99 Force 120 1 cylinder dead what to do?

[tony78664]

I have a 99 Force 120 that has 0 compression in the first cylinder the other 3 are fine and hit about 140. <br /><br />The boat runs fine except a little rough at idle. The spark plug from the 1st cylinder did have a silver coating. So question is, the engine does run but how bad is the damage?<br /><br />Is it possible to rebuild only the bad cylinder with what it needs? Or is a complete rebuild in order?<br /><br />Since its still running should it be run until it completely dies since a rebuild is a rebuild for the whole engine either way?<br /><br /><br />Thank you for your comments!

 

[Scaaty]

Re: 99 Force 120 1 cylinder dead what to do?

STOP NOW! You melted a piston (its got a hole in it). Take it in to a mechanic. He will explain what happened, and caused by improper timing, detonation, hot spot, or lousy gas possible. You can probably get away with just replacing the piston and a quick bore hone. Not too expensive. Wish ya well, and been there and done that too.

 

[tony78664]

Re: 99 Force 120 1 cylinder dead what to do?

Thanks for you help. I'm guessing it was bad gas. We ran it almost dry and the gas was sitting there for a few months. Live and learn...<br /><br />How much is that fix? The two boat shops I've called said they only do complete rebuilds at one said 1400 other said 2500 does that sound right?

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 99 Force 120 1 cylinder dead what to do?

well its about 15 hours labor if you do the carbs and cooling system plus the parts.<br /> last force pistons I bought were close to 100 dollars apiece. buy the motor may be worth it. stick to a force dealer. not all dealers are good but odds are they will warrenty it. check with ordering a reman block as well. I think southwest offers a 15 month warrenty.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: 99 Force 120 1 cylinder dead what to do?

Another reason to never toss an old Force, unless its just out in the back of the shop. New parts are very expensive, and labor is not cheap...they gotta pay the bills too. If you are chummy with your local boat shop(and it pays off to be that way) ask if there is a local guy that collects old outboards for parts somewhere in your town. Might be able to pick up a parts block for cheap, and tell the mechanic he can do the fixing with those parts. Although he might refuse for legal reasons. Or he might know the local that works out his garage. I broke a driveshaft on my 125, and the local "collector" sold me a good lower unit complete, but a broke/sheared off skeg for $100. Of course I did the work myself, but the driveshaft new was around $450 (?) years ago. Don't be in a rush, and you will be hard pressed to find a Force dealer..try Mercury, or a Bayliner dealer. Bayliners came with Force (US Marine). Also don't forget ebay! Good luck