do a rebuild on my Johnson I still very much like it. Powerhead and lower unit parts will cost right around a thousand dollars to do a quality rebuild. This is if you do the work yourself. I don't know how much money the other motors are going for but there's a good price to start at.

Machine work took a while, also....but was quality work and I was willing to wait for quality.

[boatfixer]

I will endorse both engines. Oiling problems? VRO's having troubles in that time are meerly a myth. Yep I said it, a myth. Many people bash them when they are actually quite reliable. Fuel restrictions and air leaks have given them a bad name.

On the merc, check to see if it has a "red stator" or if the stator has been replaced since it was new. The windings in the stator were of a thinner guage wire and are prone to "opens" in the circuit. Other than that, a very solid engine.

If both motors have been well maintained, I would have no problem owning either one.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'll add that the reason I had to rebuild the powerhead on my motor was due to an air leak where the intake bolted to the block, burnt lean, melted a piston. It had nothing to do with the VRO.

[boatfixer]

And now you have new engine (catfish now fear this Man)

[empty]

I have found a couple of lower units for sale but they are off older models. Now I need to find out how old of a model I can change out to. If I can find a used lower unit casting I can rebuild it and probably get by and stick some money into the engine. It's hard to part with the engine knowing it runs good.

Thanks for the advice so far.