Fatherof4 Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 Hello All. A couple of months ago, I purchased a 96 MA 18.5. Came with a 96 Johnson 175 Fast strike. Has a 4 blade prop. It idles kinda rough, but, running, it purrs. This weekend the power tilt and trim went out. Understandable with a 23yo motor. And, it *** fuel. Somewhat considering a repower. I love the torque of the 2 stroke and not opposed to another 2 stroke. Have owned Yamaha 4-strokes for over 20 yrs, and still have one on my offshore boat. Looking for thoughts/recommendations. Would like to keep the weight the same, or less, if possible. Not opposed to buying a good used motor either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted July 30, 2019 Report Share Posted July 30, 2019 Two strokes are a dying breed and the price on used ones show it. There are some very nice yamaha’s Listed for pretty good prices and they are not selling. If you could find a deal on one of those close to you you could save some coin for sure. Four strokes are nice and would get you a premium on selling price but I doubt it would cover the cost of what you have in the boat once you buy a new four stroke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted July 31, 2019 Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 I have a 96 and have researched this for too many hours waiting on something similar to occur. Yamaha 175 SHO is what I am going with perhaps late this year. I looked at re-powering used but I am not inclined to go that route. It is hard to find low hour Yamahas for much less than 9-10K and it is mostly the F150. An F150 new is 12 and change so I would just pay the diff to have the warranty. I think the free extra to get you 5 years is running now or soon to start. I love the hull and plan on keeping mine and have more than gotten my moneys worth/value out of mine with the OEM power so I am not sweating the age old "getting my money back from the new engine" issue. A new HPX is 71K so compared to that a 175 SHO is cheap 🤣 You are correct that no 4 stroke will be as light as the 2 stroke. Not sure anything is except that new Evinrude thats just not hitting the market. It is not for me. The MAs in those years as ours are fairly heavy. Much heavier than the newer ones and they balance out ok with 4 strokes. Or at least they don't tend to squat like the older Hewes when the 4 stroke gets hung on them. If you haven't considered moving the battery forward to the center console thats a big plus when you do. That and the loss of the oil tank shave some weight. In my case about what the 4 stroke would add as I run group 31 AGMS at 68 pounds. With that said...somewhere on here is a used 175 2 stroke if you stay with em. 🤷♂️ Lastly, if it runs that good...I would scour around for T and T unit maybe even have yours rebuilt and buy some time. I had to make 11 calls just today but managed to find a rectifier for mine thats giving me trouble so parts can still be had for yours maybe. Not sure on what the Johnsons bring but a blown Yamaha 150-175 is worth 1000 bucks and a running one of our vintage is worth 2500 so if you run her till she dies it doesn't cost you much difference really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatherof4 Posted July 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2019 Thanks Triplec. My boat is at the shop now to get the tilt/trim fixed. The cost is whatever it is. I do not ever plan on selling mine. So, not worried about the cost of an additional motor. Mine does run extremely well, and it only has 560 original hours. It does love to drink gas. I guess the carb motors just do. No big deal. So, will prob keep the motor I have now until I just lose all faith in it. I hear a lot about leaking gas tanks...This is my first older boat in owning boats for 30 yrs. Any idea what I need to look out for? I don't smell gas....I do plan on getting the boat rewired in the next yr or so. Maybe have the carb's rebuilt. The idle is just rough and it will stall occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdsnook Posted August 1, 2019 Report Share Posted August 1, 2019 Might want to look at Mercury Optimax's great horse power to weight, proven reliable design....two stroke without the smoke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettN Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I have a 95 that I repowered a couple years ago with the f150. It uses half the gas my old 130 did and will run in the low 50s. As was mentioned moving your batteries forward helps a lot and after I did that I feel like it’s a pretty good setup. I got mine for about $6k and you can find a lot of them for around that price that are a little older. I looked at getting a brand new one but decided it wasn’t worth it as I plan to move up to a bay boat in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 On 7/31/2019 at 11:21 AM, Fatherof4 said: Thanks Triplec. My boat is at the shop now to get the tilt/trim fixed. The cost is whatever it is. I do not ever plan on selling mine. So, not worried about the cost of an additional motor. Mine does run extremely well, and it only has 560 original hours. It does love to drink gas. I guess the carb motors just do. No big deal. So, will prob keep the motor I have now until I just lose all faith in it. I hear a lot about leaking gas tanks...This is my first older boat in owning boats for 30 yrs. Any idea what I need to look out for? I don't smell gas....I do plan on getting the boat rewired in the next yr or so. Maybe have the carb's rebuilt. The idle is just rough and it will stall occasionally. Indeed they are thirsty beasts! Ours have some big ole carbs lol. Yours has tad less hours than mine. I hear stories of these older Pro Vs running for upwards of 2000 hours. 🤞Maybe not in the salty stuff though 🤷🏼♂️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 1 hour ago, BrettN said: I have a 95 that I repowered a couple years ago with the f150. It uses half the gas my old 130 did and will run in the low 50s. As was mentioned moving your batteries forward helps a lot and after I did that I feel like it’s a pretty good setup. I got mine for about $6k and you can find a lot of them for around that price that are a little older. I looked at getting a brand new one but decided it wasn’t worth it as I plan to move up to a bay boat in a few years. 1 hour ago, BrettN said: Thats the ideal way if you are fortunate enough to snag one thats well maintained! Then you are not so invested. Every F150 engine I have inquired about has more hours than my 2 stroke and they want 9K or better. WIth new ones in the low 12s and 5 year warranty I always thought I would be inclined to go new but keep looking around though. Lots of folks re-powering in this economy! The reg 150s are more common used it seems. If you are in the low 50's it sounds like your performing better than with the 130 so thats excellent. Thats where my 2 stroke is. What prop are you running to get there on the 150? It is a Yamaha I guess? Sounds like good option to consider. My 2 stoke mechanic seems to think I need 175 SHO to get the same numbers and out of the hole as my current engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRC Posted September 22, 2019 Report Share Posted September 22, 2019 My ‘01has a Yammi Vmax 150 , I’m on my second powerhead ( hydro tec) now @ 180hp and for me its the ideal set up. I taped 11.5” draft w this set up. Angler in bow and someone on PPlatform. No experience w 4 stroke yet on this set up. My guess always lighter is better for engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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