A very bad thing happened!

[chummer]

Last week, my 1999 Merc. 225 optimax took a dump on me. It has been a trouble free motor since i bought it on a 21' duck 3 years ago. It has about 700 hours on it. Cruising the Columbia at about 30 mph, it suddenly started to lose power and then shut down, no strange noises, no alarms, water pump working normally. Initially, it would not turn over to start, so I checked batteries. everything looked good, so I tried again and it fired up. Just got back on plane and again it lost power and shut down, no strange noises and no alarms. started it again and now I can hear noise that I know is not good, and the check engine light is now lit up. I shut down and limp to the docks on the kicker. The first thing I thought about checking was each cylinder's compression. while taking the plugs out, I notice metal shavings and a big chunk of aluminum sitting at the bottom of the engine compartment, This is NOT good i'm thinking! My guess is my oil injection quit or I got bad gas (I run the boat pretty much year round, and the longest it sat this winter was a month) A family friend who used to work as a Merc tech said this is a somewhat common problem in Optimax's of that vintage. He said to check with the merc dealer where the motor was purchased to see if it had the factory authorized updates that merc suggested a few years ago to help deal with these problems. He does not hold out much hope that Mercury will help me with this problem, but he has seen it happen. It sounds as if replacing the block would be about as expensive as replacing the whole motor with a similar used motor. I think there are more then a few of us who have boats that we can barely afford, and if the unthinkable happens, there's not enough money left at the end of the month to cover the cost (I'm now looking for a 2nd job to help pay for whatever I decide to do) So, that's where I stand. Anybody have any suggestions

[MattPark]

Man, that sure sucks. I know how it feels.

If I were you I might start looking for a new or used 4 stroke.

[retaliate]

Originally Posted by MattPark

Man, that sure sucks. I know how it feels.

If I were you I might start looking for a new or used 4 stroke.

Bummer, Iv'e had more than my fair share with blown 2 stroke motors, so now it's 4 stroke all the way, good luck! with the repairs.

[ReelAttitude]

if you have a little mechanical skills, search ebay each day....

I have in the past 6 weeks bought 2 complete outboards (one running), 1 power head & 2 lower units & enough spare parts to keep me going for the rest of my life for LESS than the cost of the initial repairs I was quoted.

try to buy from one of the outboard dismantlers on ebay, they are straight with the description & conditions of the motors and generally post the compression readings

when you do find your motor, PM me & Ill hook you up with an auction sniper to cinch the auction victory

its not as desperate a situation as you think

[HOOKUP]

I passed up a boat because it had a used optimax on it, I think it as an 03'. I went Yami 4 stroke, paid lots more but I feel lots better!