1983 235hp Evinrude repower pros and cons...

[dfrants]

Looking to repower my 18' V-King, found a 1983 235hp Evinrude that has a rebuilt powerhead. What are the pros and cons someone can expect from this model? Did it really produce two hundred and thirty-five horse power?

 

[dingbat]

I’m running a 1997 Evinrude 200 Hp. Starting to look around to replace it for a number of issues

Evinrude is out of business. The cost of parts are on the rise. Availability is on a decline. Lots of OE parts are NLA.

Finding someone to work on mine has been an issue for a while now. Nobody wants to or has the knowledge to work on them. If you can’t plug it into the computer they don’t want to deal with it.

Got lucky and found a local (40 miles each way) shop owner who runs the same motor on his boat. Otherwise, my other resource is a retired mechanic that works part time out of his garage over 100 miles away.
Not to mention they are gas hogs…

 

[matt167]

I pulled my old big twin 40hp for much the same reason as Dingbat. Parts are still out there, but out of production. ( parts available from an OEM on a 55 year old product is impressive however ).. But also, I am my own mechanic on that, nobody is going to touch it, and I didn't even really have the time to work on it..

Granted the brand new 25hp I replaced mine with, cost much less than the list price on a brand new 250hp.. I would expect an old 235hp in good condition to make about 220hp at the prop. They were pretty fast

 

[racerone]

Have a pair of 1982 model 235 HP.----Yes they are thirsty.----You can work on them yourself.-----If you only use the boat on occasion there is nothing wrong with fuel consumption issues.----Hard to justify a new 200 HP motor so you can save $400 / year on fuel.

 

[crazy charlie]

Looking to repower my 18' V-King, found a 1983 235hp Evinrude that has a rebuilt powerhead. What are the pros and cons someone can expect from this model? Did it really produce two hundred and thirty-five horse power?

I know a number of friends that used to have that motor and not one of them liked it.Extremely heavy motor ,extremely thirsty and not very reliable.All of the maintenance was difficult to do,especially the Tstats.The mid 90s Evinrudes are much much better ,much more reliable and much easier to work on.Charlie

 

[racerone]

???---Really----The thermostats are behind a small cover at the top of the cylinder head.-----Easy as can be !

 

[crazy charlie]

???---Really----The thermostats are behind a small cover at the top of the cylinder head.-----Easy as can be !

Not on that year 1983 if I remember correctly.The stats are down low behind the lower cowling .The stats you mention came out after the early 80s and you are correct about them being easy.Thats why I recommended a 90s Evinrude.I have a Mako with 1995 150 oceanpro and it is one of the most reliable and easy to work on motors I have ever had.Charlie

 

[racerone]

Crazy man.----Look at the 1983 model 235 HP parts diagram.-----The thermostats are in the cylinder heads.----I have 1 or 2 of these powerheads !!------Crazy easy to service !!

 

[crazy charlie]

I must be thinking of the 4 cyl 115 83 that I had.Was hard to get anyone to work on it .They had to drill through the lower cowling to get access to the stats. Everyone I knew with that old 235 DID hate it though.Charlie

 

[racerone]

Agreed they were top of the line for a while.----People bought them because that was available at the time.----But today the computers and robots make these modern 4 strokes.-----Great running new motors.----- So complicated with miniature parts that they can't be fixed at home.

 

[KJM]

Looking to repower my 18' V-King, found a 1983 235hp Evinrude that has a rebuilt powerhead. What are the pros and cons someone can expect from this model? Did it really produce two hundred and thirty-five horse power?

The motor is almost 40 yrs old and the maker is gone out of business, that would be enough for me to keep looking! Also a 235hp on an 18 ft boat would be way overkill where i'm from!