Motor Honesty

All right fellas, lets start being honest with each other on our outboard troubles. Yes, everyone likes to puke rainbows on how wonderful their motors are and all that jazz, but reality sets in and stuff goes wrong and one way or another there she sits. Spoken with more than a few IDO members lately who’ve been having issues so I know theres others!

Maybe if we air them out in the open we can all feel better about not being in a boat for what looks to be a great freakin weekend!!!

Personally my big 1994 120 has been idling like crap since I got er. Got me stuck in the middle of a lake last fall as well. Things are starting to finally come together with what I think is wrong, and some other preventative maintence along the way. Things are looking good, final parts have been ordered, know my motor and boat really well now but still shorefishing in the meantime.

Is this like fishfinder honesty or does it only matter when your ox is being gored?

Your butthurt on that topic is heavy. FWIW I have a 73SV, Chirp, not the cheap one. Have expressed my own concerns with the mapping on more than a few threads and haven’t been shunned yet. With the first post of mine as well on the Lowrance ad I love the stuff, have at em. But know when to stop, geez cmon no one likes beating a dead horse over and over, except for Mille lacs threads.

If your wouldn’t mind id like to keep this thread headed towards the therapeutic davenport of love for fellas who don’t have their boats in their lives right now please

No I just call it as I see it. It’s okay for for you to bitch about a product but when someone else does it’s being “butthurt” or whatever moron bullshit you want to call it. I got it. Keep sucking up to the powers that be I’m sure someday they’ll pin a flowering ribbon on your chest.

I can’t tell, is this only a two person thread?
DT

Awkward!

Way to ruin it, DT.

I don’t know where we went astray Shamus. You have Garmin with crap downvu, I have garmin with crap downvu, you have a poopy jiffy pro 4 lite, I have a poopy pro 4 lite, you have a fish as an avatar, as do I. We are so alike, yet so far. You a brotha from anotha motha perhaps? You need a hug bro? Ill be somewhere on the shores of pool 2 tomorrow man, lets share some minnows and coffee together.

Lol.

You also both clearly listen to KFAN.

Twins Guy wrote:

You also both clearly listen to KFAN.

Gotta be a couple 13, 14 of us on here.

I “forgot” to winterize this year. Didn’t lift a finger. No stabil, nada. Wife had a major surgery and I just lost track of everything pretty much. Its a mid-80s merc 50 and it’s always been a slow starter, gotta choke and work the throttle, etc. Didn’t start any rougher this year but doesn’t seem to be idling as well. I’ve never run it in 38 degree water like I did this February either, so I dunno. Gotta keep an eye on it I guess.

Nhamm, I do feel your pain. I’ve been outta commission for a couple weeks with a broken trailer axle and have been putting in the hours shore fishing p2 in the meantime. Hey, it’s still fishing. Hoping to bring my kid out on the river tomorrow finally.

Going to start mine today for the first time since September. It’s a 2015 though… it better run.

1991 Yam ProV 150

Replaced 2 lower units
a. Boat was rear ended at a stop light.
b. Boat was rear ended again in a parking lot which also took out the transom

6 plugs and lower unit oil every year

Has a carb, so it gets a little butt-faced in misty cold weather. Starts very easily, but in some weather conditions wants to idle like crap and you need to choke it a little and bump up the RPMs

Tilt/Trim switch burnt out on the bow. Fluke tester I used shown a direct short at the motor and I trouble shot the relays and crap for way too long. On the advice from a fellow IDO member, I replaced the two switches @ $8.00 each and was good to go.

Trim piece fell off the cowling back in about 1995. I put it in the garage with the intent of getting new connectors for it. It’s still MIA.

Friends kid had a temper tantrum in the boat and ripped all the wires out from under the dash. Went through hell getting that fixed.

From use it is showing its age. Doesn’t run as fast. I’ve lost about 5-6mph at WOT. The last compression test I did a couple years ago shown it lost 20 to 23# from factory specs. Only had a 3# variance in cylinders, so it has worn incredibly even.

