Tell Me About Some Known Outboard Issues.

[indianabasshunter]

Within a couple months I will be purchasing my first glass bass boat (used). I have talked to a couple guys who own newer rigs and have scoured the internet to try to get an idea on what I can afford and what issues to look for. My biggest concern is having to foot a large repair bill for a blown powerhead or other expensive outboard troubles.

 

I will probably end up with an outboard between 150 and 200 hp. Are there some makes and models that I should stay away from that have known issues? Are there any you recommend looking at?

 

If i have to shell out a large amount of money to repair something that I should have avoided in the first place, after already spending a pile of money on purchasing the boat, it may drive me right over the edge...

 

Thanks for any help.

[MarkH024]

No matter what you do....owning a boat is always going to make you reach deep in your pocket.  There will always be something that needs fixing, upgrading etc...etc. My Ranger has an Evinrude Ficht 115 on it. 5 seasons now and I've only had to bring it in one time to have a piece fixed.  Parts and labor costed me around $400.  That's the worst I've had to deal with so far.  Will it be the last, one could only hope but most likely not.

 

I also know guys who have ripped their lower end units off in Canada scrambling to find a place to fix it in a day so they can salvage their trip. That's a couple grand expense and plus some for expediting it. 

 

If you're truly concerned on the boat/motor you're purchasing, have it brought into a certified mechanic that can vouch for the condition.  If you know what you're looking at, you can always hook up the motor to muffs and have it run in front of you.

 

I don't have enough experience or knowledge to tell you what to stay away from.  A lot of it it boils down to personal preference, like the Ford vs Chevy debates.

[slonezp]

Depends on how old the motor is. On older boats I'd stay away from any Force by Mercury, Johnson VRO, and Evinrude Ficht. Newer boats would be first generation SHO's and first generation E-Techs. Carbed Mercurys are notorious for having cold start issues. I would stay away from Suzuki's and Hondas if you don't have a dealer near you who can/will work on them. I base this on experience with the VRO, Force, and carbed Merc, and research on the other motors 

 

All manufacturers are making good products as of late. The newer motors have onboard computers and a dealer can pull reports for you to have a trusted mechanic look at before you even take time yourself to go and check it out. If the reports come back ok, then you can have a trusted mechanic take a look a the motor and give it a green light or make recommendations.

[slonezp]

No matter what you do....owning a boat is always going to make you reach deep in your pocket.  There will always be something that needs fixing, upgrading etc...etc. My Ranger has an Evinrude Ficht 115 on it. 5 seasons now and I've only had to bring it in one time to have a piece fixed.  Parts and labor costed me around $400.  That's the worst I've had to deal with so far.  Will it be the last, one could only hope but most likely not.

 

I also know guys who have ripped their lower end units off in Canada scrambling to find a place to fix it in a day so they can salvage their trip. That's a couple grand expense and plus some for expediting it. 

 

If you're truly concerned on the boat/motor you're purchasing, have it brought into a certified mechanic that can vouch for the condition.  If you know what you're looking at, you can always hook up the motor to muffs and have it run in front of you.

 

I don't have enough experience or knowledge to tell you what to stay away from.  A lot of it it boils down to personal preference, like the Ford vs Chevy debates.

I've heard the Fichts are either bulletproof or paperweights with no in between. I guess you got one of the good ones

[MarkH024]

I've heard the Fichts are either bulletproof or paperweights with no in between. I guess you got one of the good ones

She's been good to me. Starts up every spring really strong.  The problem I had was some plastic piece connected to the gas fitting that basically deteriorated. It had to be replaced which was almost $200 for just the part and another $200 for labor.  You know how it goes. I wish I was a bit more mechanically inclined but I'm not so doing it myself was not an option.  My old man had a temporary fix for it that made it last a season but when it finally went, we just paid to have it done correctly. 

[Siebert Outdoors]

I've heard the Fichts are either bulletproof or paperweights with no in between. I guess you got one of the good ones

 

Yup,  I have a 225 Ficht.  For being 13 yrs old and having as many hrs as it does its been a real good motor.  With that said.  Dont buy one.  LOL  Etecs are nice and cheaper to work on.  More then likely all the bad Fichts out there are blown or done for anyway by now but the resale of one is typically really low.

