Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

[85stratosman]

Well after running into alot of problems on my 1987 Johnson GT 150 and discovering it would run around 3 grand to have rebuilt, I found a 1979 Model Johnson Seahorse 150. The motor's compression is good with 113 psi being the lowest and 120psi on three cylinders being the highest. The lower unit had good clean lube in it and the trim works good and doesnt leak down. It is going to need the carbs cleaned and new needles and seats, but all in all I guess what I am wanting to know is would this motor run pretty good for its age as far as pushing an 18 ft stratos bass boat and is it worth 400.00?

 

[jonesg]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

Fix the other engine, DIY , if its just one cylinder you can do it for around $500 with machine work and new piston.
I'd take a closer look before throwing the towel in.
Mechanics prefer to do a total rebuild to reduce comebacks.
But the factory manual says you can rebuild one hole.

I would not want a $400 for my primary powerplant, a parts engine spare maybe for parts but it doesn't match the one you have anyway. sooo....

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

I agree with Jones on getting a 30 year old motor. I would be more inclined to look for a 95 or newer motor for $1500 to $1800. sometimes you can even find a low hours 2001-03 for around this price if you are patient. The older motors can do ok..but unless someone has already recently replaced coils, and power pack/packs and stator, you could run into another $500-700 in parts..I hate being stuck out on the water..had to call a friend last week because of my starter on my 1995 150. On an old motor I would be tempted to replace every electrical part to lessen my chances of getting stranded. Probably run about 1K to do this.

 

[JB]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

If the '79 outboard can be successfully demonstrated on the water it is worth a lot more than $400 as a backup or a primary powerplant. 30 years is nothing to a well cared for JohnnyRude.

Tell us about your 1987 outboard. I agree that it can probably be saved for a lot less than 3 grand, and you won't have to strip and then re-rig your boat.

 

[chucko]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

I got a 74 johnson 70 looper, that had electric problems, I replaced with new parts the stator, coils, rectifier, and power pack for less than 225.00 Just be patient, the parts are out there looking for a new home. Get a factory shop manual. Its not hard to check it out. By the way the original coils were still working good, but were cracking with hairlines so I replaced them. The stator had leaked but was still working, so got another. I was offered a new rectifier for 10 bucks so got it. Everythings working strong now!

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

I wouldn't shy away from a good 79. The compression is fine. They did use the old remote-mounted trim box, but other than that it could be a real find. It's not VRO equipped. You could run the larger throat 87 carbs on it. Your control box and cables will work as is.

 

[85stratosman]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

Thanks guys The problem with the 1987 is that it has already been bored .030 and the marine shops want to resleeve all the cylinders to get it back to a standard bore. They also say that you have to break the whole motor down to replace one piston so you might as well replace all. Well i have pulled the heads and then the carbs and what not to check and see if you have to do all that and yes you do. My plan is that this lady has this old 84 kingfisher that has this 79 johnson 150 and she just wants it out of her yard after convincing her that I couldnt give her what she wanted for it that the boat hull was no good and all I could use was the motor she said she understood cuz her ex husband was worried about losing the motor this summer because the transom was so rotted. I checked the lower unit and good clean oil came out and after I got it running by putting a good fuel bubble and good premix fuel and a hot battery she fired right up well thats good but we all know they can sound great outside of the water till under a load. So I did the compression check on it and that was a lot better than my 87 and all were within 7psi of one another. So before I buy I am going to run it to the lake and back it in the water and push against the trailer with it and if it acts like it wants to jump over the tongue then I think she will be good.

 

[JB]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

No. Resleeving is not the problem. It is a solution to something. What is that something and what are the symptoms?

It is not beyond the realm of possibilities that someone wants a winter job and the proposed resleeving is a solution to that. That is his problem, not yours.

Now. Tell us what is wrong with the '87 engine. My guess is that it can be fixed economically.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Is the 1979 Johnson SeaHorse 150 A Good Motor?

Chucko, I just bought a stator for a 84 johnson 150 it was around $270 just for it. must be way more than for your 70, also has 2 power packs and 6 coils..so you would bust $500 quickly, also dont forget fuel pumps many still have the originals, thats another $200-300, I have just found that most late 70s and 80s models will need most of these parts replaced..but are still great engines as long as the compression is good. I just helped a buddy get a 79 150 and a 84 150 running and they crank when you just bump the key and run real smooth. they are on the same boat, so with twin motors I am more brave to not replace all the old parts. So all I am saying is if you can get a 15-20 year newer motor for an extra $500-800 I would tend to go in that direction. I would however buy old Johnson/Evinrudes that have good compression all day long at a real cheap price, they do run good, just have to allow for the cost to replace old parts.