Before it hits the water

[familyfun]

I just purchased a boat with a 1988 125 Force. I was wondering how can I make sure it will run properly before I put it in the water in a couple months? I know I have to hook water up to the motor just not sure of how to do this. I'm new to the boating world and just want to make sure it will idle okay. I know i have to work on the trim/tilt motor, just hoping that is all I have to do to get it water ready.

Thanks.

 

[Dave K.]

Re: Before it hits the water

OK, O: When was the last time the motor ran & does it run now? Do you have a service manual? If yes & yes, I would change the impeller & lower unit gear oil. (ck Frank A's sticky on changing impeller) Put new spark plugs in. ( I use factory spec plugs as my 85hp uses surface gap) Clean off all battery terminals etc..

If your 125 is like my 85, then the water intake will be in front of the prop on the torpedo. You can hook up muffs but I use an alluminum wash bucket & submerge the LU in as my motor doesn't work well using muffs..Some do.

Hopefully Frank, Ritt, Roscoe & many others may chime in as I'm sure I left some goosd advice out somewhere. Be carefull w/ muffs, some Force motors don't like them. dave

 

[evinice66]

Re: Before it hits the water

yeah, im scared when i run mine on muffs- just make sure there is alot of water flowing out of the different holes and such on the motor near the muffs, sometimes i have to fidget with the muffs before im confident in it. its better to just back it down a launch if your not that far away. dont rev it up on the muffs! just idle... whats wrong with the trim, you just might need new relays and those are cheap- thats what i did...

 

[rsw21282]

Re: Before it hits the water

my force 85 doesnt work well with muffs either its easier to just take it to the boat ramp, one other thing when u change the lower unit oil if its cloudy or milky means the lower seals need to be replaced(thats what im in the process of doing) its getting water in the gearcasing

 

[familyfun]

Re: Before it hits the water

I'm not sure what all has been done to the motor. I just picked it up Saturday and haven't had time to look into it too much. I do know it will start, he did start it and shut it off just to show me would fire. I bought a big bucket today but still wasn't big enough I guess back to the tractor supply to get a bigger one. I haven't found a ramp close enough to just run it over and back it in, i'm going to keep looking though. The guy told me the trim/tilt would work off and on last summer so he just disconnected it and drained the hydraulic fluid. Unfortently, it looks like someone tried to "fix" it once before so i'm hoping it isn't rusted out inside. Hopefully it will stay warm enough for me to get out and work on it more this week. Thanks for any and all info and help.

 

[tavett]

Re: Before it hits the water

I bought the same type boat of months ago, and have learned alot while getting the bugs out of it. My trim wasn't woking either, so I dropped the 4 bolts at the bottom of the resivoir, cleaned the area, put black rtv, bolted it back up and it hasn't leaked a drop since. You said it was working off and on. My bilge pump was also woking off and on. I found the problem at the fuse. The clip holding the fuse was lose. Squeezed the clip together , and it works 100% now. I to haven't got to put mine in the water yet. Don't even know approx top speed. Happy boating

 

[bman1bpm]

Re: Before it hits the water

working on and off is probably an electrical problem.

 

[1fullforce]

Re: Before it hits the water

dont forget to choke carbs before starting it cold, probably on yours you need to press in on the ignition key and start at the same time to activate the choke (dont choke carbs too long you will flood the engine)check the compression ,water flow, thermostat, spark plugs,carbs adjustments , i would definately buy a repair manual for the engine.

 

[NFA]

Re: Before it hits the water

My biggest issue with my 120hp was cold starting. It was just brutal. I checked over everything every season. Battery, terminals, poles, cables from the starter to the poles, the starter itself I had cleaned out, and it helped a bit. Also replaced the plugs every season.

When I bought it the guy who sold it to me fired it up in his driveway and it fired right away, no problem. Ever since then though I've had issues with the choking etc. Seems everyone has a different philosophy on when and how (long) to choke the engine before it fires. I've been told to keep the choke in until it goes, as well as choke it once, crank it over, and never choke again. Also, where to set your throttle for starting was never crystal clear. I played with WOT at times, and just leaving it at idle to start. I never had a tried, tested and true way of starting it and it became quite frustrating, especially when it was a cold, cold start. Eventually the battery would die out from all the cranking and I was hooped.

I'm not trying to scare you away from your engine, just sharing my experiences here. I have since upgraded to a Mercury Optimax and really look forward to this season.

There is a tonne of help on this forum, this is by the far the best place to be for information on outboards and boating in general.

Always remember that when you ask a question to post your engine type, model and serial number. Makes it a lot easier for guys to help you.

Good luck!



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