 

Slonezp and MarkH are exactly correct.  Its worth 100 or so dollars to have a good reputable tech check it all out before you buy a 10k+boat/Motor set up. 

[indianabasshunter]

Thanks for your help.

 

I will make a point of getting the engine checked by a professional mechanic before making a purchase. In order to get a report from a dealer would the owner of the boat have to go to the dealer or is this something i can call a dealer about if i had the model and s/n of that specific outboard?

 

What causes the powerhead to "blow"? Bad oil, bad gas, no maintanence?

[Fishing Rhino]

You seem to be concerned primarily about the engine.  I'd be just as concerned about the boat.  If it's an older fiberglass boat, it is likely to have wood stringers, cross members and plywood in the transom.

 

The fiberglass can be in great shape, but if the wood beneath is punky you'll have a real nightmare on your hands.  You can have a mechanic check out the motor.  The hull of a boat can be more difficult, and much more expensive to replace. 

 

Don't overlook the trailer either.  If it has been used exclusively in fresh water it will likely be ok.  If it has been used, even occasionally in salt water, and not been maintained properly, repairs can also be expensive.

 

It primarily depends on how diligent prior owners have been in doing routine preventive maintenance.

[indianabasshunter]

Thanks, those are good points that i hadn't given as much thought to.

 

When did they start to phase out

 

You seem to be concerned primarily about the engine.  I'd be just as concerned about the boat.  If it's an older fiberglass boat, it is likely to have wood stringers, cross members and plywood in the transom.

 

The fiberglass can be in great shape, but if the wood beneath is punky you'll have a real nightmare on your hands.  You can have a mechanic check out the motor.  The hull of a boat can be more difficult, and much more expensive to replace. 

 

Don't overlook the trailer either.  If it has been used exclusively in fresh water it will likely be ok.  If it has been used, even occasionally in salt water, and not been maintained properly, repairs can also be expensive.

 

It primarily depends on how diligent prior owners have been in doing routine preventive maintenance.

Thanks, those are good points that i haven't given as much thought to.

 

When did they start to phase out wood stringers, cross members, and transoms?

[Fishing Rhino]

the switch away from wood structural components in fiberglass boats varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.  The fact that wood is a problem has been known for decades. 

 

In 1975, my buddy and I bought a 20 foot fiberglass boat for next to nothing.  We thought it was a bargain until we had to have the plywood in the transom replaced.  It involved leaving the outer skin of the transom intact while everything else was cut away.  Then plywood was fitted to the hull, and bonded to the outer layer of fiberglass.  then the replacement plywood got several layers of fiberglass, along with the outside to make it watertight.  We also replaced a couple of stringers.

 

It was a good thing we had a friend who worked building and repairing boats.  He worked with us after work and on weekends.  That kept the cost of the repair work reasonable.  If we had to have a boatyard do the work the cost would be prohibitive.

 

You can inspect the transom and the area surrounding it very carefully for stress cracks which are a sign the transom is flexing.  If you find them, run, don't walk away from the boat.  If there is a problem with the transom, then the rest of the hull will be suspect.  Your best bet is to get a marine surveyor to inspect the hull.  It won't be cheap, but it will be money well spent, compared to dealing with hull problems. 

 

A surveyor will know what to look for.  They can also "sound" the hull, by tapping it with a small mallet.  Solid innards will produce an entirely different sound from wood that is deteriorating.  Wood that is rotten or rotting will produce a dull thump.  Punky wood will absorb the vibrations rather than transmitting them like the body of a guitar or violin.

 

It's like testing watermelons for ripeness by thumping them on the end with a finger.

 

Were I in the market for an older boat to save money, I'd probably opt for an aluminum bass boat, just to eliminate the potential, expensive, problems that are inherent with older fiberglass boats that used wood in structural components. 

 

You can always check with the manufacturer to find out if the boat you are considering used wood in that boat.

[indianabasshunter]

Excellent advice. Thanks for taking the time to help out.

[tritonguy]

There are only 2 kinds of outboards, 1) those that are blown up 2) those that are fixing to blow up. 

[65panhed]

what Tritonguy said!

