is this johnson worth it

[flajsh]

I'm trying to decide if this motor is a decent deal. Don't know much about motors but can do some things.
its a 85 Johnson 40 hp guys says it needs water pump impeller. Prop seal and carb cleaning.
Said it 170 lbs on each side. I'm assuming that means compression. Says starts right up.
Wants 450. Is that compression good.

Thanks

 

[Johny25]

There is no way on Gods green earth that motor has 170lbs compression sorry Brand new they were probably about 120-130 maybe. I have never heard of any OMC motor with that type of compression, not even racing motors. I would want to see a compression check with my own eyes when a claim like that is made. Sounds WAY TO FISHY.

But if you get to see a compression test and all cylinders are 100 lbs or better and within 10-15% of each other the rest of the work is not that hard. $20 bucks or so for a carb kit, maybe $10-15 bucks for lower seals, and impeller another $20. Plus about $10 bucks to ship it.

Is it an electric start or rope start? Long or short shaft? Tiller or remote? This all makes a difference in value. $450 is a great price if it does have good compression. Be careful though, if the lower seals are shot and he has run it with water in the lower unit the whole lower unit could be shot.

 

[shawnfish]

There is no way on Gods green earth that motor has 170lbs compression sorry Brand new they were probably about 120-130 maybe. I have never heard of any OMC motor with that type of compression, not even racing motors. I would want to see a compression check with my own eyes when a claim like that is made. Sounds WAY TO FISHY.

But if you get to see a compression test and all cylinders are 100 lbs or better and within 10-15% of each other the rest of the work is not that hard. $20 bucks or so for a carb kit, maybe $10-15 bucks for lower seals, and impeller another $20. Plus about $10 bucks to ship it.

Is it an electric start or rope start? Long or short shaft? Tiller or remote? This all makes a difference in value. $450 is a great price if it does have good compression. Be careful though, if the lower seals are shot and he has run it with water in the lower unit the whole lower unit could be shot.

LIKE 25 SAID.....NO WAY IN SAM HELL ITS GOT 170LBS COMPRESSION! 100 OR OVER IS GOOD.NOW THE PARTS THE GUY CLAIMS IT NEEDS AND THE LITTLE BIT OF LABOR INVOLVED COMBINED WITH THE 450.00 FOR THE MOTOR WHERE IM AT IS A HELLUVA DEAL NO
MATTER WHAT MODEL IT IS, THAT IS IF ITS GOT GOOD COMPRESSION AND THE ONLY THINGS WRONG WITH IT ARE WHAT THE GUY CLAIMS. WATER PUMP AND IMPELLER SHOULD BE INSTALLED ANYTIME YOU BUY A USED MOTOR THAT WAY YOU KNOW FOR SURE ITS GOOD TO GO IN THAT ASPECT. MAKE SURE YOU HEAR IT RUN AND IF I WERE YOU I WOULD TELL HIM YOU WANNA DRAIN THE LOWER TO INSPECT IT FOR WATER AND METAL THATS BIGGER THAN FINE GRIT FROM NORMAL WEAR BUT A GUY COULD DRAIN THE WATER OUT AND PUT NEW OIL IN TOO, YA NEVER KNOW. BUT IF EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD TO YA I SAY GO FOR IT! WISH I COULD FIND A DEAL LIKE THAT, ID BUY IT QUICK. A SOUND MOTOR LIKE THAT WOULD GET A GRAND OR MORE EASY HERE......

 

[shawnfish]

There is no way on Gods green earth that motor has 170lbs compression sorry Brand new they were probably about 120-130 maybe. I have never heard of any OMC motor with that type of compression, not even racing motors. I would want to see a compression check with my own eyes when a claim like that is made. Sounds WAY TO FISHY.

But if you get to see a compression test and all cylinders are 100 lbs or better and within 10-15% of each other the rest of the work is not that hard. $20 bucks or so for a carb kit, maybe $10-15 bucks for lower seals, and impeller another $20. Plus about $10 bucks to ship it.

Is it an electric start or rope start? Long or short shaft? Tiller or remote? This all makes a difference in value. $450 is a great price if it does have good compression. Be careful though, if the lower seals are shot and he has run it with water in the lower unit the whole lower unit could be shot.

