Bad Cylinder

[salty dawg 1961]

I have a 115 hp 1997 Johnson. It will not crank, so I found it to have poor compression on 1 cylinder. Upon pulling the head on the right bank, I noticed that the lower cylinder has some serious scoring, which is the obvious problem. My question is this. What is a reasonable neighborhood for the cost of repairs? I am somewhat limited on funds and am avoiding the replacement of a complete power head. Any advice.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Bad Cylinder

The labor to disassemble, machine the cylinder, fit new piston. reassemble is going to be pretty expensive...my guess would be in the $1200 to $1500range but some of the marine mechanics/experts on here might have some other estimates for you. Good luck to you!

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Bad Cylinder

you also need to find out why the cylinder got messed up...like maybe a lean condition from clogged carb or air leak or bad reed....take into consideration the overall condition of the motor before making a large investment into it.
You can get another one in good running condition for about $2000-1500 sometimes less, and still have that one for parts, which can come in real handy.
I am not a real fan of rebuilding outboards over 10 years old unless you can do it yourself and even then it may not be worth the time and money. Too many good used ones out there. Just make sure you check a potential motor out well, run it up the river once if possible. A lot of people repowering to 4-strokes these days.

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Bad Cylinder

I will respectfully disagree with Roberts estimate. I have done 2 115s over the years out of the same necessity you speak of. I don't have a lot of money. Neither of the ones I rebuilt cost me more than $900. The first one was in the mid to late 90s and I replaced everything, all new pistons, rods, rings, bearnigs (except the upper main bearing which is an expensive part that I was told seldom fails), seals, and gaskets I had all 4 cylinders bored 30 thousanths over...Cost right at $900. The second one I bought a 2 year old boat with a bad cylinder for almost nothing. Since the motor was only 2 years old I opted not to replace the rods and upper & lower bearings the cost was between $600 & $700.

I am fixing to do my third one, which is actually a redo of my 2nd one. This time I am hopeing to reuse even more of the old parts I still expect to spend around $600 dollars maybe more or less depending on the advice I get from the experts here. I am fixing to post a few questions, since we have the same power head you might want to check in on my thread when I start it.

Once again with all due respect to Robert I really don't see how the parts can run you near that high unless you wind up replacing the crankshaft which would drive the cost even higher.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Bad Cylinder

I think Gator is only talking about the cost of the parts and machine work while Robert is including labor. For someone who has never rebuilt a motor, it is not really worth the time and expense, cause they usually almost always tear stuff up and end up having to redo it 2 or 3 times to get it right and even then the motor locks up or gets a rod through the block on the first trip out. If you have someone to help you that KNOWS what they are doing it can be a great learning experience, But that is asking quite a lot out of someone. Most mechanics charge around $300 or more just to do a carb job. You got to figure at least $500 labor to rebuild a engine.

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Bad Cylinder

I disagree sparky, I have rebuilt 2 115 crossflow v4s with the help of a repair manual and the expertise of the good people on Iboats. I am no mechanic and on a scale of 1-10 on mechanical ability probably a 3. It is not that dificult for a novice if you take your time and read the manual. Come here and ask questions about anything you do not understand. The only reason I am involved in a second rebuild on the 2nd one I did 7 years ago is out of my own stupidity. If I had done repairs when I first noticed a potential problem I would not be rebuilding a 2nd time. Both of the rebuilds I did and also a lower unit rebuild turned out to be excelent motors. Just take your time, read the manual and take notes as you go. Come here and ask any questions you have. It is so easy even a cave man can do it.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Bad Cylinder

us cave men will take offense to that comment...LOL..But I still think for this guyh a good used motor is his best bet...I cannot tell you how many other people I have seen with motors with all new parts just rebuilt but locked up..I just passed on a 94 Sea Ox with a 140 in this exact condition, the guy sank over $1500 in parts on this motor and it locked up on first run..he sold boat motor and trailer with many accessories for $1500, so it didnt work out too well for him...and if you successfully rebuilt an outboard you are at least a 6 or 7..above average on your scale of mechanical ability..I know lots of 3s and they could never pull it off.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Bad Cylinder

us cave men will take offense to that comment...LOL..But I still think for this guyh a good used motor is his best bet...I cannot tell you how many other people I have seen with motors with all new parts just rebuilt but locked up..I just passed on a 94 Sea Ox with a 140 in this exact condition, the guy sank over $1500 in parts on this motor and it locked up on first run..he sold boat motor and trailer with many accessories for $1500, so it didnt work out too well for him...and if you successfully rebuilt an outboard you are at least a 6 or 7..above average on your scale of mechanical ability..I know lots of 3s and they could never pull it off.

I have to agree that getting another used outboard is a lot easier, however buying used is a crap shoot to some extent no matter how well you test it out before purchasing.