1989 Mercury 80hp ELPTO

[AeroNautical]

Hi,
I recently sold my Wellcraft 192 because I'm looking to downsize to a smaller fishing boat. I've come across some recently that I like and will go look at/sea trial in the coming week hopefully. One I'm really interested in has a 1989 Mercury 80hp ELPTO and I'm curious about the motor. The previous owner says it runs strong, was always maintained and has receipts from local marina to prove that maintenance was completed. I was wondering if anyone has personal experience with the motor and if they know if parts are still available should any future maintenance need completed. I prefer to work on boats myself, plan on using it mostly for fishing and slow trolls on a 17ft aluminum boat.

Thanks in advance!

 

[wn6ngp]

I've got an 00 90 ELPTO and so far no problems with parts. I have done all my own work. I've noticed that things like fuel pump repair kits etc. have lots of parts for various models. One thing to check besides the obvious is to make sure that the lower unit will drop. On mine the locator pins on lower part corroded into aluminum above and made it almost impossible to remove lower unit. Took weeks of on and off working on the problem. A friend with the newer fuel injected version had a similar experience. If the water pump was frequently replaced then you probably won't have that problem.

 

[AeroNautical]

Wn6ngp,
Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely make sure to check the pins for any corrosion.

 

[wn6ngp]

there are 5 nuts you will have to loosen, don't need to drop all the way, just enough to make sure the bottom separate easily. If this has been a fresh water only motor then you probably won't have this problem.