Good price? What do you think!

mercury outboard 9.8 hp, year maybe 1979. 2 stroke. $395. If in good running order, would this be a good price for this motor?

Re: Good price? What do you think!

E, You could get a 115HP motor of that vintage for that price. I think it is at least $200 too high.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

I guess it's according to where you are and what time of year it is. In my area (NW La.), that would be a good price if it is in good condition. That year merc 9.8 has a stainless drive shaft so it might have a good lower unit. I would want to check it for a leaky lower unit first and run it. If it ran good and the lower unit was sealed good, I wouldn't have any problem paying that price for that motor. However, there is a couple of expensive electrical parts for that motor so I can see why the wise used motor buyer might not want to tie that much up in one. Check ebay, motors like that go pretty high if they're in good condition. I bought one for that price myself and it had a leaky lower unit, so again, I can see why someone wouldn't pay that. After I finally get it fixed, though, I will be really proud of it. Hope you will of yours, too.
JBJ

Re: Good price? What do you think!

Chris1956 said:

E, You could get a 115HP motor of that vintage for that price. I think it is at least $200 too high.

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That's because a 9.8 hp of that vintage is much more sought after than a 115 hp of the same year. That motor here in Southern Ontario generally sells for $400-650 CDN.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

yep - I bought one of those 2 years ago- I think mine's a 1980- I paid $500 . It's the fastest 10HP motor I've ever run.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

I spoke to the guy on the phone and he had this to say:

He has owned the motor for about 12 years used it about 20 times. He is a novice boater and never had a problem with it. He bought it from an elderly guy that says it was only used in the large lake across the street. He did the usual maintenance including a water pump 6 mo. ago. I am going to see it run tomorow. Is there anything to look out for, or things to check before commiting to the deal?

Re: Good price? What do you think!

First off, I hope LADDIES checks in on your thread---he is a Mercury expert and can tell you everything to look for on that motor. If you get to test it, here's my suggestion:
1. Run it as long as he'll let you. Make sure it is putting out a nice steady stream of water out the telltale even at idle; a HARD stream at wide open.
2. Make sure it doesn't hesitate or miss at idle or wide open.
3. After warming up, that motor should fire up by BARELY pulling the rope starter. (If it's in good shape, that 9.8 is VERY easy to start!)
4. After running it for a good distance, when you get it back to the shore, ask the owner if he would mind if you checked the lower gear oil screw (large flat-head screwdriver) and barely crack the screw to let a little dab of gear oil out. If water comes out, I wouldn't buy it. If the gear oil looks milky, I wouldn't buy it.
If it just looks black but still looks like oil or thin tar, the oil just hasn't been changed in a while. If it looks good, like gear oil should, and it idles and runs great wide open, perform the following maneuver:

BUY IT--and get out of there quick, 'cause you got yourself a little gem for a GOOD price.

If you look at the Mercury repair engine section of iboats and type in 9.8 mercury, you can learn a lot. There MIGHT be an electrical component called a "switch box" on that engine that is a fairly expensive part (2 or 300 dollars).
Good lower units for that motor are also VERY rare in my neck of the woods.
That's just my suggestion..
Good luck,
JBJ

Re: Good price? What do you think!

Well I went and saw the motor...

The motor was ran with earmuffs rigged up on the water intake and seemed to do fine. The lower unit oil is black, but no water. I tested the compression while I was there and 130psi on both cylinders. Started from cold on 3 cranks and 1 crank once warm. Physically it looks good, usual wear and tear I assume since there we no chunks or huge gashes around the prop area. Some paint under the "hood" is starting to flake off and wires are starting to lose their plastic wraping leading from the kill switch. The tiller handle twist seems a little out of order since it only moves about 1/8 turn. Is this normal? Telltale stream is good, and I was able to place my fingers on the area that the spark plugs go and keep it there with no problem after about 5-10 minutes or running at different rpm's. No oil or indications of bad news on the spark plugs.

Any further advice would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Good price? What do you think!

Oh, and one more thing. I plan to use this in saltwater mostly. Are Mercs up to the task?

Thjanks!

Re: Good price? What do you think!

If it's like any of the small outboards I have owned, it will only rotate a small amount when in neutral to avoid over-revving the engine. Once you put it into gear, the full throttle range is available.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

If you are constantly in salt, I would avoid mercs. They tend to have corrosion issues, more so than would similar outboards of a different brand. There is a reason I run mostly OMCs.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

It sounds like an excellent buy to me.......of course, I have no experience in saltwater......
JBJ

Re: Good price? What do you think!

It sounds fine. Those Mercs have less throttle movement than OMC's, but what you noticed was likely due to the throttle stop not allowing you to over rev in neutral.

No saltwater where I am. Just thousands of beautiful clear lakes.

Re: Good price? What do you think!

bassboy1 said:

If you are constantly in salt, I would avoid mercs. They tend to have corrosion issues, .

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WHOA...look... you are thinking old non stainless DS Mark motors..like in the 50's 60's...this is fine.(ANY motor in salt wil have half the life of a FW...that said, $400 for a 79 10 OK by mne..buy it ..use it...have fun..

Re: Good price? What do you think!

So what's the word? Did you buy it? Do 'ya LIKE it?
I at least thought it was nice to hear that the seller let you check the lower unit oil, check compression, and run it.... sounds like a good guy---the type I would like to buy a used motor from.
Just curious,
JBJ

Re: Good price? What do you think!

Yes, I bought the motor!

I have changed the lower unit oil, replaced the kill switch since the wires on the old run rotted out. The rest of the wires look OK but will need replacing sometime in the future, probably do it at the begining of the season next year. I am going to put it in the water tomorow and see how it does. But so far very satisfied with the purchase. And jb, thanks for all the info you gave me via PMessage!