It was smooth as glass. Running WOT on the Severn River in my 86 Whaler Outrage 18 when the original 85 carb’d oil injected Black Max 150 started to sound different, then quit. Trying to restart resulted in the instrument lights dimming; the motor didn’t even think about turning over. The sun had set, no other boats around and we were thankfully close to the ramp. After 15 minutes of paddling, I re-tried the motor and much to my surprise it started and we idled to the boat ramp.
The blown motor had obvious damage on #4; badly scored cylinder, top ring broken and a chunk of piston missing. Other cylinders looked fine.
I have (2) parts motors, a 1983 factory pre-mix Black Max 150, that I’d previously stripped down to a long block and a 1984 Black Max 150, that a previous owner had converted to pre-mix. The 83 looks cleaner to me and I want to go pre-mix. So my in-motion Winter project plan is to dress the 83 with all parts from the failed 85 motor, slap it on the transom and be ready by next Spring. I’m a shade-tree mechanic with very little 2-stroke experience, and thus value the sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this board. I want a good result with a reliable motor I can count on to get me home.
I pulled the heads on the 83, and the motor looks very clean internally. Comparing the 83 and 85, there are some obvious differences. Both are carb 2 liter 150s, but the 85 is oil injected, the 83 a factory premixed model. The heads are different, 2-piece on the 83, 1-piece on the 85.
Annapolis, MD
The blown motor had obvious damage on #4; badly scored cylinder, top ring broken and a chunk of piston missing. Other cylinders looked fine.
I have (2) parts motors, a 1983 factory pre-mix Black Max 150, that I’d previously stripped down to a long block and a 1984 Black Max 150, that a previous owner had converted to pre-mix. The 83 looks cleaner to me and I want to go pre-mix. So my in-motion Winter project plan is to dress the 83 with all parts from the failed 85 motor, slap it on the transom and be ready by next Spring. I’m a shade-tree mechanic with very little 2-stroke experience, and thus value the sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this board. I want a good result with a reliable motor I can count on to get me home.
I pulled the heads on the 83, and the motor looks very clean internally. Comparing the 83 and 85, there are some obvious differences. Both are carb 2 liter 150s, but the 85 is oil injected, the 83 a factory premixed model. The heads are different, 2-piece on the 83, 1-piece on the 85.
- Any thoughts on probable cause for failure to #4? Carb problem resulting in not enough lube to #4? Or could the cracked ring be the cause?
- Is my plan ok? That is to dress a premixed 83 2 liter with parts from an oil injected 85?
- Should I rebuild the carbs? How do I know when carbs need to be rebuilt. The motor was a bit hard to start, but once warmed would idle fine and ran great.
- Should I re-use the original heads on the 83 block or transfer the 85 heads over?
- Any other words of wisdom?
Annapolis, MD