That boat/motor has more hours on it than some IDO members have been alive. Every year I consider replacing it with newer/bigger….then ask myself why. I get butthurt thinking about the price tag on new and “improved” engine and see all my friends dumping huge amounts of money into their 225s and 250’s. For the same reasons I won’t buy a new truck. Too dam much money and too many more things to go wrong.
But then I’m an old fart with simple thinking. gas+spark+air = Explosion. Why complicate things?
Next, guys will be putting their engines on the dyno and adding performance chips/programing like a Pro-mod

Here is an invaluable tip for anyone who has a carburated outboard motor that comes from many years in the marine industry.

I am not much of a believer in mechanical solutions from a can or bottle and I am amazed by the people who swear by Sea Foam and have obviously never looked at the ingredients that are listed on the MSDS sheet (oil, alcohol, and naptha) and are exactly the same as their Trans tuneup product????????

The large percentage of running problems in outboards are usually dirty, gummed up or clogged in some way carburators and low concentrations of Sea Foam will do nothing to remedy this

CRC makes an Engine Tuneup and Decarbonizer product that I have personally seen resurrect dozens of outboards, chainsaws, generators and other power equipment from barely running to running anywhere from well to flawlessly.

The trick is to get a high concentration in a warm carb and let it sit for 20 mins to a day or more. I will often have the warm engine running and then spray it into the carb with a short piece of fuel line until the engine dies and then leave it sit to work its magic. Doing this way gets into the jets and passages and cleans and clears them better than anything short of a $200.00 carb teardown and ultrasonic cleaning.

If you have issues this is a cheap and easy thing to try that has a very high likelihood of changing your boating life for the better. If this treatment changes nothing then you likely have ignition, compression or electrical issues to address.

All I ask is that if this tip ever helps you out just send some good boating and fishing karma my way.

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shamus wrote:

No I just call it as I see it. It’s okay for for you to bitch about a product but when someone else does it’s being “butthurt” or whatever moron bullshit you want to call it. I got it. Keep sucking up to the powers that be I’m sure someday they’ll pin a flowering ribbon on your chest.

Ahh…it was Friday night and this happens? Great post too BTW Randy Wieland!
Mine is still tucked away just across the shore of Mille Lacs. Won’t get a chance to pull it out but a week before opener.

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ClownColor wrote:

Not sure how to respond to this thread. Part of me wants to keep the feud going…LOL

I have a 2 stroke mercury 90hp. Cold blooded as hell but tough as bullets. Bought in ’07 so I guess that makes it 10 years old. Only thing I do to winterize is lower end unit and seafoam. Doesn’t matter if it sat for 6 months or 6 minutes… Takes about five pumps on the bulb and five twists of key…starts every time. Shakes like shikara’s hips and smokes like cheech’s bong but I imaging it’ll go another 10 years. Happy but would consider an Asian 4 stroke.

Haha. That sounds an awful lot like my mid-80s 2-stroke merc 50 so hopefully you’ll get a lot more than another 10 out of it. Had mine out today and it ran a lot better than a a few weeks ago so that made me feel a little better.

ClownColor wrote:

Takes about five pumps on the bulb and five twists of key…starts every time. Shakes like shikara’s hips and smokes like cheech’s bong but I imaging it’ll go another 10 years. Happy but would consider an Asian 4 stroke.

so many things “wrong” yet right about this post-rock on clown!

Worst I had was my alternator died on a brand new Merc 150 the second time I had it on the water. (Well, brand new to me. But it was a 2014 with only 30 hours, so basically new).

Thankfully it was covered under warranty. Sorry, my motor pains aren’t that bad….. Yet….

Ran a 1994 Yamaha Pro 60 for 17 years all I ever did was at the end of the year fog it and run all the gas out of it, change the plugs and lower unit oil. Never once did I have to take it in. Since then I have had a Yamaha 115 for 4 years a 90 for a year and now a new 150 SHO on the Skeeter so time will tell on this motor but I assume if I take the same kind of care of it, it will do just as well. Bad Gas would be the biggest issue I see out there, Keep it fresh. No one can predict onther issues that will happen to any brand of motor. Goo dluck!

I have 2 Yamaha motors, a 150 EFI main and a 8 hp carbureted kicker. I’ve never had a lick of trouble with the main but the kicker has cost me bundles on carburetor work. Ethanol gas, even with stabilizer, has caused me much grief. Now, instead of just trying to run the carb out of gas, I remove the screw at the bottom of the bowl to drain the last drop.

