tower of power, or johnson 85

[Purcell1]

So heres the scoop,
I have a 115 mercury inline 6 which came with my boat, its an early 70's model. So far i know it needs a starter, so i ordered one.
I have never heard it run, but the preveous owner said it does. Now heres my predicament. Someone would like to purchase my motor and controls for 450, as is.

I have already been linked with a guy who's transom broke, and hes selling his 85hp johnson v4. Not sure of the year, but it has the red and white on the cover like this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erz66-GZ_Cw

My question is, which do you guys like in the long run, my boat is technically only rated for 100hp, which is why im considering it anyways, plus the johnson i can test run he claims.

Anything i should look for with the johnson? and am i getting ripped off on my merc?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

The tower of power did have trouble with overheating the top cylinder. Other than that, it was a good engine. Nice basic crossflow engine with a boost port. powerful, Merc always under-rated their engines.

The 85 is also a good engine. V4 has been around for ages and was started as the "Fat Fifty." Horsepower was increased through the years. If this engine has the rubber diverter plugs to direct water flow around the cylinders, they do swell and block the passages. The heads should be removed and new plugs put in every couple of years.

You are dropping about 25 horsepower in exchange for a newer model year engine. Aesthetically, I prefer the lower engine and the lighter color.

 

[Purcell1]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

thanks for you're reply! i should mention it is my first boat, so ease of diagnosis/maintanence is key. Its a 15' runabout, so its pretty light, i'd imagine it will fly with the 85 on there.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

This is a no-brainer. The 85hp you can test, the merc you don't even know whether it will run or not. If you haven't checked compression on the merc....... I would also check compression on the johnson and the lower unit oil before I bought it. I assume that a "test" is on the muffs. Be forewarned that they ALL seem to run good on the muffs, even with a bad cylinder or no spark on one cylinder. For a new boater, the johnson is the better choice, anyway. They're much easier to work on.
JMO,
JBJ

 

[Purcell1]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

This is a no-brainer. The 85hp you can test, the merc you don't even know whether it will run or not. If you haven't checked compression on the merc....... I would also check compression on the johnson and the lower unit oil before I bought it. I assume that a "test" is on the muffs. Be forewarned that they ALL seem to run good on the muffs, even with a bad cylinder or no spark on one cylinder. For a new boater, the johnson is the better choice, anyway. They're much easier to work on.
JMO,
JBJ

great info, yes the test is on the muffs. The starter just came in, so i will install it tomorrow, and see if i can get the merc to start i guess.

 

[64osby]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

If it's even money or money is no object then I would take the Johnson any day.

You said as is for $450, you spent $100 on a starter in your other thread. So is it $550 now.

If your Merc fires up, I would think it would be worth a little more than $450, like maybe double.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

first, I think you want to get your boat back to "legal" motor size. Especially since it's your first boat.

As long as you are getting the Johnson controls, go for it. The OMC is a work horse; the Merc temperamental.

"If you want to get there, get a Merc; if you want to get home, get a Johnson."

 

[64osby]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

HC - I like that> ^^^^^

 

[jbjennings]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I must say that I think the tower of power merc is one of the best-looking outboards. I would even like to own one. When you try to start your merc, I would have an old spray bottle with fuel/oil premix in it and squirt a shot in each carb. Mercs love to have a really rich mixture to start. I've heard the towers of power in particular really have a sweet tooth. If the merc has good compression in all cylinders, I'd consider keeping it. They are bad about needing new wiring. I would make friends with some of the merc experts here like Laddies and Faztbullet, etc, and see if they could give you some tips about getting it back in running condition if compression checks out. As previously stated, that merc has a lot of power and an awesome sound. I would think that an inline 6 merc would not be the easiest motor to learn on. Last but not least, unlike OMC's, the drive shafts on pre-'76 mercs were made of mild steel and prone to pitting/rusting in the seal area. Your lower unit could be junk because of this. I personally think that the OMC motors on average are easier to start when cold, idle smoother, and a lot easier to work on without too many special tools. For example, your inline 6 has no removeable cylinder heads and not just anyone can bore it. If you keep the merc, you will no doubt need to learn how to work on it yourself, or you will quickly tie up more money in repair costs than the motor will ever be worth.
I hope you have a good one!
JBJ

 

[Chris1956]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

Gee, you guys are down on Mercs. I owned a Merc inline six for nearly 30 years. They are one of the most successful designs ever created. The only special tools needed are for the gearcase, and there is special knowledge needed to work on them as well. We usually just replace the gearcases if needed. The rest of the motor is easy to work on, you just need to remove the cowling and cowling support, to get at the components.

Parts for the older distributor motors are expensive. But overall the ign components are pretty reliable. The wiring does go bad but it is easy to replace, but a bit expensive.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I would bet that Johnson will drink a bunch of gas, but even with that I would go with that one, newer and you will know it runs. Take the starter back if you can or sell it seperate to who ever wants the swap. BTW you can rebuild a starter for pennies, compared to buying new, as an option.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I must say that I think the tower of power merc is one of the best-looking outboards. I would even like to own one. When you try to start your merc, I would have an old spray bottle with fuel/oil premix in it and squirt a shot in each carb. Mercs love to have a really rich mixture to start. I've heard the towers of power in particular really have a sweet tooth. If the merc has good compression in all cylinders, I'd consider keeping it. They are bad about needing new wiring. I would make friends with some of the merc experts here like Laddies and Faztbullet, etc, and see if they could give you some tips about getting it back in running condition if compression checks out. As previously stated, that merc has a lot of power and an awesome sound. I would think that an inline 6 merc would not be the easiest motor to learn on. Last but not least, unlike OMC's, the drive shafts on pre-'76 mercs were made of mild steel and prone to pitting/rusting in the seal area. Your lower unit could be junk because of this. I personally think that the OMC motors on average are easier to start when cold, idle smoother, and a lot easier to work on without too many special tools. For example, your inline 6 has no removeable cylinder heads and not just anyone can bore it. If you keep the merc, you will no doubt need to learn how to work on it yourself, or you will quickly tie up more money in repair costs than the motor will ever be worth.
I hope you have a good one!
JBJ

Here I was thinking I was being at least somewhat positive..... I think the carbs are hard to tune properly....

 

[64osby]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I'm not down on Merc's, had a Merc 500 that was awesome. Ran fantastic, didn't have wire issues.

I know have a Evinrude 90, it is also awesome. Never had an issue with it.

There are certain issues that when know in advance make me not want to buy into it. The issues described with the TOP are issues that I choose not to buy into.

 

[pecheux]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I owned a Mercury 115 hp tower and it ran without missing a beat for 6 trouble free years while my father owned an Evinrude 85 V4 that also ran good but did not seem to idle steady. IMHO I thought my Merc 6 cyl ran much noisier than the V4 at any RPM which is my only complaint.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: tower of power, or johnson 85

I had a '72 OMC 125. It wasn't loop charged but it had some refinements that made fuel consumption much better than earlier days....having had their engines in earlier days. I had the boat for half a dozen years and only changed the spark plugs and the LU oil. Zero problems and very reliable. Yes it was quiet but it had a FG hood that was foam insulated.

I also had a '88 115 tower which was direct charged and got exceptional economy. It had a FG blanked inside the cowl to cut down on the noises. Later on, when they changed the design, FG hoods and air boxes over the carb throats helped to reduce noise; oh and they loop charged the induction system which made the fuel economy that much better. Only maint was a new gasket on the water jacket over the combustion chamber....where other brands have heads.....Merc's head was integrally cast into the block.

I'd take either engine. Staying in the boats ratings is a big deal to the water cops and your insurance company.

My 2c,
Mark