1986 Force 85- good or bad

[jddens]

I'm looking at a 1986 Bayliner bass boat. I has an 85 force on it. Boat is alittle rough, needs carpet and clean up......I'm ok with the boat, it's the motor I'm concerned about. It appears to run good but I've heard there are good and bad years for the force outboards. Is 1986 a good year?? Are there any parts available? Comments???.......Thanks in advance.........John

 

[john from md]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

The 85hp engines up to 1989 I can say are real workhorses. They are very simple engines and can be maintained by anyone with a some mechanical talents. Parts are available both through Mercruise and on line through dealers and ebay.

Can you blow them up, sure but you can do that to any engine.

The main thing is to know the history of the engine as much as you can. Make sure the lower oil has been changed routinely and that no water is getting in it.

If you buy it, you can search these forums and find out what maintenance you should do to get a baseline on the engine so that you have a starting point for future maintenance and any issues that may come up.

If you plan to slam the throttle to the wall with four slolom skiers, it probably won't be long before something goes. However, if you use it reasonably, it may outlast you.

Regards,

John

 

[jddens]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

Thanks John from MD, Boat and motor look maintained but you never know. It's at a dealer so I probably won't get any good info on maint. history.....I will take it on a sea trial before purchase and do a compression check......thanks again.

 

[john from md]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

Check the engine trim before your run. If it has an aftermarket fin on the cavitation plate, set the engine at its lowest trim setting for your run to check to see how fast it gets up on plane. If no fin, set in at the number two hole. This is for manual trim settings. If you have a hydraulic trim then set it at the lowest setting.

A 16ft bayliner bowrider with an 85hp should get on a plane really fast with two people on board. It should get 5000 to 5500 RPM and 38 to 40 MPH. This is with a 13x19 prop which was the standard prop for that combination.

These were inexpensive boats when they were new so it has basic steering and alot of fake stainless hardware. But the basic boat is fiberglass and wood and is super strong. The 85 and 125 engines made them great ski boats and, in later years, good fishing boats. Mine has not let me down as long as it is maintained properly.

The one thing you need to make sure you watch is the carb mixture. This design should be set slightly rich at idle because the idle circuit is used throughout the power range. A slightly rich idle gives a rougher idle but you won't burn a piston or score a cylinder at WOT.


Good luck,

John

 

[jddens]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

Thanks again John, this is a bass boat, not a bow rider. very low profile and should be pretty light........boats at a dealer, sold the owner a new boat and is selling this on consignment......dealer says everything works but we'll see....been there over 3 month with no offers..........I'll be coming in at half the asking price and going from there......it will be a good project if I can get it for a good price..............I'm a fair mechanic so working on it myself doesn't scare me.........thanks again.............John

 

[jddens]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

Well, I bought this boat last weekend. Got a great price. Changed the lower unit fluid, looked good. Compression is good with all 3 cyl within 5psi. Motor starts right up, idles and runs great...I have a question about the pwr tilt. It works fine for lifting the motor or trimming at low speed but doesn't trim at speed. The switch says "tilt", no mention about "trim". It is a toggle switch on the dash. Is this just to left the motor or should I be able to trim at speed? It also has a manual trim pin mounted in the second hole. Also, there is no tach, is this an easy upgrade? Can I use one of the automotive tachs I have laying around? Had the boat out twice this week and love it! Thanks in advance.................John

 

[john from md]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

Congratulations, you will have alot of fun with your boat.

As to the tach, you need to find a 20 pole tach for this engine set up. If you do a search for 20 pole, you will get alot of info.

I suggest that you invest $125 and buy a set of smart tabs. These are trim tabs that have an air strut instead of a hydraulic cylinder. These tabs are out of sight, out of mind but they do a great job of getting you up on a plane and giving you better stabilization in turns.

Enjoy,

John

 

[NYForce]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

I'm guessing we have the same boat.Only problem i had since 1996 was a bad cdi box.Just curious,how did you get the allen screw out to drain the oil and what did you pay for the boat

 

[jddens]

Re: 1986 Force 85- good or bad

NYforce....your's is diff, looks newer. My motor cowling and shape are like the Chryslers. It's a 1985 Trophy 1710. Can't figure out how to attach a pic or I would. Paid $1500, needs carpet and seats.....otherwise perfect, duel electronics, duel live wells, galvanized trailer, VHF radio and cover............John