Decision to make.

[nutmg1]

Hello,
I'm new here. I can't believe how much information there is. I'll be reading this site for months. Thanks for all of the great information.

Here's my issue.

I recently bought a 1981 Sea Ox 230C. It has a 1991 rebuilt Evinrude VRO 225 on it. They replaced the VRO Pump, Motor Leg, Power Head, Thermostat, Water Pump Kit, Fuel Pump, Control Valve, Temp Switch, Water Tube and Stator. I have the receipt. The whole job cost 6500 dollars.

The boat came from Florida and I live in Denver CO. When I took the boat out for the first time it had a 15 prop on it. My elevation was about 5000 feet. RPM's toped out at 4200 and my top speed was around 24. The mechanic said I needed to prop down. My next trip was at Grand Lake 8500 feet. I purchased a 13 prop. I could only get about 3800 rpm and 17 miles per hour on my GPS. This weekend I went to Sterling Res in CO with an elevation of about 4000 feet. My best performance was 4000 rpm and 18 mph. Performance got gradually worse until the motor wouldn?t start. We pulled the carb cover and there was 2stroke oil everywhere. The plugs were soaked. After scraping the plugs and covering the carbs we got gas flowing again and the motor started. It went down hill pretty fast after that.

To top it all I put the motor in reverse getting the motor on the trailer and it sounded like it was breaking teeth. When I tried to engage forward I had nothing. After 30 seconds in neutral I went forward again and it eased in.

Here's my decision. With all of the trouble I'm having should I invest in more repairs or just buy a new engine? I'd like to think that this motor is almost brand new with all of the work already done. My guess is the lower unit blew out or was worn out when I bought it. Do you think that could have been my trouble with performance all along?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Decision to make.

what is your compression on all cylinders.

 

[nutmg1]

Re: Decision to make.

The boat is at the shop. The power head is still under warranty until Oct. I'll ask the mechanic what the compression is on each cylinder tomorrow and check it when I get the boat back. When I complained before he said it had good compression but I need to check that for myself.

Thanks for the response.

 

[sammy29926]

Re: Decision to make.

Hi,
Why would spend that kind of money on an motor which is not worth even $1500? Did you spend the original $6500 or previous owner did? By reading your post you have all the paperwork regarding the job done. If i were you i would get the engine fixed under warrantyi hope that will not cost you a dime.. if motor runs fine good if not i would buy another motor or used one (it is easy to say since i did not spend the $6500 to get the engine worked on). I would not sink anymore more money on a motor which is 16 years old. Get a used more dependdable or new motor.. I wish you posted this before you spend $6500 on it ..You could easily made a down payment on a brand new outboard motor with at least 5 years warranty and finance around $4000's. With that you have a new engine and no headaches on water.. this is my 0.02 cents..
Sammy

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Decision to make.

Start with the basics, compression and spark and go from there. Let us all know what you find to that point.

 

[nutmg1]

Re: Decision to make.

Hi,
Why would spend that kind of money on an motor which is not worth even $1500? Did you spend the original $6500 or previous owner did? By reading your post you have all the paperwork regarding the job done. If i were you i would get the engine fixed under warrantyi hope that will not cost you a dime.. if motor runs fine good if not i would buy another motor or used one (it is easy to say since i did not spend the $6500 to get the engine worked on). I would not sink anymore more money on a motor which is 16 years old. Get a used more dependdable or new motor.. I wish you posted this before you spend $6500 on it ..You could easily made a down payment on a brand new outboard motor with at least 5 years warranty and finance around $4000's. With that you have a new engine and no headaches on water.. this is my 0.02 cents..
Sammy

Hey Sammy,
I spent 8600 on the boat and trailer. The seller spent the 6500 on the new power head and other parts. Your answer is the reason I was asking. Since this thing has a new power head and all new pumps I need to figure out if investing in a new lower unit makes sense or if I should just scrap the whole thing and get a new or used motor. If so probably a 225 4 stroke? The only reason I spent the 8 grand on this boat was because one it?s hard to find a boat like this in Colorado and two it had just been rebuilt. I always seem to learn things the hard way. I'll know more when they call me with the bad news.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[nutmg1]

Re: Decision to make.

Sammy29926,
Can you point me in the right direction for a 225 that would be good for this boat? YOu thing about 10,000 sounds right? I'm going to wait and see what's wrong with my current motor but I might as well start searching.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Decision to make.

Sammy29926,


My elevation was about 5000 feet. RPM's toped out at 4200 and my top speed was around 24. The mechanic said I needed to prop down. My next trip was at Grand Lake 8500 feet.
Can you point me in the right direction for a 225 that would be good for this boat? Y

The first thing to do is get with a mechanic familiar with your motor and the elevations that you run at. Above 4000' the carbs need to be jetted leaner for the "thinner" air. The factory also has a different gear ratio available for motors that could help since your engine develops less power the higher you go.

 

[sammy29926]

Re: Decision to make.

Hi Nutmg1,
First i am new to this forums and i did not mean to upset/insult you any way.. You asked for a advice and i gave it to you as honestly as posibble.. Now my question is who is doing the work on your motor? If you can get it fixed ( i mean all the problems) around or up too $1500-2000 you need to get it done.. Do you have a sevice manual for your motor? invest on one if you are planing to keep the engine for a while.. You said you might be looking for a 225hp motor.. and personally i am a big fan of honda motors..eventhough i own johnson 2 stroke now..you should be able to get used outboard motor one or two years old with still warranty left around 10G's.. maybe little more... It all depends on how good searxh you can do and wait for the best deal.. Again no bad feelings.. all iw anted to do was to help you...
have agreat day
Sammy