wplatehunter Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 I'm looking at buying a boat with a 200 merc motor on it. I now have a 100 4-stroke Yamaha with a 15 merc kicker, and the kicker is cold blooded. How are the bigger motors. Is there any problems that people have had with this model. Its hard to get away from Yamaha, but I like the boat set up. Any info would be great. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wplatehunter Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 This motor is an Optimax. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iffwalleyes Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 They are a good motor and they have EFI so they should be just fine for starting. Your kicker isn't going to be an EFI and can be tougher to start. The opti is a pretty reliable motor. It will be much louder than your 4 stroke but you will have awesome perfomance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xplorer Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 wplatehunter,Have you asked the owner if the head has ever blown? There were alot of problems with the 6 cylilnder Opti's when they came out with blown powerheads. I'd do some internet searches on that year motor and ask for a history of his particular motor. Those motors also have a computer chip that can be read by a merc dealer and give you a history of how the motor has been run in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wplatehunter Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxMN Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 If I recall, year 2000 Optis in 200 and 225 were the troublesome ones. And I am a big Merc fan. Check that one out very close before buying, and decide what might happen when you go to resell it, given the history. The 150s were and are bullet proof, and they are v6. It was just the big ones. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xplorer Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Huh, I always thought that the 135/150's were V-4's while the 200/225's were V-6's. Learn something new every day......I have also over the years seen that the 135/150's have been very good engines, very strong. While their big block partners in the 2000/2001 model years had alot of problems. Seems that the current Opti's are much better, but they really disappointed alot of folks with those early motors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassNspear Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 BoxMN is correct.1999-2002 200 Merc are the motors that were ither blowing up, or locking up. If at all possible, stay away from them if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valv Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 135 and 150s were V6, Mercury never made a V4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccarlson Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Bass and Spear,To clarify, it was only the Optimax motors of the 99-02 years. The problems did not include the EFI's which were solid motors.ccarlson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerchJerker Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 And only the big block Optis, the smaller blocks never had problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassNspear Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 ya....thats what i ment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrior Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 My 200 Opti was an 2001 never ever had one problem with it. I owned it for 4 years. I do reccommend checking the chip as someone has already mentioned. This will give you ALL the info you need to know. It will cost you $75 to have it read at a certified dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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