'88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

[Lundman]

I am going to begin trying to save money on the purchase of an '88 to '90
Lund S-16 or WC-16 aluminum boat w/ 40 hp Evinrude or Johnson motor(for
the S-16) or the 25 HP Evinrude or Johnson(for the WC-16). How dependable
have these motors been? Can I get the 40 HP motor in a manual rope start only version or are they all electric start? I just want to keep things simple by
just having manual rope start and not have a battery to worry about if I can
get away with it. What about the smaller 15 HP motors(for an A-14 Lund if I
find one of these boats first)? I'm an OMC motor guy and do not wish to consider any other brand of motor from now 0n.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

as with any motor, condition, and maintenance. the motors of that era are all great. i have 3 or that era. the 15 is one of those lower profile stubby motors and is harder to work on.

 

[5150abf]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

That is a good year range, OMC went belly up in or around 2001-2 and they started cutting corners before that using alot of plastic parts and cutting corners but anywhere up to probably 95 you are good.

As far as I a concerned older is better, I have an 81 50 and she runs like a top, they are just simpler engines.

As TD pointed out the more important thing is how the motor was cared for, my motor is in better shape than some only a couple years old.

 

[Lundman]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

Thanks ,guys. I can feel good about having a motor made from '88 to '90,then. The older OMC motors are the deal,...though nothing against
BRP(who now owns Evinrude/Johnson),and the E-TEC. I just prefer the older motors since,as you say,they are simpler. A boat with a four stroke(i.e.,car
engine) just does not get it. Give me an old two stroke anyday! Sorry EPA!
(I do not know what happened,but somehow I have two similar posts of the same subject on this board. This one,...and the other one. I was running out of time the other day on my local library's computer,and it cut me off,so I had no idea if the post went through or not just as I was trying to submit it
before time ran out,so I put in another post just in case this one did not get posted.)

 

[Pony]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

I have an 88' 25hp Johnson on a 14ft Alumacraft. That motor has been absolutely bulletproof. It starts easily and runs all day long.

As said above....maintainence is everything. Mine was well taken care before I bought it, and has been ever since. It looks and runs like new.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another assuming it was maintained properly.

 

[Lundman]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

I have an 88' 25hp Johnson on a 14ft Alumacraft. That motor has been absolutely bulletproof. It starts easily and runs all day long.

As said above....maintainence is everything. Mine was well taken care before I bought it, and has been ever since. It looks and runs like new.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another assuming it was maintained properly.

If you don't mind my asking,...is that motor a manual rope start model or is it
an electric start model,...or both? I would prefer a manual rope start short shaft model just for the sake of keeping things simple as possible regardless
if the boat is a Lund,Sea Nymph,or Alumacraft(preferrably Lund,but would
take anyone of the other two as second choices,...as long as that motor is an OMC motor) that it is mounted on. I am not afraid to buy an '88 to '90
model year OMC motor based on what you have told me,...provided the motor
has been taken care of as you say.

 

[wbeaton]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

I assume Indiana has a similar climate to Southern Ontario where I live in Canada. In which case, a 20 year old outboard is not really that old considering you can't use it year round like the fellas in the southern states. Don't let a motor from the 1980's scare you off. I have many that are twice that old and they still run great.

I don't think the 40 hp has a manual start option. Just a spot on the flywheel where you can wrap a rope. And you don't want to pull start it anyway.

The 20-35 hp of that era or all based on the same block and are great motors. They all come in either manual or electric start. Its cheap and easy to convert to rope start, but not electric start. Consider an electric start a bonus.

I have or have had a few of the 1980's 20-35 hp motors. My principal fishing motor is a 1988 Johnson 30 hp tiller with both manual and electric start. I put the motor together from parts motors. It is reliable and has lots of power. I run it on a 1988 Springbok 14.5' aluminum boat with full decking and bow mount trolling motor max rated for 28 hp. Scoots along at 43 kmh / 26 mph by myself or 35 kmh / 23 mph with two full gas cans, three deepcycle batteries, three full sized guys (+200lbs) and gear. I've run 1980-90's 15 hp OMC motors on a Lund WC14 utility. No GPS on that one, but it pushed two guys and gear fine. A 15 hp on my Springbok won't get two guys on plane. A 20 hp struggles with the same load. 25-30 hp are fine.

 

[Kev144]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

Yep, my old man had a 17 ft petoburough with a 88 140 rude. Sold it to some family friends and still runs with probably near or over 1000 hours with out much work on the motor besides general maint.

As said earlier old motors can be better shape than newer. I also have an 89 150 merc BM with 600 hours and running like a champ!

 

[Lundman]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

Yep, my old man had a 17 ft petoburough with a 88 140 rude. Sold it to some family friends and still runs with probably near or over 1000 hours with out much work on the motor besides general maint.

As said earlier old motors can be better shape than newer. I also have an 89 150 merc BM with 600 hours and running like a champ!

I just received a 1990 Lund boats brochure from Lund today so that I can get an idea of I want in an older Lund boat. Lund was very gracious enough to help me out by sending that. Now,I would like to be able to find an older
"original" 1990 Evinrude and/or Johnson brochure. I wonder if BRP(who now
owns both brands)would do the same or if I would have to go through other
channels to get that older Evinrude or Johnson brochure

 

[Kev144]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

I just received a 1990 Lund boats brochure from Lund today so that I can get an idea of I want in an older Lund boat. Lund was very gracious enough to help me out by sending that. Now,I would like to be able to find an older
"original" 1990 Evinrude and/or Johnson brochure. I wonder if BRP(who now
owns both brands)would do the same or if I would have to go through other
channels to get that older Evinrude or Johnson brochure

You may be able to get one from BRP. Hard to say but i do believe as of this or last year they dropped the johnson line of motors and just produce evinrude.

 

[Lundman]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

You may be able to get one from BRP. Hard to say but i do believe as of this or last year they dropped the johnson line of motors and just produce evinrude.

I'll try them first. If they can't help,I 'll try another source. There is talk that BRP may bring back Johnson,but as to when,I have no idea. But still,you can't beat the old OMC motors. My buddy has an 85 hp Evinrude on his '78
Procraft bass boat,and that motor rocks!

 

[Pony]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

Mine is rope start, but it was available with both.

 

[bkopp85]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

i have several outboards but omc are my favorite by far never do anything but general maintence the ones i have seem to have much more power than the other brands for example i had a 14foot vee with a 9.9 and a 16 foot extra wide/deep jon with an evinrude and the heavier jon with the evinrude would run curcles around the other one. I prefer the 80s omc oiver anything, I'm not sure i would buy anything else ever again after owning one

 

[Tinman57]

Re: '88 to'90 Johnson/Evinrude motor dependability

I had a 1989 Evinrude 25 hp rope start, and it was bulletproof. I used it exclusively in salt water, and had it for 16 years and over 2000 hours. The only thing that went wrong was the tiller-mounted kill switch, which died every 7 or 8 years. Great motors.