89 55hp Mariner

[rfiglia]

Im thinking of buying a 17ft Seaway with an 89 Mariner 55HP. I have never owned a Mariner. Does Merc or Yamaha make this engine? What should I look for on this engine when I check out the boat on tues? Any known problems with this model? I has electric start and manual tilt. I will check out the gear lube for signs of water. I will do a compression test( what PSI should be in the 2 cylinders?) The boat is on a trailer . If im interested I will take it out on the water, but ive have always owned Evinrude/Johnson , is the Mariner trustworthy ? Thanks....Rich

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: 89 55hp Mariner


compression test
pull the plugs and look at them
check lower unit oil
do sea trail

 

[whitesmarine]

Re: 89 55hp Mariner

The engine you are looking at has a powerhead built by Yamaha. They were good engines but parts are fairly high and a lot of the major components are no longer available through Mercury. If you can get a good deal on it and the engine checks out I'd say buy it and run it till it won't run anymore and re-power. Otherwise I would keep looking and find something with a later model engine or at least something that parts are readily available for.