Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

[bigmarcbancs]

I recently purchased a boat with a 85 hp force motor. It seemeed to run reasonably well with a hose hooked up to it and I am told it just needed some tlc as the previous owner neglected to follow a regular maintanence schedule. After stumbling upon these posts after the fact, it seems that these motors can run well without any major issues or, simply put, are junk. Now that I have commited to this sale, does anyone have any advice as to what I should check, replace, upgrade etc. before I run this boat in water for the first time? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[maxum247]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

Get a Clymer manual for that year and horsepower engine.
Check the fuel tank for trash.
Make sure your gas hose is free of air leaks at the fittings, fuel filter and clamps, and the primer bulb stays pumped up tight.
Charge the battery good and clean the battery post and battery terminals.
Check all ground wires(black wires)make sure there clean and tight.
Check any wiring on the engine for chafing.
Check engine compression on each cylinder.
Put in new sparkplugs.
Make sure engine has good blue spark on all cylinders.
Change the impeller in the lower unit.
While your there change the lower unit oil.
Take the prop off and grease the splined shaft the prop mounts on.
Grease all grease fittings on the engine and the steering.

This is not a complete list but is some of the regular maintenance items that should be checked or replaced each season.

Good Luck! max!

 

[Mark42]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

I heard/read about the Force being junk, along wit Bayliner being junk for years and vowed to stay away from these two death sentences. But I ended up owning a Bayliner with an 85 hp Force because Bayliner was the only boat manufacturer that made what I wanted. I just resigned myself to tossing out the old Force and replacing with a Johnson or Evinrude. After running the Force for the first season, I realized that these are really easy motors to work on. And all the parts you need are still sold on most major boating supply websites.

The fact is that these are proven motors that have been in production for many years. The good point is that the "bugs" are all worked out and they are very reliable. They are simple and easy to work on. They are new enough to have solid state ignition. The bad point is that the technology is old... 1960's old, so they are not as fuel effecient as newer motors. And due to age, some bolts/parts will be hard to remove because of corrosion, etc.

Between the rising cost of living, the rising prices of outboards, the rising cost of gas, I decided to keep the Force. It is much more cost effective to maintain the Force than to buy a new or rebuilt outboard of the same HP.

Look on ebay for an original Force service manual. I have both the Selmer and Force (found on ebay) and the Force is 10x better than the Selmer.

One of the first modifications you do should be to add a telltale to the Force. Check out this thread if you haven't already....

Force Telltale Thread

 

[Haywood123]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

I have to agree with Mark42 on this one. While I believe they are probably a bit overrated on the horse power end of it, but they are easy to work on and the parts are everywhere and usually you can get them pretty cheap if you look. Get a decent manual. Although I am probably a little more inclined than most these days, I don't consider myself to be mechanically inclined, but I have done all of my work on my Force, myself. In the six years I have had my Force, I still don't think I have spent enough on maintenence and repairs, to cover the down payment on a new motor.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

First, welcome to the forum. There are some very knowledgeable people here to help you out.
Next, follow what Mark said about getting started. These tasks would not take long and would quickly give you a good introduction and excellent start point on your motor.
As for the Force stuff you are going to read a lot of bad stuff about them. It just seems to be the 'thing to do' is to join in and bash the Forces. Some of the more knowledgeable guys in the Force section (Frank, RR, etc) have posted some good threads regarding the Force history and where it kind of de-railed.
Mine ('90/90hp) has been an extremely reliable motor in the 30+ times I have had it out and it runs great.
Apparently a lot/most of Force's bad reputation came when Mercury took them over and starting substituting certain parts for cost cutting purposes. It seems the more reliable Force products are pre 91-92' according to the guys. At this point the proven earlier (Chrysler) design was still largely in affect. So it looks like you are probably in this territory.
That said, I would stay away from L-drives and as previously mentioned the Mercury Force years (92' on).
Good luck and keep us posted.
BP

 

[roscoe]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

Always use Seafoam additive in the fuel system. Will preserve what little integrity the current modern fuel has, and will keep your fuel system and motor clean.

And do a thorough decarb on the motor.

See the FAQ forum for instructions.

 

[Dave K.]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

thought i would chime in too. first, welcome! i agree w/ all the above & Frank A. seems to be an expert on this motor. many others are knowledgable too. i bought my first boat last year, 84 capri w/ 85hp. maticulously maintained & i picked up where the first owner left off. although i'm not that mechanically inclined, especially now a days, i have done all the maintenance & upkeep on this motor myself. very dependable & runs great. the only suggestion i can give will be to take care of it! maintain & winterize. mine started right up this year & runs really smooth. not sure how much $$$ i've saved, for ex: did the impeller last week, 2hrs, & not that bad of a job. boat shops around here are getting say $75 per hr. figure i saved $150 on that alone. keep writing in, these guys have helped me out tremendously.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

I am a factory trained Force Mech. I bought a BAYLINER in 1988 with twin 85HP Force.These motors probably have 3-4 THOUSAND hours.In the begining the oil manufacturers designed oil that WOULD carbon the rings. After the outboard manufacturers (including Force)went to the oil producers and talked them into changing things I/E TCW-2/TCW-3 That problem was solved. I had to re-ring both motors twice in the first two years. I didn't do anything but change head gaskets after running in salt water. only reason they go bad is OWNER FAILUR to MAINTAIN.
Changing the plugs,Install a water-seperating fuel filter and keeping the carbs set, and making sure the thermostat is in good working order.
A regular compression check and using a de-carbonizer(POwer-tune by Mercury) These motors are called cheap and junk but they have been good to me. I have had them out 40mi in the Atlantic.
Last week I had them out 20mi off the Sebastian Inlet.No Prob.
The bad thing is GASSSSSS!!!!$$$$$$$
I'm changing to a single.Jerry

 

[bigmarcbancs]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

Now thats the kind of response I was hoping for! I had never heard of these "force" motors untill I first came across this boat a few months ago. I figured I take a chance with an unfamiliar motor only because the price was right, allowing me to get back into boating. Its always been Evenrude and Mercruiser (Tempest) that I grew up with on lake winnepesaukee. So it MADE MY DAY to hear all the positive responses about this motor. With proper maintenence I do believe I might have a keeper. The compression check included in my "to do" list for this weekend will reveal more about this motor and its condition. I also need to repair/replace the steering cable as it is very stiff turning to the starboard side. The telltale, yep, doin' that too. Great idea. Well, I have to say thanks for the response and the great advice. Good to know there is some knowledgeable folks out there willing to lend a hand. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Preventative maintenence advice 88 Force 85

I am a factory trained Force Mech.....

Welcome to iboats! Its really great to see folks who are factory trained participate in these forums.