Is it worth to fix, replace t & t pump on a 87 merc 150 with 80 compression???

[The lawn ranger]

I bought an 87 Stratos 181 pro that had been restored new carpet new batteries ,onboard 3bank charger ,new seats, new Minn kota , new lowrance elite FS7, new Garmin echo ,new tires ,was an excellent shape for its age, with an '87 Merc 150 XR2 serial number 0B199676 with 4 inch jp for $3000 bought boat under the impression I wouldn't have have to put money in it, Too good to be true, I'd like to think I'm somewhat mechanically inclined I can troubleshoot diagnosed repair small engine no problem some auto I have never worked on an outboard, Motor ,three issues with it
1. ran like it had a misfire, I thought the fuel was restricted, installed new fuel filter on motor, found debris on screen in fuel pump, it seems to be running much better
2. wasn't charging battery, I tested and replaced rectifier, seems like it is charging somewhat, saw it go from 11 to 12 but never saw 13 or 14 volts while running
3. motor slowly leaks down, with no signs of leaks I assume it's internal
It's getting hard dealing with the trim and tilt
And i recently done a dry compression test right side near 80 left side a little over 80
My budget won't allow me to spend much more for a motor, I found a Evinrude efi saltwater series 150 not sure the year for 1000
With all that said is motor worth fixing the trim and tilt or should i try to find another old motor or or buy the Evinrude If that's even an option being a longer shaft saltwater motor not sure how that will match up,.and should i replace the regulator on top of motor with 2 wires?
Any insight, advice, etc. Will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Scott Danforth]

Plan on rebuilding the power head

 

[QBhoy]

Hi. An optimistic man, might suggest you run the engine then do a compression test after. Should a test be done on an 2 stroke engine that’s not been ram for a while, the usual result will be a less than ideal result.
I’d also add…that unless your gauge is of a known and calibrated item of worth…it’s very common for them to show a wildly inaccurate reading either way. Useful to indicate consistency between or amongst the cylinders…but not to be trusted for accuracy or exactness. Warm her up and get some oil around about her innards. Give it a try. And/or, borrow another guys gauge. See what happens. Make sure that oil injection system isn’t still active too. But that’s another story. Or worst case, it could soon be the feature of the story !

 

[Chris1956]

If the cylinders all show about 80PSI, there is a real good chance that your compression gauge is inaccurate. There is very little chance that all the cylinders wore down exactly the same amount, to lose 30% of their expected compression.

The sign of motor health is all cylinders being about the same compression, say within 10% of each other. Since that motor is so old, I would accept 15% deviation, and run it.

 

[The lawn ranger]

Appreciate all y'all's advice , The oil injection has been capped off. From what I remember The left side were around 78 and the right side were around 83 I believe. I'll do another check when I go to the lake probably won't be too long I'm getting the itch. Thanks much