What percentage of value of motor do you replace? How much to spend on parts motor?

[jitterbug127]

I have already had to replace several parts on my motor, and I am learning old parts get expensive fast. I am considering getting a parts motor, and new to this whole older motor maintenance experience. My first question is at what point do you stop investing money into an old motor to get it up and running? Like 50% of the value 75% of the value...I know this is an opinion based question and everyone is different, but I wanted to get some insight from experienced motor owners. I know obviously I'm not putting 300% of the value of the motor back into parts

Additionally what is a reasonable price for a parts motor? For reference I've got a 1969 Evinrude 25 hp, or is thing something that has way too much variability to give a real answer? I'm sure condition, amount of parts, etc will make prices different. I'm just not wanting to get so far ahead of myself i have a money pit without an outcome.

 

[Scott Danforth]

my grey-noodle ramblings

first, you have a $200 motor in many parts of the country (thats running). it may take $200 worth of maintenance parts every few years to keep running reliably. Just like the mortgage on your house is probably less than the utility bills and maintenance.

Second, once you do the work and have a good running motor, that education and piece of mind is worth 200 times what the value of the motor is.

Third, your 55 year old motor will out live many 5 year old 4-strokes that cost 15 times as much as you have in the motor.

 

[airshot]

It should be a hobby, an interest, something you enjoy..if your doing it to make money or turn a profit....find another hobby !!! Anything in boating should be considered an enjoyable past time and yes....it is an expensive hobby !!!

 

[racerone]

Parts motors may run around $100 and some times are in really good condition.------It all depends or your ability to shop / willingness to learn about these simple motors.----Your location matters too.-----In some areas shops do not work on these motors.-----They then are cast off for those who do know how to work on them.----Read up on ----leroysramblings---as these motors are just the same parts ( bigger in size ) as a 10 HP Johnson / Evinrude.------Suggestion for you.-----Join your local chapter of the ---aomci-----Go to the swap meets.-----Find a friend who will coach you.----Find $100 parts motors ETC , ETC.-----Your location ?-----Old parts are NOT expensive in my area!

 

[jitterbug127]

Thanks for the information, sounds like I’ve already got WAY more money invested in this motor than it’s worth, not great to hear. I’ll join the aomci and try to learn more. I have no desires to turn a profit doing this. I just like turning wrenches and making something out of nothing.

 

[F_R]

Parts motors often have the same problem as the one you already have. I would only buy one if I have a specific need for a part. The exception would be for a motor within my special collection interest, with the idea of making one good motor out of two (or three....or four)

 

[Scott Danforth]

sounds like I’ve already got WAY more money invested in this motor than it’s worth, not great to hear.

make sure you are only spending money on what needs money spent on. repairing what needs simple repair vs replacing.

most of the time, a bit of TLC and you are off to the races so to speak.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Since the pandemic started it appears that parts have gone up so your motor or other motors might be worth more than has been stated.

I have seen parts on ebay climb recently.

Pretty sure this trend will continue with the current thinking with what's good for the planet.

 

[Crosbyman]

I have purchased oldies in the 3-15hp class over the past 15-20 years. all for less than $100 CDN - 75U$

In my area these summer motors don't get used much ... poor storage and lack of TLC is the killer. MostI ever spent was for coils condenser points if needed, oil for the GC , and carb kits . never had to junk one and go above about $100 in parts using Amazon stuff mostly.

how much to spend...??? well a round of golf I hear is going for 60-100$ to 300$+ in fancy places. and smokes are $10 a pack so I don't golf and don't smoke... so parts are not an issue... it is a hobby for winter months.

my problem now is not enough fishing time and boats...

 

[jitterbug127]

I have purchased oldies in the 3-15hp class over the past 15-20 years. all for less than $100 CDN - 75U$

In my area these summer motors don't get used much ... poor storage and lack of TLC is the killer. MostI ever spent was for coils condenser points if needed, oil for the GC , and carb kits . never had to junk one and go above about $100 in parts using Amazon stuff mostly.

how much to spend...??? well a round of golf I hear is going for 60-100$ to 300$+ in fancy places. and smokes are $10 a pack so I don't golf and don't smoke... so parts are not an issue... it is a hobby for winter months.

my problem now is not enough fishing time and boats...

I paid $1000 for my 16'x54" foot jon boat, trailer and the 25 hp evinrude motor (plus a new trolley motor/new battery and some accessories right at Christmas). I've got about $725 +/- invested in repairs/parts for this motor. Motor started and ran when i bought it. i went ahead and replaced the impeller right away which cost about $50. I also had some work done which cost me $600. I've put on new plugs, replaced that silly throttle pinion 2 times now, and ordered a new connector for my fuel hose.

 

[racerone]

Wait a minute-----The part you refer to as a " silly throttle pinion " was used in 1955 and also used in 1985 production.--So factory installed over 30 years or so.------Used on 5.5 hp / 7.5 hp / 10 hp / 18 hp / 25 hp / 28 hp / 33 hp / 40 hp motor.-----There is nothing wrong with this part !!-----Something else is wrong here.----Not going to say what that is.

