Checking a motor on Craigslist... 1990s Johnson 25hp 2stroke

Hi everyone. I am going to check out a boat on Craigslist tomorrow (1997 16ft Alumacraft Lunker). All I know about the motor is that it is a 25hp 2 stroke Johnson. I don't know anything about motors and I want to try my best to make sure the motor is okay before I buy the boat.

The lower unit looks like it might be in bad shape, and he mentions it has a new prop, are those red flags in anyone's opinion? I'm worried about water getting in, is there a way to see without changing the oil?

I am not expecting it to go very fast with a 25hp, but does anyone recognize this motor and know how reliable they are? I know late 1990s Johnsons might have had some issues.

He said he will start it up for me no problem, can anyone suggest anything else to look for? I know I should check the compression but I don't have the tools and do not know how.

In general, if anyone has any suggestions about anything I should be aware of when going to look at the boat, I would definitely appreciate it!

It would be good if you could see it run. This holds true no matter what you are buying. These are excellent motors with few problems and if it runs, I wouldn’t worry about losing my investment. You’ll want to do the water pump impeller anyway for piece of mind and it’s really not that big a deal to do prop seals at that time. Even if you pay a shop to do it, it’s not that big a job. They made that engine for a long time. 20-35hp same parts and they hold up well. My 35 is a 1983 and it’s very reliable. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how strong that 25 is.


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Definitely let him start it and see it running. The other things I look for when buying a boat is the registration history... that boat was paid for in 16 and 17 so you're looking good there. People don't register boats that don't work... Ask questions if it looks like the motor was recently thrown on there just to sell it... Also look at the quality of paint and general appearance of the motor... that's a 20 year old motor with still pretty good looking original paint.... another plus.... in my experience a worn out motor will also look worn out and mistreated on the outside....

From here it doesn't look like a bad risk...

Thanks guys for the piece of mind. I am going to go look at it in a few hours and I will be sure to check that it runs.

Well I got the boat. The motor started up right away. There are just a few little things I don't like about it, overall I am happy with my purchase. I did get a flat tire on the way home, but luckily the spare was there. I might switch a few things about the trailer, this one has a 1 7/8" coupler thats welded on, and the hubs take "hub screws" (?) to hold the tires on... they don't have the "posts" sticking out that the tire slides onto... I've never seen that.

I did have a question about the motor that someone may be able to help me with...

Every tiller manual trim motor that I've had, had 3 positions... down for cruising, titled up a bit for "shallow water" boating and a position where I could tilt the motor all the way up and lock it.... like if I was beaching the boat.

He told me that this motor only has two positions, the shallow water drive (what you see in the picture) and all the way down for cruising. Is that correct? That this motor cannot be locked all the way up?

That looks like a very nice boat. More pics would be great. I bet it's rated for at least a 40 hp.

Your trailer is fine. My wheel studs are the same way. As long as your hitch is good then leave it. That size is strong enough. Some motors have a lever for a trolling position and a seperate lever to trailer it up. Look again but IDK.

tcampbell011 said:

Well I got the boat. The motor started up right away. There are just a few little things I don't like about it, overall I am happy with my purchase. I did get a flat tire on the way home, but luckily the spare was there. I might switch a few things about the trailer, this one has a 1 7/8" coupler thats welded on, and the hubs take "hub screws" (?) to hold the tires on... they don't have the "posts" sticking out that the tire slides onto... I've never seen that.

I did have a question about the motor that someone may be able to help me with...

Every tiller manual trim motor that I've had, had 3 positions... down for cruising, titled up a bit for "shallow water" boating and a position where I could tilt the motor all the way up and lock it.... like if I was beaching the boat.

He told me that this motor only has two positions, the shallow water drive (what you see in the picture) and all the way down for cruising. Is that correct? That this motor cannot be locked all the way up?

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That motor has several positions for "trim" see the holes? I can't tell if the pin is in it or not, I am pretty sure there are four or five positions. It is a rod that has a plastic catch on one side that locks it in place. If it is missing you can order them online.

I think the boat is really nice, it's exactly the layout I want. I will post pictures in a few hours!

The hull isn't in the best shape though. The boat has a good amount of screw holes through the hull above the water line. I think I will try to plug them somehow, I know I've seen a guide on here before. They are about 3/16" holes and I can get to the backside of some of them. I'm thinking rivets w 5200, but is there a rivet that "looks good" on both sides?

Also there is a golfball size hole in the aluminum, about 10in above the waterline near the gunnel. It has been patched with fiberglass. The guy said its always been that way since he bought the boat. He took it to someone and was quoted at $115 to have it welded, but they would have to buff out a lot of the logo on that side. He decided he wanted the logo. I'm planning on having it welded. Seeing a little patch of fiberglass matt is worse than a metal spot in my opinion.

I do understand how the trim holes work (I think). You can adjust the angle of the outboard depending on your boat so it rides better, or shallower. What I am talking about is the position where the motor is completely out of the water. Here is a picture from google that shows it:



The guy said the motor doesn't tilt up like that, anyone know if that's true? I'm going to go out and play with it. Maybe a part is broken.

This leads me to another question... Does it stress a motor to let it run on water muffs? I would like to turn the motor on and off a few times and let it run for longer than 10min at the house before I take it out. Whenever I've used muffs it's just been quick to test the motor runs.

Thanks for all the help

Here are some pics of the motor, as you can see the shift lever has been modified. The plastic lever broke, and the pvc allows the motor to still shift. It actually works pretty well but I might look into fixing it.

Here are some pics of the boat and the fiberglassed hole. I will start a new thread in mods and conversions when I start working on it. Also kinda weird, the guy said he never ratcheted down the back of the boat when he trailered it. I would think the boat would bounce around like crazy (also no safety chain on the bow eye). Anyway I got a strap out and strapped it down for the ride.

Nice pics. Those shifter handles are about $25. Any problem reaching the tiller handle?

Bob Munden lived in Butte.

Any problem reaching the tiller handle?

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No problems at all, I can turn it all the way to each side while looking forward.

Bob Munden lived in Butte.

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Cool I never knew that! I'm just here finishing up my degree at Montana Tech. The Butte natives I hear most about are Evel Knievel and Rob O'Neil (the guy who killed Bin Laden).

Should be seen just inside the location of the lock mechanism

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I played with it a bit and found it. It's the same lever to switch between all the positions. You just flip it while holding the motor up and it stays up. I guess the guy before me just never knew.