LIKE 25 SAID.....NO WAY IN SAM HELL ITS GOT 170LBS COMPRESSION! 100 OR OVER IS GOOD.NOW THE PARTS THE GUY CLAIMS IT NEEDS AND THE LITTLE BIT OF LABOR INVOLVED COMBINED WITH THE 450.00 FOR THE MOTOR WHERE IM AT IS A HELLUVA DEAL NO
MATTER WHAT MODEL IT IS, THAT IS IF ITS GOT GOOD COMPRESSION AND THE ONLY THINGS WRONG WITH IT ARE WHAT THE GUY CLAIMS. WATER PUMP AND IMPELLER SHOULD BE INSTALLED ANYTIME YOU BUY A USED MOTOR THAT WAY YOU KNOW FOR SURE ITS GOOD TO GO IN THAT ASPECT. MAKE SURE YOU HEAR IT RUN AND IF I WERE YOU I WOULD TELL HIM YOU WANNA DRAIN THE LOWER TO INSPECT IT FOR WATER AND METAL THATS BIGGER THAN FINE GRIT FROM NORMAL WEAR BUT A GUY COULD DRAIN THE WATER OUT AND PUT NEW OIL IN TOO, YA NEVER KNOW. BUT IF EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD TO YA I SAY GO FOR IT! WISH I COULD FIND A DEAL LIKE THAT, ID BUY IT QUICK. A SOUND MOTOR LIKE THAT WOULD GET A GRAND OR MORE EASY HERE......

 

[shawnfish]

There is no way on Gods green earth that motor has 170lbs compression sorry Brand new they were probably about 120-130 maybe. I have never heard of any OMC motor with that type of compression, not even racing motors. I would want to see a compression check with my own eyes when a claim like that is made. Sounds WAY TO FISHY.

But if you get to see a compression test and all cylinders are 100 lbs or better and within 10-15% of each other the rest of the work is not that hard. $20 bucks or so for a carb kit, maybe $10-15 bucks for lower seals, and impeller another $20. Plus about $10 bucks to ship it.

Is it an electric start or rope start? Long or short shaft? Tiller or remote? This all makes a difference in value. $450 is a great price if it does have good compression. Be careful though, if the lower seals are shot and he has run it with water in the lower unit the whole lower unit could be shot.

LIKE 25 SAID.....NO WAY IN SAM HELL ITS GOT 170LBS COMPRESSION! 100 OR OVER IS GOOD.NOW THE PARTS THE GUY CLAIMS IT NEEDS AND THE LITTLE BIT OF LABOR INVOLVED COMBINED WITH THE 450.00 FOR THE MOTOR WHERE IM AT IS A HELLUVA DEAL NO
MATTER WHAT MODEL IT IS, THAT IS IF ITS GOT GOOD COMPRESSION AND THE ONLY THINGS WRONG WITH IT ARE WHAT THE GUY CLAIMS. WATER PUMP AND IMPELLER SHOULD BE INSTALLED ANYTIME YOU BUY A USED MOTOR THAT WAY YOU KNOW FOR SURE ITS GOOD TO GO IN THAT ASPECT. MAKE SURE YOU HEAR IT RUN AND IF I WERE YOU I WOULD TELL HIM YOU WANNA DRAIN THE LOWER TO INSPECT IT FOR WATER AND METAL THATS BIGGER THAN FINE GRIT FROM NORMAL WEAR BUT A GUY COULD DRAIN THE WATER OUT AND PUT NEW OIL IN TOO, YA NEVER KNOW. BUT IF EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD TO YA I SAY GO FOR IT! WISH I COULD FIND A DEAL LIKE THAT, ID BUY IT QUICK. A SOUND MOTOR LIKE THAT WOULD GET A GRAND OR MORE EASY HERE......

 

[flajsh]

Thanks for all your help guys. I decided to pass on motor.
instead of starting new thread I figure I just keep this thread for help.

So I was looking at a 75 evinrude 25 hp and the guy changed shaft length.
but also says he removed thermostat. What would the reason for this be. Is it a red flag?

 

[Johny25]

Shaft length change is no big deal, see it all the time (from short to long). The thermostat should be put back in though. Some people that use there motors in warm salt water remove them but I wouldn't advise it. The thermostat has a purpose, to keep the engine at a specific temp. Without the thermostat the motor will not warm up correctly or maintain the optimum operating temp.

 

[jasper60103]

I agree with johny^^.
Also, the thermostat may have been removed to solve a
cooling problem.
If that's the case, it may have overheated.
I would be concerned.
Does the head show any paint discoloration?

 

[flajsh]

I agree with johny^^.
Also, the thermostat may have been removed to solve a
cooling problem.
If that's the case, it may have overheated.
I would be concerned.
Does the head show any paint discoloration?

Haven't gone to see it yet.just talked to guy for a bit
I was trying to decide if its worth going to see because
I have to haul my three little girls with me because my wife works weekends
So its hard to do so Im trying to narrow down what might
Be worth looking at lol

 

[JMichael]

I agree with johny^^.
Also, the thermostat may have been removed to solve a
cooling problem.
If that's the case, it may have overheated.
I would be concerned.
Does the head show any paint discoloration?

