70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

[FastOrange]

I went to check out this new marine store in town this morning and the guy in the shop told me that my motor ('79 70 hp) is famous for the crank and rods busting up without warning. I've had it out about 40 times in the last two years with no such issues. Anyone else heard of this? Anyway to prevent this? I did notice this shop was a merc dealer as well.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Never heard any such thing. But the Merc triples of the era like to eat pistons in a hurry if the gas gets bad.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Hey Fast, what'd you pay for that priceless info? What it's worth probably.....nuttin.

Never heard of such a thing. Those babies were some of the best OB's available anywhere.

Had a '75 70 and ran the tar out of it. Only problem was stuck stat which had never been changed and the engine was 15 yrs old when I bought it. I don't blame that on the engine.....just neglect on the part of the good-old-boy ex-buddy of mine.

Mark

 

[FastOrange]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

It ruined my day from what this guy told me. Hopefully he's just full of ship.

 

[JB]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Ummmmmm. . .A liar is what he is, Fast. What the OMC triple loopers are famous for is kicking Merc butts on reliability and lasting forever.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

You need a new guy. Either one of the 2 you just heard from are way, way more reliable than him....stick with them.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Excuse me. 3. JB types faster than me...........

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

I wonder what he would say if you asked him to put that in writing.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Funny he would say that, given that you have an outboard that is almost 30 years old and still running. The bullcaca runs deep in some places, and there's always some guy ready to trash whatever it is that you have.

Just keep running and maintaining your 70 and it'll do you fine.

 

[Molaker]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Usually, when the crank and/or rods bust up on any engine, it's without warning. That might constitute a "time bomb" in someone's opinion. However, after nearly 30 years, your bomb is still ticking. I'd say, "Yes, it's a time bomb. Any day now it's going to go off - or not."

 

[cougar1985]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

hmmm lets see!new marine store ,full of lovely 4 stoke motors right?sounds like somebody was trolling for suckers,glad you didnt bite.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Read a thread the other day that was talking about the 70 3-cyl being a favorite among commercial fishermen because of durability, reliability, and performance. They don't use junk.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Friend raced a Merc against the 3 cyl's Rude in the 70..14 footers...never remember anything blowing up.
And on idiots, I love it when some jerk is spouting off on how Harleys are junk, while I'm sitting there on my 28 year old Shovelhead that looks new..

 

[CharlesW]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

I went to check out this new marine store in town this morning and the guy in the shop told me that my motor ('79 70 hp) is famous for the crank and rods busting up without warning. I've had it out about 40 times in the last two years with no such issues. Anyone else heard of this? Anyway to prevent this? I did notice this shop was a merc dealer as well.

It really seems that what you have learned is the the "new marine store" is probably not the best place to do business. Definitely not the shop to work on your motor. It might be a "time bomb" after they work on it.

 

[FastOrange]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Well I'll sleep a bit better now thanks to you guys. Hopefully I have'nt jinxed my motor because of all this. She has been a damn good reliable one and the compression is still next to perfect . I never run it at full RPM for more than a few minutes as I usually back off 500 RPM or so once I'm plaining. I've had many experiences with snowmobiles warping cranks when at full RPM for a long time.

 

[mikesea]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

thanks for sharing that funny story,tell him you were going to buy a merc.but found out they are just old force engines painted black with mercury written on them,those 3cyl.omc's are great engines,keep it maintained,hopefully in 30 yrs you will still be able to buy gas for it,or maybe a conversion kit for corn will be avail

 

[jtexas]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

I went to check out this new marine store in town this morning and the guy in the shop told me that my motor ('79 70 hp) is famous for the crank and rods busting up without warning. I've had it out about 40 times in the last two years with no such issues. Anyone else heard of this? Anyway to prevent this? I did notice this shop was a merc dealer as well.

To answer your second question, how to prevent it..........take her out & run her pretty hard about 20 times a year........don't forget the oil......clean the carbs when she asks ya to.......a new impeller every now & then......gearcase oil every year.......did I miss anything?

oh yeah, don't forget to tell her how pretty she is.......................

 

[iwombat]

Re: 70 hp rude...a dealer told me it's a time bomb

Well, he didn't exactly lie.

I mean, EVERY motor is a ticking time bomb. Some just have longer fuses than others.

I think he's fishing for a commission so he can go buy a new boat. Probably one with a '79 70hp.