1988 Nissan 70HP questions

[monoshock]

Hello, I have a 1991 18’ Tracker Bass Buggy pontoon. It has a 40HP Evinrude on it now. I want to go to a larger HP motor; it’s rated at 75HP max. I have found a 1988 Nissan 70HP with all the controls at a great price. Does anyone have experience with this motor, is it as good as an Evinrude/Johnson, is there any know problems I should look for. My 40 Evinrude will push the pontoon at 16mph, can someone give an est. of the top speed with the 70 Nissan.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

It's getting a little old to invest money in.

 

[ziemann]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

I would make sure to hear it run....even test run it on plane if it is on a boat currently. Do all of the obvious: Check compression, see if it idles, make sure it circulates water, look at plugs, look at the lube in the lower unit, etc before buying anything this age... Make sure there is a decent Nissan or Tohatsu dealer nearby if you are unable to service it yourself. If it is a dealer, see if he will give it a 14 day return if you run into a major problem. <br /><br />I tend to agree with Elvin, this would have to be in really nice shape for me to spend much money on. You tend to get what you pay for. It pays to shop around...

 

[monoshock]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

Hello, thanks for the input. I can buy it for $500 to $600 cash. It's not on a boat so I can't run it on the water,just the hose.

 

[Stonee]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

Hello, I have a 1991 18’ Tracker Bass Buggy pontoon. It has a 40HP Evinrude on it now. I want to go to a larger HP motor; it’s rated at 75HP max. I have found a 1988 Nissan 70HP with all the controls at a great price. Does anyone have experience with this motor, is it as good as an Evinrude/Johnson, is there any know problems I should look for. My 40 Evinrude will push the pontoon at 16mph, can someone give an est. of the top speed with the 70 Nissan.

I have a 1988 Grumman 24 ft pontoon boat and I have the 70 hp 1988 motor you are looking at on mine and it will go 21mph with me and my wife on baord. Now I must tell you that although it is one hell of a motor . there are many parts no longer available. One of the reasons I liked this motor was because of the way they built their lower units.My problem now is that the part I need is no longer available and I am not finding it anywhere in my searching on the web . I have asked people I know personally that run parts in the marinas around here ( Chaumont Bay NY and 1000 Islands ) and no one seems to know other than fabricating my own. So just know that going in and if you have no trouble with major parts you will love what it does for your baot.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

Parts aren't really an issue....So much as what it costs for parts for this model. The engine went out of production 14 years ago and identical parts have slowly gone away. For instance: If you need a driveshaft,gears or even a water pump housing for this engine you are out of luck. But if you are willing to buy a new style lower unit you are back in business. Of course a new style lower unit is over two grand and you would be pretty stupid to put that kind of money in something that has a top value of $800.00. I think buying anything over five years old is a gamble based on used engine value versus replacement parts costs. Everything for that engine is in the $100 up range. I would really look for something a little newer, even if you have to wait for your budget to catch up.

 

[jackieman402]

Re: 1988 Nissan 70HP questions

What Elvin said. I had a 1988 NS60A and really liked it, but when the lower unit gave out last year, it just wasn't worth fixing an 18-year-old motor. I repowered with a new motor -- Yamaha, in my case, although if there had been a Nissan/Tohatsu dealer nearby I would probably have gone with that.