good and bad motors

[mrpike1973]

hi i,m possibly looking for a used 10-15 hp motor around $800 can some of you tell me any to stay away from. not chevy verse ford but tried and true not good motors all i know is chrysler is a bad one but i dont think they make them any more. is mariner ok i never heard of them before i started looking thanks

[LightningBG]

is mariner ok i never heard of them before i started looking thanks

Mariner is part of Mercury.

[Sonicrunch]

Chrysler and Force are the only ones to avoid. Everything else is pretty good.

[ClownColor]

Merc's are usually cold blooded SOB's but are built like a tank.

[delcecchi]

The older little mariners were made by Yamaha.

[babu]

I've had no problems with a late 80s 50 hp Force motor that I bought six years ago. Am I the only one whose had good luck with these motors? I constantly see bad reviews on them, but I've had no problems at all.

[Rick G]

Yes, you must be the lucky one that got a motor that was built on a day they cared. I had a 40 Force that I bought new in 95, it didnt even make it through the summer before the tiny little gears in the lower unit striped out. I got like 15 cents on the dollar trade in on that p.o.s. when I got my Merc in 96.

[adamr]

My mercury 10hp runs good very cold blooded

[Pat K]

I've owned a 9.9 horse Mariner and a 40 horse Mariner. Both were solid motors with no problems. They were also Mercs that were painted gray. Any parts that I bought for either motor were labeled as Mercury parts.

[Het]

I had a 1987 85hp Force motor that was bullet proof. Owned it for six years in the mid nineties without a single problem. Sold it to a buddy, and he still uses it.

[delcecchi]

Didnt force get bought by Mercury in there sometime? I seem to recall "Force by Mercury" on some Bass Pro boats.

Did a quick search and looks like maybe 84 to 99?

Chrysler before that as I recall.

[marine_man]

You're correct to the best of my knowledge.

marine_man

[Sonicrunch]

Didnt force get bought by Mercury in there sometime? I seem to recall "Force by Mercury" on some Bass Pro boats.

Did a quick search and looks like maybe 84 to 99?

Chrysler before that as I recall.

yep, a few Forces are a actually Mercs. In the later years of Force. That's all the detail I know.

[Mr.Perch]

Have a 1955 Johnson 25 hp that runs like new and a 1985 Merc Mariner 90hp that is in great shape. Have an 80's Johnson 2.5 hp that is a little fussy. The motors that I know about that have really needed to be babied are Force, Suzuki, and Chrysler.

[broken_line]

i have a 25hp chrysler and it has been far from being babied! its been on my duck boat for 4 years and on my fishing boat till it fell off the trailer, it makes around 30 1.25 mile trips each season and gets run through the rocks and if i hit sand or mud or cat tails open it up! been a darn good motor, rarely taken care of need a new head gasket and lower unit seal due to some decoy line but thats about it!... some people have had bad experiences with these motors.. but i love mine

[Het]

Mercury bought Force about 1994

[boatfixer]

Brunswick bought US Marine in the late 80's. US Marine was the parent company of Bayliner and Force. In 1993, Force production was moved to the Fond Du Lac facility. Although Mercury Marine put a few Mercury parts on Forces, such as their ADI ignition and some had a true merc gearcase, they remained the basic Force design. It was Brunswicks less expensive alternative idea to offer a brand new boat/motor package (bayliner/force). My opinion, a great idea as I worked for a large and very successful dealership out west, thanks, large in part, to this option.

[SilverSog]

To answer the OP's question: Scott-Attwater. Remember those POS's?

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Yamaha! Have a 98 F50, never a problem