Hello… John Talley here with Boats.net. There are a ton of ways to locate and buy a used outboard…
especially if you’re shopping on the internet. But… you still need
to check out that motor and make sure it runs before you fork over any cash.
So in this video, let’s talk about how you can evaluate a used outboard and
make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. So if you’re ready, lets go…
Okay guys… now let’s just be clear here about the kind of outboard we’re talking about.
Say you’ve gone online, you’ve looked around, and you’ve settled on a used outboard that the seller
says is –ready to run--. Well, we’ve all heard that before. We’re not talking about a fixer-upper
here, because in that case, well… you kinda gonna need to go in knowing it’s gonna need work.
No… in this case… you’re going in with the expectation that you can take this one home…
install it on your boat… and you’re ready to go. Now… the first thing you need to know is well…
will it fit. Motors come in different shaft lengths to accommodate varying transmission
heights… so you’ll need to know in advance if the motor you’re looking at is gonna work with your
boat. Now the best way to do this is you’ll want to measure from the top of the transom down to the
lowest part on the hull… and that measurement needs to match the measurement from the clamp
on the outboard down to the cavitation plate. Now that’s the shaft length… and generally
it’s in five- inch increments…. So those measurements will need to line up to know if the
outboard will even work for you without swapping out the midsection and the drive shaft inside.
Now.. with the fit out of the way… you just want to give the motor a visual inspection.
Check out the cowl… is it in good condition? Is it undamaged? If it looks *brand new*
it might be worth asking why. You’ll want to check out the prop… is it damaged?
Does it have stuff tangled around the shaft? Does it look new or is there a lot of corrosion?
If the anodes have been maintained like they should that shouldn’t be an issue.
Now while you’re focused in on the lower unit… that’s a good time to open the drain
bolt just for a second.. because we want to take a look at the oil that’s actually inside of it.
Now if it’s black… that’s actually a good sign because if it’s cloudy looking… that
means you probably have a seal problem. And if the oil is brand new? You just can’t tell if
it’s got a leak or not. It could have been changed out just the day before.
Now you also want to check for a lot of metal shavings on the drain bolt.
Now, every singe unit I’ve worked on there’s gonna be a little bit of filings on there just
from normal wear and tear. But if they look excessinve, chances are you’ve got a problem.
This is also a good time to ask about the water pump and when’s the last time it was changed.
If the owner can tell you… that might give you a bit of an idea
of how well they’ve taken care of the motor. Alright guys… now that we’ve given the lower unit
a closer inspection… let’s turn our attention to the powerhead. Now when you pull the cowl…
take a look at the gasket at the base and see that if it’s sealed in place. Is it worn out?
Because if it is, that means water could have been getting past the cowl
and damaging the outside of the engine. Now you’ll want to know more about what’s going
on inside the engine, and there’s three good ways to do that before you actually run it.
First… if you’re dealing with a four-stroke… pull the dipstick and take a look at the oil.
Of course, you want to be sure there’s oil in it… but also… what does it look like?
Once again, milky or cloudy oil will be a bad sign… dark oil is good… and new oil means… well…
at least it’s been changed recently. The second thing you’ll want to do
is pull the spark plugs. Now do they look oily? Do you see any metal shavings on them?
Those are really bad signs. If the plugs are dark, it indicated the motor may be running
a bit rich… and that’s not quite the end of the world. Now really light plugs can mean the motor
has been running lean… and that typically means it’s been running a little too hot.
Now third… as you’re getting the plugs back in… this is a perfect time to do a compression test.
It’s probably the single most important thing you can do outside of running it that’ll tell
you if the motor is worth the money… and we’ve got a couple of videos showing you how to do it.
Now… you’re gonna need to know a little about what the specs associated with the cylinders
on this particular engine that you’re looking at… but what you’re looking for is consistency.
Your numbers may be a little lower than the factory spec because of wear…
but down let that scare you. But you don’t want your cylinders to vary more than
five or 10 PSI between them, because that’s a great indicator that something’s really wrong.
Now that you’ve inspected it, see if you can go give it a test run. If it’s still on a boat and
you can get it in the water? Great if you can, but if not, put some muffs on it and run it on land.
How easily did it start? Does it crank right up or does it take a little bit of work to get it going?
How does it run once it gets going? Are you seeing smoke? Smell anything? And one little
note I want to make about running them on land with muffs on it. It might run a little rougher
than it would in the water since there’s less backpressure on the exhaust… so keep that in mind.
One more thing you may want to consider just from a price standpoint… will this particular
engine have the controls? The controls you have might not work with the motor you’re getting…
and if they’re not compatible and you’re not getting the controls with the outboard…. That’s
going to be an addition purchase you’re gonna have to make before you get out on the water.
All right guys… that’s just a quick peek at some of the things you should take a look at
when you’re buying a used outboard. Now if you need any parts for your motor, why don’t you come
see us at Boats.net and we can get you taken care of. If you have questions or comments? Leave them
in the section below and I’ll do my best to answer them. And hey… if you like what you see… why don’t
you go ahead and hit that subscribe button so you can see whatever I’m working on next.
We just want to say thanks for shopping with us at Boats.net…
and we will see you in the next video. Y’all have a great day…