Used motor brands/years

[OnAFly]

After years of driving 45 miles to borrow my parents boat, I'm in the market for one of my own. My budget is low (<$3000) so a lot of what I'm looking at is in the early 90s. I'm pretty much only looking at Lund and Alumacraft, but motors are another animal.

Are there any brands, years or specific motors that have reputations? I'd like to here the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[TooTallTom]

Outboards, right? I would avoid anything from any year made by Chrysler Marine or Force. Some might be decent motors, but the general reputation is that most are not. And parts availability for them is mostly an oxymoron.

I've also heard that lots of guys with the 80's VRO Evinrudes (their early automatic oiling system) just unplug the alarm and the plumbing from the system and used mixed gas in the tank. I guess there were problems with the system not working properly, and burning up the outboard.

[JosMN]

I have had all brands, and have personally not had that many problems, nothing ever major. Things to look for are the older model envinrudes and johnsons with the VRO oil injection systems. Some people have had problems, some have not just, like anything else. A lot of people have eliminated it all together and went to premix. Heck, my 1990 merc/mariner had the oil injection taken out. Why, I have no idea - I am the third owner of the boat and the second owner didnt know why either. Just do a thorough check over on the motor, compression test, take it out on the lake if your able to, etc etc. A lot of times you can tell how well it was taken care of. Sometimes you find that gem from and older gentleman that hasnt put many hrs on it.

[JosMN]

+1 on staying away from Chrysler and Force!

[OnAFly]

Yeah, looking at outboards only.

I have heard the same things about Force motors, so I've been shying away from any boats with those on them.

Thanks for the pieces of advice, keep them coming!

[BoxMN]

The Merc 50hp, or 45hp ("Classic Fifty") of that vintage are GREAT motors. We have an 82 that still gets used every weekend, fishing, tubing, cruising and duck hunting once the time comes. It has never been in the shop for anything but tune ups, and just keeps ticking.

It is a smoooooth motor with the 4 cylinders, but it is a thirsty motor. Not super horrible, but compared to a 4-stroke it probably drinks close to double! ha! But how it trolls and runs makes up for it. Can't go wrong with one. Not sure what year the model changed, but I would guess in early-mid nineties maybe.

I also have a 96 Evinrude 25hp on my pontoon, and it is easy to work on, and runs every weekend as well, but these smaller OMC motors are loud and rattle, and I know they made a ton of them, but I would avoid it just for noise sake. These are the 20-25-28-30 hp motors that are all like a little rectangle on a thin shaft Easy to know this model by sight.

Good luck!

[Ufatz]

I like that last line about " an older guy who hasn't put many hours....."

How about this one: bought new 8-HP short shaft Yamaha 4-stroke end of June. Put 2-3 hours on it. Cannot fish out of little boat any more. Got it for sale for $1900 and nobody's interested.

And I am a genuine old guy who hasn't put many hours on it. Ha Ha Ha.

[SkunkedAgain]

You may already have your mind set, but I wouldn't shy away from boats outside of Lund and Alumacraft. There are many good ones and each boat will offer unique options for you. The motor is where to be picky.

[JosMN]

I like that last line about " an older guy who hasn't put many hours....."

How about this one: bought new 8-HP short shaft Yamaha 4-stroke end of June. Put 2-3 hours on it. Cannot fish out of little boat any more. Got it for sale for $1900 and nobody's interested.

And I am a genuine old guy who hasn't put many hours on it. Ha Ha Ha.

Do you know why that is? Because people dont want to spend that kind of money on a little 5-10 hp motor for their small boat. They spend the $3-500 for an old 9.5 or a 9.9, and parts are everywhere for them. I have seen mid 60's johnson/evinrude 9.5's listed on c-list for $450 and they sell like hotcakes.

[JosMN]

The Merc 50hp, or 45hp ("Classic Fifty") of that vintage are GREAT motors. We have an 82 that still gets used every weekend, fishing, tubing, cruising and duck hunting once the time comes. It has never been in the shop for anything but tune ups, and just keeps ticking.

It is a smoooooth motor with the 4 cylinders, but it is a thirsty motor. Not super horrible, but compared to a 4-stroke it probably drinks close to double! ha! But how it trolls and runs makes up for it. Can't go wrong with one. Not sure what year the model changed, but I would guess in early-mid nineties maybe.

+1. My old man has a 79 classic merc 50 and that thing still runs as smooth as the day he bought it. Never a problem, only tune ups for piece of mind.

[Ufatz]

Well, I guess you have a point. What I wanted though was a bullet-proof small outboard for a 14' Lund and that is what I got. The motor is one of the sweetest running outboards I've ever owned.....and I had a 4-stroke Honda back in the 70's!!

I'm betting there is somebody looking for a motor like the one I have for sale (also for sale in HSO for that matter) perhaps yet this fall. Last spring you had a heck of a time FINDING one at a dealership!!

Carry on men.