11 year old engines with 170 hours - The Hull Truth

nkosi · 09-02-2009, 11:31 AM

I am going to look at a boat this weekend with 98 Mercury 300 Pro Max engines. The engines are 11 years old but only have about 170 hours (seller hardly used the boat). Seller owns several boats and says he has kept up with the maintenance. Is there anything I should be concerned about with these engines and the lack of use of the years?

I am have a surveyor come along also. He said he will do a compression test on the engines. Is there anything else that I should ask him to check?

Thanks for any advice.

A1 Outboard · 09-03-2009, 07:37 AM

You should have the water pumps changed along with the gearlube. The propshafts should be lubed. All fuel filter should be replaced. 10 micron water separators should be installed. Most likely the fuel system will need to be cleaned including the tank. Batteries should be cleaned and wing nuts replaced with stainless hex nuts. While the plugs are out for the compresion test, go ahead and replace them with the plugs Mercury recommends. Obtain the owners manual for the engines and follow the maintenance schedule in them. Use only Mercury 2S oil and good fuel with Stabil added. Avoid E10 if you can. Spending money on maintenance now will keep from spending much more on repairs in the future.

nkosi · 09-03-2009, 02:26 PM

Thanks for the advice. Are these very expensive things to do?