 

[jitterbug127]

Wait a minute-----The part you refer to as a " silly throttle pinion " was used in 1955 and also used in 1985 production.--So factory installed over 30 years or so.------Used on 5.5 hp / 7.5 hp / 10 hp / 18 hp / 25 hp / 28 hp / 33 hp / 40 hp motor.-----There is nothing wrong with this part !!-----Something else is wrong here.----Not going to say what that is.

100% my stupidity I’m sure. You can say it. I’ll survive…barely

 

[fatlenny]

I have to say that "worth" is a hard to define word. I have a 1971 Johnson 50 that came on a $500 boat/motor/trailer combo that I am restoring. (restoring the boat) Now am I going to use this motor on this boat? No. but the person I am, the first thing I did was open this thing up and look inside at almost everything. (my parents hated this about me as any new toy I got, first thing I did was get my tools out and tore it apart before playing with it to see how it worked) Now everything in this motor looked GREAT. The only issue I had was the controls had had a bad switch in (operated the electric shift solenoids) it that took me some shopping to find a used one and still spent almost $200 on because it was an odd part that only was made a couple or few years. But never the less, I have put this motor on an old tri hull that I am going to leave up north at a friends house because this old motor is GREAT. Just remember, they dont make them like they use to. I you want a reliable piece of equipment, put some money in it and keep her running.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

I have a theory as to why your breaking your part....just not sure it applies to this motor.

When your working on it when it's off, to get it to go to full throttle you have to be in forward. Now if you don't return it to idle and you shift it back into nutruel it can bind up the linkage. Has to do with the nutruel locater arm.

Did you do that maybe?

 

[airshot]

Thanks for the information, sounds like I’ve already got WAY more money invested in this motor than it’s worth, not great to hear. I’ll join the aomci and try to learn more. I have no desires to turn a profit doing this. I just like turning wrenches and making something out of nothing.

If you enjoy it, then dont look at the money spent, look at the enjoyment you have gotten out of making it run again !!

 

[909]

If you feel like you're spending too much money on one motor then you probably are .

Get it running , and sell it.

Buy a newer one.

Low hour newer 2 strokes are cheap.

Life's too short.

I'd rather spend all my free time on the water, than troubleshooting in the garage. Boating season is short enough as it is.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

I use a 45 year old Evinrude 25 and I intend to keep it. Parts and service are necessary to keep any motor functional- old or new!
I think Scott said it best:
Third, your 55 year old motor will out live many 5 year old 4-strokes that cost 15 times as much as you have in the motor.

 

[davidmbv]

Shops around me won’t work on these old OMC’s. One shop I found did agree to work on it but repairs were done a bit incorrectly . Ex: they ran the condenser wires too high and the flywheel rubbed them and caused a short, twice they did it.
I ended up getting a service manual and rewired the ignition etc.
with your motor, it sounds like the shop did all the routine maintenance, I would run it and if something comes up, use your service manual to troubleshoot and repair/ replace necessary parts. They are cheap enough to not skimp and I would go with OMC all the way. I had a pair of sierra coils not fit correctly but the OMC ones did. One thing I did run into was had one pair of brand new points not fit and after a bunch of trouble shooting and trying to set timing, I noticed they were longer than the originals. I found a local parts shop that had NOS OMC points that fit. One another motor, I cleaned up the old ones and no issues.
I say run that thing and have fun. I can’t afford a 3k new motor and I’ve seen a one year old motor not start after using gas that sat for a year. Also on that note, use fuel stabilizer. It’s also cheap and goes in every tank

 

[stresspoint]

i like to buy old broken outboards just to fix them up.
some are beyond viable repair so i just strip them down and diagnose the cause /causes of the failure and then scrap the remands that are no longer useful .
i have a shed with lots of parts and running motors , the parts get sold or given away to fellow enthusiasts or just people that have older motors that are living in there means keeping them old motors running.

one day i will stack it all up and take it to scrap as it is all pretty much worthless , but till then i will continue to enjoy the pleasure of playing mechanic with these old things.
i do enjoy that feeling , the smell and the sound when i get a old 2 smoker motor that has sat for years up and running. .
i played with big HP 4 strokes and found them so boring that i taught my granddaughter that was 18 at the time to rebuild and get a 250 hp suki running in a week. thats how easy those things are to fix. BORING .

to answer your original post , if the motor you have owes you nothing but what you want to put into it ,just keep it running till you don't want to put any more into it , then scrap it or sell as a parts motor to someone else to have fun and learn with. , however ,there are plenty of enthusiasts out there that will help you keep it running so it is affordable to keep it on the back of your boat if you are will to swing a few spanners after each outing.
that's the good thing about a old 2 smoker , there is always something to fix after you have had a day on the water .

 

[Crosbyman]

oldies are frequently if not always cheaper than the sales tax alone on a new engine so a few $$$ on parts isn't so bad. It is a self rewarding hobby. Great feeling to troll all day long of a fixed up fisherman or sportwin