Johnson, Mercury, Chrysler?

Hey guys,
im looking into getting a new outboard for my boat, and I was wondering of any opinions on motors, or pros and cons of them, of course I'd love a Johnson, or evinrude, im kinda partial to them, but they can get costly and hard to find a good, reliable, motor. ive heard pretty good things about mercury. Those are a little less expensive and easier to find. And i know Chrysler isnt THAT great but if worse comes to worse. Anyway let me know what you think of motor makers and off brands like Sea King or mariners and stuff etc. All ive used is my oars and my Minn Kota. Thanks all of you who answer.

my next motor will be a merc or johnson or evinrude. i havent heard any good about chrysler, but have never been around a new chrysler outboard.

i wouldnt recomend game fisher, ect ect offbrands. my ted williams seems to have one little problem after another, just like my brothers old game fisher, but with work so slow, i recon im stuck with it for now..

goodluck!

There are no "new" Chrystler outboards and the old, original ones are only so-so.

Avoid any old Force motors like the plague

Don't rule out motors like Nissan or Tohatsu if you run across them. Tough as nails.

I am assuming you are speaking of smaller outboards? 40 HP and less? My theory on this kind of stuff is this; just about any type of car/motorcycle/outboard etc... can run like a champ and be reliable and the best of the best. However I firmly believe its the luck of the draw. I have had 3 brand new mercs on different boats and 2 out of the 3 were exceptional, top of the line, never had a problem. The other one was the biggest piece of crap ever. I currently have a 175 Yami and its awesome. Nothing bad to say about it at all. I know guys that have had older Johnsons and some were junk others great. Im not sure how this happens but maybe a guy on the assembly line came in hung over and didnt place a screw in the right place or maybe he had leftover parts? I don t know. Its the same for cars, Ford, Dodge, Chevy?

I think if I had to choose a smaller outboard I would go with a johnson. They seem to have good customer service and the products are now made pretty good.

Also i am by no means a mechanic, woodworking is my gift. So i can listen to it run what should it sound like, and what should i make sure is good. Ill listen to hear if it runs smooth with out choppiness. its from a marina so they said that they checked the compression and its good, and changed the lube in the gears, Its a 9.9 johnson and is 450.00. What do you'all think? Any tips? It looked clean and only used in fresh water. First time buyer.

There are no good and bad motors only good and bad owners.If a motor is taken care of it will provide many trouble free years of service.If it's neglected it will repay it's owner accordingly.Same thing goes for houses,autos,motorcycles and most any other property that can be bought and sold.So I would put my money on a well maintained motor and not on a specific manufacture.Just my opinion and we all know what "THEY" say about opinions. :LOL22:

Well of course owner maintenance is the most important thing in preserving a good engine but if you are buying used like I am, i just want to make sure the previous owner took good care of it. So i mean like what to check for or listen for, any manufactuers that have reputations of like... needing expensive repairs etc...

Check the lower unit oil.If it looks like chocolate milk the seals are bad.Check the prop for dings.Pop the cowl and have a look for bad wiring.Have the owner do a cold start.If the engine is warm when you get there,it make have problems starting cold.

lifesaball18 said:

Also i am by no means a mechanic, woodworking is my gift. So i can listen to it run what should it sound like, and what should i make sure is good. Ill listen to hear if it runs smooth with out choppiness. its from a marina so they said that they checked the compression and its good, and changed the lube in the gears, Its a 9.9 johnson and is 450.00. What do you'all think? Any tips? It looked clean and only used in fresh water. First time buyer.

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So long as the Marina is reputable I like it. Much better then purchasing through a private sale unless you get it checked out professionally. Make sure you have them put the results of the compression test in writing as well as the date of the lube change.

Will they give you a 30 day (or longer) warranty?

Will they install for you?

If you can get them to give you a warranty, I suggest that you purchase the motor but let them hold it until you are actually ready to use it - a short warranty is worthless if the lakes are frozen and you never run teh motor during the warranty period.


Get the service manual for the motor (you can buy them online from the manufacturer)

For $450.00 this sounds like a good deal

Yeah, thats why id rather buy at a marina, they said they changed the gear lube and that the comp is good, the owner (who i talked to) said that if i had problems in the spring that if i bought it, id wouldnt get a warranty in writing, but that if something was wrong first time i tried to use it, they'll take a look and do what they could, the guy seemed real nice and was recommended by a friend. ill see if he'll put the comp and the date of the gear lube change on paper though.

Long story short. Go for service. Buy from someone with good service. The brand would be second, to me. Doug

Well, im gonna go take alook at the motor tomorrow so hopefully all goes well and its a good deal.