[salmicropterus]

Depends on how old the motor is. On older boats I'd stay away from any Force by Mercury, Johnson VRO, and Evinrude Ficht. Newer boats would be first generation SHO's and first generation E-Techs. Carbed Mercurys are notorious for having cold start issues. I would stay away from Suzuki's and Hondas if you don't have a dealer near you who can/will work on them. I base this on experience with the VRO, Force, and carbed Merc, and research on the other motors 

 

All manufacturers are making good products as of late. The newer motors have onboard computers and a dealer can pull reports for you to have a trusted mechanic look at before you even take time yourself to go and check it out. If the reports come back ok, then you can have a trusted mechanic take a look a the motor and give it a green light or make recommendations.

From my perspective as a Mercury, Evinrude and Yamaha dealer, this advice is about as good as it gets. I would add: If it's an Optimax, I would check to see if the compressor has been replaced-they usually go after 300 hours or so. If budget allows, have the technician check the o-rings at the top of the cylinder block. Water intrusion through heat deteriorated o-rings is a major cause of failure in those powerheads.  Evinrude, I would get temp readings for the on-board EMM (Evinrude for computer). Overheats  of the EMM cause problems and failure. Early Yamaha HPDIs can have fuel lean-out issues which can cause powerhead failure. As stated if it's a computer controlled newer engine, downloads will reveal engine fault history and current existing faults. Beware of any "rebuilt" powerheads; "remanufactured" or "remans" can be acceptable. Good luck but go in with your eyes open.

[st041986]

Myself and my buddy have had several Etec jets between 2005-2009 and ranging from 90hp up to 225ho. My 2008 115 and his current 2009 225ho each had to get injectors replaced, but it happened under warranty so neither of us have been out of pocket anything. His other three Etec's he never gave him any trouble. Unless something major happens to change my mind, I will always run an Etec!

[Way2slow]

"NOBODY!!" makes a bullet proof motor.   They are all subject to catastrophic failures, certain makes and models are more subject to give a problem than others but that's usually based on a particular year, size.  Even though a particular model year has a higher percentage of failures, that doesn't mean the one you get is going to be one of those high percentage failures. 

 

You hear about all the Ficht problems, but at the same time, there are a hellava lot of them running that has mega hours on them and has never given a problem.

 

Then there's all the mid 90's Johnson problems, again, they came out with service bulletins that fixed most and those that did not get fixed then have probably failed and been repaired since.

 

Mercury's OPI-MAX has the knick name OPTI-POP, because of problems many of them had.  The Verado's had it's problems also.

 

They all have lemon's, that small percentage that fail are the one's you hear about on the web, you don't hear about the other thousands that have run hard and long with no problems.

 

Do your homework, have it checked out by a professional, and keep an extra couple thousand in the bank for repairs.  Or, you can just buy a brand new one with a long warrantee and trade it when it runs out.

[Siebert Outdoors]

"You hear about all the Ficht problems, but at the same time, there are a hellava lot of them running that has mega hours on them and has never given a problem."

 

Yup.  I do like mine and it runs really well.  When I was talking to my local shop about them and Etecs he said something that made a lot of sense.  If it was going to blow up or major break down it would have done it years ago. 

[livetofish28]

This august we purchased an 89 bumble bee with a 150 yamaha of the same year after running the boat a couple times we noticed the transom was flexing after taking it to the boat shop at lake anna we were informed that the transom was completely rotted we were lucky enough to find a 1999 stratos that had a blown motor that rated out motor size. So we had everything transferred over to the stratos now a few months later we couldn't be happier the motor is a dream running 4700 rpms at 58 mph so whatever you do check the transom if it's a ranger I believe the guy at mare said 89 was the year the stopped using wood but don't hold me too it. Look for a 100% composite thing on the side and always make sure your trim fluid is always topped off but that's another story lol

Tight lines

Andrew

[jhoffman]

I replaced one transom in an aluminum and helped do one in a glass. I swore then, never again. When I bought my current boat, looking at boats that was the first question I had. One guy had me drive 1.5 hours to look at his boat that "has a perfect transom" I got there, reached my hand back under the deck, looked at him and said... have fun with your perfect transom and started walking to the car. He quickly knocked a $1000 off his price and I just kept walkn. Had enough of that.