thoughts on maintanance on newly acquired 1990 88spl and 1984 Johnson 115.

[rothfm]

Hi all, Looking for some input on maintenance

I recently bought a 17' CC that had a 1990 Evenrude 88SPL. It turns out it was on a CMC Braket masking a TNT and Tilt Tube issue, it also has a very very stiff Swivel Bracket. I may still look at working those issues and maybe keeping this as a spare possibly as it is good running(will be another post!!) or Parting it out.

I then picked up a nice running and looking 1985 Johnny 115. The owner was a mechanic and took good care of this motor. I'm going to use this engine.

My question (I guess applies to either of these motors) is generally, what should I look into on these motors on the notion of Preventative maintenance? I dont initially want to do any big rebuilds as they both seem to run well. But what would be good items to replace or address on these engines since they are "older". What should I replace right off the bat, and preventively?

I'm technical and have ability, was just looking for items to address before either going into service for me.

Thanks

[Silvertip]

Drain lower unit lube and refill. Check for metal filings and signs of water intrustion. Metal filings indicates a mechanical issue in the lower unit. Water indicates seal leakage. Make a high speed run of about a mile or so. Immediately kill the engine and check the plugs. Nice light tan = ok fuel mixture. Blackish = rich. White = lean. Anything except light tan says carb work is needed. Running lean will burn down the engine. Water pump impeller replacement is always a good idea to establish a base line for proper cooling.

[5150abf]

I would pull the pivot pin out and clean it up , grease it and reassemble and that should take care of the tight steering then there si a zerk fitting on it to keep it greased.

Probably the PO never bothered to grease any of them.

As Silvertip said drain and change the lower oil and do the water pump, also changing gas lines can save you alot of head ache, assume the ones are 21 years old and the other 26 and they go begine to break down inside and will glog your carbs constantly so some nice alcohol resistant fuel line is in order.

I would also check wires on both of them, being under the hood and constantly being heated and cooled causes the sheath to get brittle and crack which can lead to shorts.

Last thing would be to do a base line compression check on them, I normally check mine a few times a year and having a base line will let you know if there si a problem.

[emdsapmgr]

Some really excellent comments. Am not sure if the 84 has ethanol-compliant fuel hose inside the cowling or not. They were being changed about that time. You may want to check the lines for deterioration. I know the 79's were the old hose and by 86 OMC had changed to the new fuel lines. The non-ethanol compliant hoses will deteriorate with age and bits of black hose (pcs) can flow into the carbs and lodge in the fuel jet orifices, causing a fuel restriction. Ditto for the main fuel line from the tank..

[toddschubert]

Put an infrared thermometer on each cylinder head and check for hot spots. should be around 120 to 150 deg. Those motors are famous for water deflectors under heads going bad and blocking water around water jacket causing that cyl. to run hot. Easy replacemaent just need deflectors ($3ea) and head gaskets ($35/bank).
It's a good workhorse motor that will continue to work for you with little maint.

[rothfm]

Thanks for the input...all great ideas. Especially replacing hoses and lines. Not a big deal for peace of mind. Would it be worthwild replacing fuel pump, primer solenoid or related items? I'll start a post on that Swivel bracket issues...Rgggg.

[toddschubert]

Do not mess with fuel pump, primer, etc if it aint broke! Fuel pump fuel screen you might want to check though.
Just sayin

[5150abf]

I have an '81 50 and I changed the coils, CDI and the starter solenoid just because, they weren't bad but I didn't want them going bad so if you wnat o carry ti that far it is money well spent in my opinion.

[emdsapmgr]

The fuel pump bladders are rubber and of concern on older engines. You should be OK. Your 115 engine came with a VRO pump from the factory. I doubt you still are running the original factory VRO pump at this point. If you've replaced the VRO at any point-likely it is internally OK to handle ethanol fuels. The 88 came with the old style premix (cheap) pump. Based on the age of that engine, the pump is ok with today's fuels.