new boater needs help

[stupidredneck]

i am thinking of buying a 1991/1992 150 horsepower force motor and i was wondering what the force motors are like. are they a bad motor or are they dependable could you please help me out i have top leave pretty soon to go look at it oh yeah it is going onto a cobro style ski boat what do you think??

 

[JB]

Re: new boater needs help

Pass on it.

 

[stupidredneck]

Re: new boater needs help

even if i can get it for $2000 canadian

 

[dmessy]

Re: new boater needs help

Pass on it, Force is out of production, parts are hard to find now, what will happen in the years ahead. These motors need alot of TLC and thier reliability is quite questionable.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: new boater needs help

Even if you could get it for $1500 Cdn.

 

[whatsadixie]

Re: new boater needs help

I checked on nada.com and the motor is valued at about $1,000 US and I would stay away from any froce motors. (I was looking at a boat with a force 150 about 3 weeks ago and did not buy it )<br />maybe for about $500 US if it runs great

 

[icwebpeople]

Re: new boater needs help

i have a 76 chrysler (which became force) they run great and i still can find any part i need.<br />icwebpeople@aol.com

 

[nightride]

Re: new boater needs help

like them guys said stay away from force there junk

 

[S.T. Marine]

Re: new boater needs help

Would you buy a hyundai???? If so you would buy a force.... There **** Throw away motors good for a season then they break all the time... Kinda like the old Ford i had.. same principal.. Try to stay away if you can help it unless its a REALLY good deal!!! good luck!

 

[91formula]

Re: new boater needs help

I have a 92 force/120hp, this thing I run to death, the only thing I ever did was replace the impeller (this year 1st time), new starter once, and changed the lower gear lube once, still runs great, but I haven't heard anything good about the 150hp, this bulletin taught me to do better maintainance, I'm keeping mine till it dies. It's like the energizer bunny, keeps running and running

 

[sloopy]

Re: new boater needs help

yeah but the smaller ones (under 15) are so simple to understadf a 3 year old could fix one!!!

 

[BR549]

Re: new boater needs help

Have you test driven the boat, gotten a compression check? As with any 10 year old motor you are taking a chance. For the last 12 or 14 years the Force brand was the low end budget motor for Mercury - I believe by 92 the lower unit was Mercury and the powerhead was the old Chrysler design. The brand was discontinued because it could not meet the new EPA standards. I have a 1998 with about 300 hours on it and personally have had no problems. This motor was standard equipment on many of the entry level boats and I imagine alot of the bad press is due to the lack of proper care and maintenance by many of these first time boat owners. I cannot speak as to the parts availability because I have not needed any replacement parts. The maintenance parts -water pump, etc that I have purchased have all been Mercury parts.

 

[DJ]

Re: new boater needs help

Redneck,<br /><br />BR549 mentioned something very important. Most of those engines were on entry level boats that received little if any care at all.<br /><br />Yet, let's be honest, the Force line was old tech. and they had their share of issues.<br /><br />Don't expect the Force 150 to run with the 150's of other brands. The Force 150 rating was optimistic at best. Many 115's will outrun them.<br /><br />It would have to be a serious bargain for me to buy one. And at that, you will need to METICULOUSLY maintain it.

 

[wfenris]

Re: new boater needs help

Hey this is Redneck just different nick now at my house.......<br /><br />My problem is i have been looking all summer and this is almost the first one that i might be able to get i don't have much $$ and i think i can get it for about 1500 $ max Cnd the compression i will find out tomarrow, and will check the gear oil ect..Then only if the compression is REALLY good will i pay 1500 $ <br /><br />The motor is for my 17 ft wood/fiberglass boat which is Very light, it will be only freshwater ran, and mainly used for water skiing. The boat is so light i can pick the back end up by the transom myself.....also i will probally only keep the boat for a year or 2.

 

[wfenris]

Re: new boater needs help

oh also the motor has to be an extra long leg, the top of the transom to bottom of boat is 26.5 inches......so that is making it WAY harder to find somthing in my price range....

 

[cmjust0]

Re: new boater needs help

I bought my first boat about two months ago, and it has a '92 Force 70HP.. I've had it out several times since then, and it hasn't failed me yet. It starts, idles, shifts and runs GREAT!<br /><br />My dad has a '97 'Tracker-by-Force-by-Mercury' 50HP and it's a freak of nature! You can leave that motor sitting for WEEKS, and yet you can't get off the key fast enough when you start it! I don't think I've ever even heard it crank.. It just FIRES!<br /><br />I think it has to do with how the motor has been taken care of than anything else... I don't know much about the higher HP models, but I'd imagine that if it starts good, idles good, runs out good, compression is good and the lower unit oil isn't milky and/or full of metallic dust, it's probably in good shape. I would think that if you continued to take care of it, you'd at least get your money's worth back out of it. At least, that's what I'm hoping for in MY Force!

 

[sfels]

Re: new boater needs help

Everyone has an opinion about Force (aka Farce) outboards. I recently had a '92 150 on my Bayliner Trophy as it was the motor that came with it new. Last year, the tilt/trim failed and the #5 cylinder was sucking water too. I had that repaired and got all of 3 hrours in the water this season before #5 threw a ring ring and munched the cylinder. I now have a new Mercury 150 EFI and it's a significant improvement.<br /><br />All in all, I would NEVER own a Force again...

 

[DJ]

Re: new boater needs help

wfenris,<br /><br />Fall is the BEST time to buy a boat or engine.<br /><br /> Since you need a 25" shaft engine, this may be the only thing you can find in your price range.<br /><br />I wouldn't (this time of year) appear too eager to buy it.

 

[wfenris]

Re: new boater needs help

ok well thanks for the help guys.....i guess i will just see what the compression comes out as....also i am going to get him to do a wet compression too, what should the psi be on this ? and for dry no less than 120psi right ?<br />And then i guess if that turns out good then weather i buy it or not will depend on the price....

 

[DJ]

Re: new boater needs help

wfenris,<br /><br />I would expect an increase in comp. wet. How much is too hard to speculate.<br /><br />The IMPORTANT thing is that all cylnders should be within about 10% of each other-wet or dry.