Newbie info on 2000 Mercury 135 Optimax

First of all awesome Forum. Hats off to the Admins…..wish you had more NW info, but it interesting seeing what the middle of the country is doing.

I am currently looikng to purchase a gently used 2000 Lund Fish/Ski. The main motor is a Mercury Optimax 135. I have ZERO experience with 2 strokes, let alone computer goverend ones….is there anything to look out for on this year and model? Other than a compression check, what should be verified?

The Kicker is a Merc 9.9 4 stroke….anything there as well?

Both are 2000 year models, and have fairly low hours. The Opti has (guestimate) 50 hours and the 9.9 has about 125-150

Thanks!

hi Gun Oil,
Wanted to first say WELCOME to IDA. lots of good info and dependable.
I don’t have a Merc, but a few friends in my Club have Opti’s and really like them. good luck.
Jack..

Take the motors in and have a computor readout done. It will tell alot about how the boat was run and if there is any problems with the motor. Very low cost for this.
If the seller balks at this, run from the deal.

Gun Oil,

Welcome aboard to IDA and out of lurker mode !

I run a 2002 Mecury 135 Opti with the Smart Craft gauges. I can not say enough about this motor. I also believe that it pushes out closer to a 150 HP (an over achiever). This motor has been rock solid in the 3 years I have ran it. I think that has been the overall consensus of the 135 and 150 HP Optimax’s.

I get great fuel efficiency out of mine and often suprised at how long and far I can run with a tank of Gas .

As far as your kikcer motor. I just purchased one last week, a 2005 Pro Kicker, So I will reserve my comments on that until proper time. I am impressed wih some of the little engineering things on it. Some things were very well thought through.

Good Luck and again welcome to the best fishing site on the NET!

Gun Oil,
The 135-175 HP Optimax engines have been largely trouble free. The issues were around 2000-2001 with 200+ Optimax engines. I’d do what someone else said, and have it hooked up to see how many hours are on it.
A couple of notes -ALWAYS run Opti oil in those engines. Also, know that the Plugs are quite expensive, when it comes to replacing them.
Good luck with your purchase!

Thanks for the tips….I will have the scan done, and anything else it will need for the season! Really looking forward to this new to me boat!