15 Hp Mercury 2 stroke from the 80's, any good?

[Jlomb436]

Hey everyone.

First time posting and looking at purchasing an inflatable RIB to tote around the beach and possibly to some local islands here in Southern California. Very excited buy trying to stay grounded.

One of my main concerns is cost. The one thing I have going is that my father had a similar boat in the mid to late 80's and has stored his 15 hp Mercury ever since. I'm wondering if this is even worth fixing up.

I've gone to a local place here and they told me they would not work on it do to finding parts difficult. However, they gave me another individuals name to contact, which I believe is a Mercury dealer.

Doing some quick googling, it seems that the costs to tune up could be any where from a couple hundred to a grand. Those prices don't bother me, but vs a new or recently used, would it even be worth it? Would you personally use it to trek a channel and cover 18 miles in a small RIB?

Thanks for your help!

[paintman]

How was it stored - nice dry environment or damp?
What was done to it before it was put away - was it treated to fogging oil or similar to protect the bores?
Were there any problems with it before it was put away?
Does it turn over easily?
Have you tried starting it to see if it will run?
I'd be inclined to remove the plugs & do a compression test. My main concern would be for sticking rings/internal corrosion if it hasn't been stored properly.
Think there are few posts about engines that have been in long term storage, so worth doing a 'Search'.

[Jlomb436]

Originally Posted by paintman

How was it stored - nice dry environment or damp?
What was done to it before it was put away - was it treated to fogging oil or similar to protect the bores?
Were there any problems with it before it was put away?
Does it turn over easily?
Have you tried starting it to see if it will run?
I'd be inclined to remove the plugs & do a compression test. My main concern would be for sticking rings/internal corrosion if it hasn't been stored properly.
Think there are few posts about engines that have been in long term storage, so worth doing a 'Search'.

Hi Paintman.

I appreciate the quick response. I know this doesn't help, but I don't have a lot of information. I'm completely new to outboards so I really wasn't sure what to expect. We have not tested. It's in storage, probably a reasonable ambient temperature that's dry. From our knowledge, it wasn't stored in any special way and no problems before it was stored.

I may go grab it and bring it up from LA just to tinker with it and go from there. There is a Mercury dealer around so I'll reach out to him as well. The reason I asked, is based on the conversation I had with someone at the local dealer, it sounded like it was simply trash if it was that old.

[paintman]

Just because it's old doesn't mean it's trash - mine's from 1989!
I suspect they're trying to sell you a new engine.
Worth a compression check & new plugs & impeller - esp the latter as the old one may be well past its time. If it then starts & runs OK with a good strong telltale then change the gear oil & enjoy.

[VanillaIceCream]

I have a 1984 9.9 Mercury from my dad's boat that sat for over 20 years outside. It runs well, all I had done to get it going again was clean the carb and a new impeller installed. It ran great for 5 years, then a couple of years ago it wouldn't get above idle. Found out the plastic gear inside to advance the throttle had broken due to the plastic becoming brittle over those years. That was $103 for repair at the shop.

I also have a 1962 White Mercury 6hp that runs well - also not ran for 25 years and had a lot of salt water time pushing a 23' sailboat. New impeller and carb clean, it actually does as good as the 9.9 hp.


Just remember you may not be able to get parts for the older engines, but if a shop say's not available, check around with other shops..it may be they just don't want to work on the older but good engines.

[paintman]

Lot of parts online & ebay too.

[Jlomb436]

Awesome. Thanks everyone.


I actually called 2 marine engine mechanics this morning and they both seemed positive compared to the boat sales company. They're thinking anything from $200 to $700 to fix, but that's pretty good for a barely used motor in my mind. Thanks again for the help everyone.