Haven't gone to see it yet.just talked to guy for a bit
I was trying to decide if its worth going to see because
I have to haul my three little girls with me because my wife works weekends
So its hard to do so Im trying to narrow down what might
Be worth looking at lol

For me, I think it would depend on how far the drive was and how much he was asking for the motor. As far as the thermostat goes, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it but I would take a compression tester with me to check the motor out. In 75, thermostats in outboards was still pretty new thing. So one going bad and the owner just pulling it out and putting the cover back on was a common thing to happen.

 

[flajsh]

Well I called about the aforementioned Johnson 40 Hp and he swears it s 170 on both sides.
so I think Ill go see for myself. But I guess the question is. If I check it and its that high
should I walk away. Don't know if compression that high is bad.

The 25 evinrude the guy said he had it on a 18 ft boat
And he took thermostat off so more water would be pumped out on that
Boat and he said he thinks it was stuck open.
And he will give me the parts to put back to short shaft.

Man this is more confusing than deciding what tin to buy .

Soooo?

 

[shawnfish]

Well I called about the aforementioned Johnson 40 Hp and he swears it s 170 on both sides.
so I think Ill go see for myself. But I guess the question is. If I check it and its that high
should I walk away. Don't know if compression that high is bad.

The 25 evinrude the guy said he had it on a 18 ft boat
And he took thermostat off so more water would be pumped out on that
Boat and he said he thinks it was stuck open.
And he will give me the parts to put back to short shaft.

Man this is more confusing than deciding what tin to buy .

Soooo?

if the 40 has anything over 100lbs and both are within about 10-15lbs of each other then its good. if they are 170 take a pic, this id have to see to beleive. check the lower unit for oil stains on the outside where it may be leaking, even if cleaned real good youll see a yellow tint, drain some oil out(water will come out first so u dont have to drain it all, check for metal bigger than fine grit) and check. you can check the lower too to see if its been bounced and banged against rocks,ramp trees etc....make him fire it up in a barrel for you...

id go with the 40 like i said before thats a great deal if its sound......and if the compression is that high its not bad.

 

[GYPSY400]

Let's hope his compression tester is not working properly.. Rope start motors ideal compression is 120... Electric start can get up to 145-150.. Test it for yourself.

 

[J.P.]

The thermostat should be put back in though. Some people that use there motors in warm salt water remove them but I wouldn't advise it. The thermostat has a purpose, to keep the engine at a specific temp. Without the thermostat the motor will not warm up correctly or maintain the optimum operating temp.

i'm thinking of removing the thermostat on my motor. it's functioning now, but i'm sure it will eventually fail. when that happens and i don't notice, it would result to serious powr head damage, which would be a like a death sentence to an OMC outboard motor where i am. we don't have OMC/BRP dealerships here, i buy my parts online, so i'd like to limit my maintenance to impeller and repair kits. for me, this is like a case of choosing the lesser of two evils. risk running outside ideal engine temperature or run at ideal temp and risk possible overheat....... your thoughts please.

sorry, i don't meant to hijack the thread. but it's hard to pass up the topic since the thermostat issue has already been raised.

 

[Johny25]

Not sure how old your motor is but thermostats rarely fail. If you are that concerned about it then I would advise you replace it and it will be good for another 20+ years. I mean you are going to open it up to get the old one out anyway, might as well just replace it for $15-20 plus shipping right? I have OMC's that are 25-30yrs old and the thermostats are still working fine. I have replaced them before thinking they were bad but they weren't. But since I was in there anyway I replaced it.

 

[garzilla]

Don't remove your thermostat....it's there for a reason.

 

[flajsh]

Really sorry guys.
But was the 99 merc 35 a good motor.

Again sorry. I must be driving ya's nuts lol

 

[Johny25]

I am not that familiar with Mercs but I will say that all of the major motor name brands are good motors if they are taken care of. I have heard that mercs in the 70's and 80's and early 90's were not as well built as the OMC's but to each there own. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a late 90's Merc if it was in good condition and the price was right. But I would have to paint it Evinrude blue or Johnson white so my friends didn't know :lol:

 

[flajsh]

I am not that familiar with Mercs but I will say that all of the major motor name brands are good motors if they are taken care of. I have heard that mercs in the 70's and 80's and early 90's were not as well built as the OMC's but to each there own. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a late 90's Merc if it was in good condition and the price was right. But I would have to paint it Evinrude blue or Johnson white so my friends didn't know :lol:

I think I want a Johnson also. Not because of any knowledge I have about it.
But mainly cause you guys that know what your talking about really seem to like them.

 

[flajsh]

I guess ill probably end it and go see the 40 Johnson and do compression test
Myself. Just don't know if I can change prop seal.