Should I be concerned in buying an older Evinrude??

[nebass97]

Hey all, 

 

So I found what seems to be a good deal on an older Stratos with an Evinrude 150hp on the back and he seems like he might be interested in trading with me for my older Basstracker. I'm a little concerned with Evinrude shutting down this year that there won't be good support if something goes wrong with the motor, God forbid. Now let me preface with, I'm a recent college grad looking for a slight upgrade from my Basstracker now that I have a full time job and actually making money lol. I'm not looking for anything too fancy, but I don't want it to be a huge headache for me either. I'm relatively handy with fixing and dealing with motors/boats myself as I basically did all the maintenance myself on my Basstracker, minus a few professional walkthroughs. What's everyone's thoughts? I've included a pic of the motor for reference as well. Any help would be much appreciated! 

[looking45]

my concern would be the availability of parts a few years from now.

[slonezp]

2 strokes can run forever if they are taken care of. I'd imagine parts will be available for awhile. I think I'd be more concerned if it were an Etec because of the electronics. 

[TOXIC]

The way I look at it, the motor stands on its own.  A good motor is a good motor.  Most all of the older mothers are not having new parts made anymore regardless of manufacturers.  If it checks out with good compression, etc., it wouldn’t deter me.  

[BrianMDTX]

28 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

The way I look at it, the motor stands on its own.  A good motor is a good motor.  Most all of the older mothers are not having new parts made anymore regardless of manufacturers.  If it checks out with good compression, etc., it wouldn’t deter me.  

Agreed. If it runs well and checks out good (compression, no leaks, etc.), I say go for it. If there's parts available for it now they will likely be available for some time to come. 

[nebass97]

39 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Agreed. If it runs well and checks out good (compression, no leaks, etc.), I say go for it. If there's parts available for it now they will likely be available for some time to come. 

Is there a way that I'd be able to check the compression while I'm test driving? I don't have a gauge or anything like that, but is there another way to do it? 

[BrianMDTX]

6 minutes ago, nebass97 said:

Is there a way that I'd be able to check the compression while I'm test driving? I don't have a gauge or anything like that, but is there another way to do it? 

No. You have to check compression cranking the engine (but not starting) with a gauge. You can rent one from auto parts stores if needed. 

[nmatthes]

3 hours ago, nebass97 said:

Hey all, 

 

So I found what seems to be a good deal on an older Stratos with an Evinrude 150hp on the back and he seems like he might be interested in trading with me for my older Basstracker. I'm a little concerned with Evinrude shutting down this year that there won't be good support if something goes wrong with the motor, God forbid. Now let me preface with, I'm a recent college grad looking for a slight upgrade from my Basstracker now that I have a full time job and actually making money lol. I'm not looking for anything too fancy, but I don't want it to be a huge headache for me either. I'm relatively handy with fixing and dealing with motors/boats myself as I basically did all the maintenance myself on my Basstracker, minus a few professional walkthroughs. What's everyone's thoughts? I've included a pic of the motor for reference as well. Any help would be much appreciated! 

Whats your budget? 

[RoLo]

 

I've been a Johnson fanboy for most of my life, and justifiably so.

However, that was Then, and this is Now. Would I buy a used Evinrude outboard today?   NO!

 

Evinrude made the fatal mistake of never entering the emerging 4-stroke market,

and they don't have my sympathy. Now, there will be no more growth, no more upgrades,

and no technical support, which is especially unsettling with respect to Etech electronics.

 

Roger

[nebass97]

2 hours ago, nmatthes said:

Whats your budget? 

Frankly, I would ideally like to trade my Basstracker for a fiberglass straight up. 

3 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

No. You have to check compression cranking the engine (but not starting) with a gauge. You can rent one from auto parts stores if needed. 

Sweet, thank you! 

[rboat]

I have an older evinrude and can still get parts. Look up the engine you are thinking about on some outboard parts websites to see what is available, also check fleabay. There are many outboard junkyards who also sell parts on the web.

[Shimano_1]

I understand everyone having doubts since evinrude shut down. However,  its not like all the parts are gonna disappear over night. I'm sure there will be availability for quite some time. Those motors are awesome my dad is still running one similar.  As stated id check the compression and if it runs good id have no problems trading for it. Probably some of the best motors ever made. 

[junyer357]

If the motor checks good, go for it. That looks like an older evinrude intruder series motor. We have had one since dad bought it new in 93, and its been a good motor overall. Its the later ones witb the ficht that rudes began having problems. 

[Way2slow]

There are so many of the Johnson's and Evinrude's still running and being used, someone is going to be making parts for them a long time.  As long as there is a market for a dollar to be made, somebody's going to make it.  I think it will be a long time before anyone has to be concerned about lack of support.  Look at the motors made in the sixties and seventies that are still supported with parts by aftermarket manufactures. 

Now, as mentioned, the newer, high technology motors might suffer from lack of support for new high dollar replacements parts than the older stuff.  Things like ECU's can get expensive and can become not economically feasible for some after company to continue to make, but a huge number of parts are so common between different models parts shouldn't be a problem for numbers of years.

They haven't made an American Johnson since the early 2000's and I've not known anyone having a parts problem to support for those.

[slonezp]

On 7/31/2020 at 9:32 PM, Way2slow said:

There are so many of the Johnson's and Evinrude's still running and being used, someone is going to be making parts for them a long time.  As long as there is a market for a dollar to be made, somebody's going to make it.  I think it will be a long time before anyone has to be concerned about lack of support.  Look at the motors made in the sixties and seventies that are still supported with parts by aftermarket manufactures. 

Now, as mentioned, the newer, high technology motors might suffer from lack of support for new high dollar replacements parts than the older stuff.  Things like ECU's can get expensive and can become not economically feasible for some after company to continue to make, but a huge number of parts are so common between different models parts shouldn't be a problem for numbers of years.

They haven't made an American Johnson since the early 2000's and I've not known anyone having a parts problem to support for those.

A lot of the smaller HP Johnsons were made in China back in the 90's. Tohatsu and/or Honda currently make smaller HP Mercs