1985 Evinrude VRO 90hp. It is running like a champ after rebuilding the power head and replacing the water pump. She can be a little cold blooded at times. Before the rebuild, she left me in the lake twice. But now she has been good for the last 8 years.

Sorry. I’m no help. I’ve put 1000’s of hours on my motors and being they were all tillers, close to a 1000 a year. Zero dollars spent on repairs… ever. My motors have all been 5-20 yrs old as well.

I can’t say I’ve even replaced the spark plugs. I change oil once or twice a year and lower unit lube. Not a penny more ever. I always say I could blow up a motor tomorrow and I’d still buy the same blue/grey colored motor

Had a 81 Merc 50HP, only had issues once. Had to work it cold but always ran. Now have a 115 4S and was wondering if you guys always add the blue Stabil to your gas or anything else to keep it fresh? I was told to by the dealer.

Tuma wrote:

1985 Evinrude VRO 90hp. It is running like a champ after rebuilding the power head and replacing the water pump. She can be a little cold blooded at times. Before the rebuild, she left me in the lake twice. But now she has been good for the last 8 years.

I have a 91 VRO 90hp rebuilt it 2 years ago re used the connecting rod bolts which apparently can’t be done with these motors ran for 2 months and basically a grenade went off inside the motor… After a .030 bore over new pistons, rings, crank grinding, and heads she has ran spot on for the last 2 years, never missing a beat. She is cold blooded (starts fine just doesn’t like to stay idling without the warm up lever). Hopefully 2 large repairs so close together will have the motor Gods shining on me for awhile and keep me running.

Joe Scegura wrote:

Sorry. I’m no help. I’ve put 1000’s of hours on my motors and being they were all tillers, close to a 1000 a year. Zero dollars spent on repairs… ever. My motors have all been 5-20 yrs old as well.

I can’t say I’ve even replaced the spark plugs. I change oil once or twice a year and lower unit lube. Not a penny more ever. I always say I could blow up a motor tomorrow and I’d still buy the same blue/grey colored motor

You put 3.5 hours a day of run time on a motor? 7 days a week? For 9 months per year?
Or, 2.7 hours per day of motor run time, every day of the year, 1/1 – 12/31.

I love fishing but no way I’m sitting in a boat for 8 hours a day 7 days a week for 9 months straight. I won’t even be able to afford the gas.

Kyhl wrote:

You put 3.5 hours a day of run time on a motor? 7 days a week? For 9 months per year?
Or, 2.7 hours per day of motor run time, every day of the year, 1/1 – 12/31.

I love fishing but no way I’m sitting in a boat for 8 hours a day 7 days a week for 9 months straight. I won’t even be able to afford the gas.

Now we have officially reached the sunshine and rainbows part of the thread. That “1000 hrs” comment rivals Gorg’s “horses lose hundreds of pounds” during a race.

I guess when I checked last year I had 850 hrs so I guess I was a bit short. I have hit 1000 though. I run 8-9 hr trips where my motor never shuts off. I guide 75+ days a year and pre fishing and tubing with my family. It adds up quick. Say what you want about your sunshine and rainbows.

The year I hit 1000 I ran a lot of double trips. My motor ran over 12 hrs a day. My longest streak was 12 day straight of this. So I put well over 100hrs on in less than two weeks.

It sure is nice when someone tries to take time to post thoughtful helpful posts only to get criticized. No wonder the people that actually fish and have a lot to share no longer waste their time here.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Kyhl wrote:</div>
You put 3.5 hours a day of run time on a motor? 7 days a week? For 9 months per year?
Or, 2.7 hours per day of motor run time, every day of the year, 1/1 – 12/31.

I love fishing but no way I’m sitting in a boat for 8 hours a day 7 days a week for 9 months straight. I won’t even be able to afford the gas.

Now we have officially reached the sunshine and rainbows part of the thread. That “1000 hrs” comment rivals Gorg’s “horses lose hundreds of pounds” during a race.

BINGO! top 5 in the preposterous statement contest for sure!!

Joe is in a great position to have reliable motors. Using your motors regularly make the best motors. Guys that are guides don’t let them sit.

Aaron Kalberer wrote:

She is cold blooded (starts fine just doesn’t like to stay idling without the warm up lever)

X2