Cheap Chineese Kicker

[Pete Collin]

Hello All,

Back in 2010 I bought a new Coleman 5 hp outboard to be used as a trolling motor.  "A thousand bucks!  Free shipping!  What a bargain!"  Well here I am 8 years later and I am told it is toast.  It gets 75 pounds of compression, I am told it should be 130 or something like that.  Silver Lake Marine refused to even look at it, not a good sign.

So I am wondering if you gearheads can tell me - what makes a motor not worth doing a cylinder bore/piston ring job on?  Is it that the engine block is so light that it will inevitably warp again?  One thing makes me wonder about this defect - when I first bought the motor, it didn't seem to have good flow of cooling water at slow speeds.  It would make sneezing sounds out of the water exhaust- telling me taht it was reaching boiling point.  So I called the company and they sent me a new water pump impeller.  Thing is, the new impeller was shaped differently than the original one.  Which tells me that they necessarily changed the design, or they put the wrong one in the first time around.  Not a good sign.  Either way I wondered if the cooling water running hot that first season contributed to my cylinder blowing so quickly.  So if I did rebore the cylinder, at least the water pump is working correctly now.  Would I get twice as much life out of it this time?  My last kicker was a 1975 Johnson 6 hp Seahorse that I wish I had rebored.  That was a nice little motor.

Pete

[Chas0218]

52 minutes ago, Pete Collin said:

Hello All,

Back in 2010 I bought a new Coleman 5 hp outboard to be used as a trolling motor.  "A thousand bucks!  Free shipping!  What a bargain!"  Well here I am 8 years later and I am told it is toast.  It gets 75 pounds of compression, I am told it should be 130 or something like that.  Silver Lake Marine refused to even look at it, not a good sign.

So I am wondering if you gearheads can tell me - what makes a motor not worth doing a cylinder bore/piston ring job on?  Is it that the engine block is so light that it will inevitably warp again?  One thing makes me wonder about this defect - when I first bought the motor, it didn't seem to have good flow of cooling water at slow speeds.  It would make sneezing sounds out of the water exhaust- telling me taht it was reaching boiling point.  So I called the company and they sent me a new water pump impeller.  Thing is, the new impeller was shaped differently than the original one.  Which tells me that they necessarily changed the design, or they put the wrong one in the first time around.  Not a good sign.  Either way I wondered if the cooling water running hot that first season contributed to my cylinder blowing so quickly.  So if I did rebore the cylinder, at least the water pump is working correctly now.  Would I get twice as much life out of it this time?  My last kicker was a 1975 Johnson 6 hp Seahorse that I wish I had rebored.  That was a nice little motor.

Pete

Honestly the price of the motor new is less than what a re-bore or new piston and rings will set you back. If you were doing the work yourself it would be much cheaper but for a marina to do that work you will be looking at $1000 bill.

 

I have an 81 7.5hp Sea horse and I will tell you that she runs like a top and has a decent amount of trolling hours probably around 2000 hours at this point. If you maintain the motor it should last a long time.

 

What exactly is wrong other than the compression? It could just need new rings. If what you are saying and the block/heads are warped then the motor is truly junk. If I were making a $1000 investment into a kicker I would be buying a used Yamaha or Tohatsu. Both reputable names and are backed by the manufacturer.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Chas0218

[Sk8man]

I think Chas has given you some real good advice. By the time you invest the money to "fix" the issue you may  have just put "lipstick on a pig" The used brand name motors in decent shape would be a safer bet for your money Pete. A new impeller/water pump kit, set of new plugs, lower unit oil and most of the used brand name motors in decent shape would serve you for years.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Sk8man

[bandrus1]

I would call $1000 for 8 years a net win

[Pete Collin]

12 minutes ago, bandrus1 said:

I would call $1000 for 8 years a net win

More like six years. I haven't been out much the last couple. 

[MCF]

Unless you have a cheap way of fixing it I would try to sell it for parts etc on Craigslist or somewhere and take the potential $1000.00 and find a good used kicker.

And who knows, once you get into it, it could be more $$$ 

[J.D.]

Online Outboards has 2018 Tohatsu 5 HP MFS5CS Outboard Motors  for $1350. No tax, free shipping.....

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by J.D.

[Chas0218]

6 minutes ago, J.D. said:

Online Outboards has 2018 Tohatsu 5 HP MFS5CS Outboard Motors  for $1350. No tax, free shipping.....

 

This is the route I would go.

I'm sure you wanted to hear something different as this is already an expensive sport. I have been around boats, tractors, lots of motors and nothing about rebuilding a motor is cheap especially if you aren't doing the work yourself. I'm not saying you shouldn't rebuild the motor but the most cost effective option is for you to buy new or used and not repair that motor. Name brand motors might only last as long (highly unlikely) but the parts availability for the name brand motors are plentiful driving down the cost of parts.

[Pete Collin]

Thanks everybody for your advice.

[Bozeman Bob]

Most impellers are shaped like spokes on a wheel when new and not installed. Once put in the housing the blades take on a permanent bend in one direction. Which is normal.... Ohhhh and I think the title of your post says it all !!

Edited May 12, 2018 by Bozeman Bob

[180ccf]

The "sneezing" effect on a 2-stroke outboard is usually caused by too lean of a condition. Because the lean bur is a fast burn it escapes out the exhaust port before the piston can close it. It may also be a direct cause of the low compression. A lean burn is a very hot burn and it will melt the piston. Most often on the exhaust port side. If you like to tinker, it should be a really fun 3 hours of your morning. Then fatten up or clean them carbs. Read your plugs.