Re: To buy or not to buy 1988 50hp Force
I have a 70HP Force and it's been great so far.. Pump the ball a few times, turn the key and hit the choke for about 1/2 a second and it starts.. They're old, simple designs and, after Merc took over, they got Merc lower units and Merc ignition parts -- to the best of my knowledge, anyway... Mine being a '92 model was made after the Merc takeover, and I couldn't be happier with it so far.. It's not a powerhouse, but it's so far made up for that in reliability...<br /><br />Also, my dad's pontoon has a '97 "Tracker - by Force" 50HP on it, and I've honestly never seen an outboard that starts, idles or runs any better... It doesn't crank, it just STARTS.. You can't get off the key fast enough!! Even the first start of the season, it fires up like it was just shut off 10 minutes ago. Sometimes I think it was tested in a tank of holy water..... It's a freak of nature!! LOL!<br /><br />Now when I was looking at boats, I ran across several that had Force motors... My rule of thumb was this: if the lower unit had the Merc type prop and thru hub exhaust, I'd consider it... If it had the little tiny Chrysler style prop and cone-shaped thingy on the hub, I wouldn't even think about it.. The older 'Chrysler' Force in any HP, as well as the higher HP models by either Merc or Chrysler, seem to me represent the majority of Force's problems.<br /><br />That said, I'd imagine that the Force you're looking at, being an '88, probably has the tiny prop and cone-thingy... Although it could well be exactly the same design powerhead as my dad's 50HP, the electronics and lower unit are Chrysler and not Merc, and the whole thing was manufacturered to Chrysler's standards.. Personally, I'd keep looking, but I wouldn't necessarily discount ALL Force motors...<br /><br />Just my $.0275
