Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

[alden135]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

Tilt the motor all the way up. Lower the trailer tounge all the way down, remove the trailer jack if you have to to get the motor as flat as you can. <br /><br />POUR marvel mystery oil into the cylinders, then stuff a soaked rag over/in them to help hold oil on.<br /><br /><br />Or, rent a lift from your local rental store and get the thing off the boat by yourself.

 

[f4igrad]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

thanks a lot.<br />if i free up the pistons, do you think it will have to be rebuilt? The other pistons look good, it is just these two where the PO removed the sparkplugs.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

free it up and see what the look like. i think the rings will be shot. but you could get lucky.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

Wow! With that amount of rust in the cylinders and open ports leading to the crankcase, I suspect your powerhead is in need of major attention. I would highly recommend tearing it down, as it's likely that you have rusted bearings, crankshaft, etc. Is there ANY movement whatsoever in the flywheel? If there is none at all, then it probably has rusted bearings as well. No amount of hammering or twisting is going to free it up. It needs to be torn down to the very last bearing. <br /><br />All this is fine if you plan on doing that work yourself, but it can add up in a hurry if you're paying someone else to do it. The OEM manual is a good start. Worst comes to worst you call it a day and part the motor out. Best case, you replace a couple rusted bearings, install a few sets of new rings, hone the bores and call it good.<br /><br />Good luck!<br />- Scott

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

i'm afraid Scott is right on this one. for peace of mind, having a reliable engine. i go thru the whole thing. was going fishing yesterday (71 Merc 1350), never left the dock, as impeller went out. started on muffs the day before and had a good pee stream. you never know. i wasn't upset as i knew it was due to be replaced. just good practice unloading and loading.

 

[deerchaser11]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

Hey guys, thanks for all the information. I just picked up a Thundercraft 160 with an 85 Johnson as well, and your posts really have been helpful.

 

[joaklay]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson

For future referance, next time check the engine out in detail BEFORE purchasing as you would (or should) whenever buying a used car. There are many older boats for sale, especially in fall and going cheap with good running engines too. <br /> In this case, if the boat and trailer are in good condition, then for $600 it's still not bad BUT if not, you paid too much IMO.<br /> Realistically, it will cost plenty to rebuild that outboard and should be done by someone with experience. That's why it'll be costly to do it right as it's very labor intensive and not a job for someone with no mechanical experience, especially engine experience. <br /> You'ld be far better off looking for a good used outboard on Ebay or somewhere else making sure that it's indeed a good, running outboard with good compression. I'd get the highest HP outboard that the boat is rated for so if that's 85HP, look for that. Try to find one local unless you get a great deal on it because it can cost ~$150 to ship a motor that size.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Thinking of buying this boat with an 85 hp Johnson