1987 merc 150 xr2

[seabeesteve86]

Hey everyone new to the forum!!

So about a month ago I bought my first real boat, I've always owned little Jon boats and such just running electric trolling motors. Well a month ago I bought an 88 Skeeter with a merc 150 xr2 on it spent the first month giving it a good tune up not knowing what the previous owner had done with it or how long it had sat for. Anyway this past Sunday I took it out for its trial run and was running it around the lake immediately I noticed it didn't want to get up on a plane but eventually it gained speed and finally I got it flying down the lake.. so I would bring it back down come to a stop and try again still having trouble gaining any speed but sooner or latter it would decide to gain speed and id have it back to flying down the lake, I did this 4-5 times and as I slowed down for the final run thinking everything was going good I turn around and there is smoke billowing off the motor. Quickly open the covers up to see port side cover was on fire I splashed some water on it and saw all kind of metal shavings so I start looking and I've now got a huge hole in the motor. So needless to say I've got some problems..

My question for you guys is now what. A new motor is out of the question right now because they just dont pay us military guys enough for that lol. Ive looked into used motors and even thought about replacing the power head. I am a heavy machinery mechanic in the navy so I do have some experience with engines but I work on big diesels and am completely clueless on these marine motors. And buying a used motor for a few thousand dollars makes me nervous because again I dont know the previous owner or the motors history and worry about being in the same situation I'm in now..


Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated! thank you in advance..


Very respectfully
Steve

 

[Faztbullet]

Post some pic's as it sounds like a cylinder went south.

 

[seabeesteve86]

Yea I know the motor is blown. A cylinder blew up.

 

[Chris1956]

Rebuilt powerheads are likely available for about $3K or so. Shop around a bit. If you go that route, you will need to swap over the ignition components and the fuel components from the current motor to the new one, after you swap the blocks. It is a fair amount of work, but not difficult for someone with your skills. You will want to clean the carbs, rebuild the fuelpump, replace the waterpump and replace the poppit valve, as it is likely the fuel system and/or cooling system caused your failure.

 

[seabeesteve86]

Thanks Chris.
Just an update I found a 84 merc 200 for $2500 the shop selling it says they had it on the dyno and checked compression and everything is good. As I said before tho it worries me with a old used motor not knowing the history on it. What do you guys think?? Anything specific I should be looking for? They won't offer any kind of warranty on it so this whole situation makes me uneasy. I dont think $2500 for a 200 is bad at all but any help from you guys would be really helpful.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, I think that is a bit high. I picked up a '93 135HPV6 about 6 years ago for $1K. It is a great runner.