1987 omc 115 sea drive

ofishall1

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Sep 11, 2007
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19
PLEASE PLEASE SOMEONE HELP MEOUT, I CANT FIGURE THIS OUT, I NEED SOME ADVISE FROM YOU GUYS, I POSTED MY PROBLEM, BUT KNOW ONE HAS RESPONDED, I HAVE A OMC 115 I PUT IT INTO GEAR AND START TO THROTLE UP THEN AROUND 2000RPM OR SO SHE SHE STOPS THROTLEING UP, SHE WANTS TO GO, BUT JUST WONT , NOW I JUST BOUGHT THE BOAT AND OLD OWNER IS A MINISTER AND SWERES THERE WAS NEVER A PROBLEM, IVE READ ON HEAR THAT A FEW OTHER GUYS WITH THE SAME MOTOR HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM... CAN SOMEONE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS BEFORE I TAKE IT BACK INTO THE SHOP... IVE REPACED THE FUEL LINES ,NEW FILTERS ARE PUT ON, I EVEN DRAINED THE TANK, THAT COST ME $1600, OUCH THE MECHANIC I TOOK IT TO, HOLCOMB MARINE, SAYS ITS MY LOWER UNIT????? ANY SUGGESTIONS???? OR ADVISE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED,,, I WANT TO GO FISHING ,BUT CANT, PLEASE PLEASE GUYS HELP ME OUT , THXS TOM GORE IN LONGVIEW WASHINGTON:confused::(
 

iwombat

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Jul 12, 2006
Messages
3,767
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Whoa, Tom. Turn off the caps lock, man. It's considered shouting and it's incredibly hard to read.

Hopefully someone else will know this, but does this engine have the SLOW system? Kind of sounds like what's going on is the SLOW is detecting an overheat and limiting the throttle to 2k. That's one possibility, there are others. Air leaks, gunked up carbs, link and sync are all among the possibilities.

I think the lower unit being the problem is a load of dingos' kidneys, by the way.

Maybe you could spend a little time describing the symptoms in detail. You're our eyes and ears.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Nov 11, 2005
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51,019
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

there are not a lot of seadrives around, and a lot of mechs don't like to mess with them. find one that likes them. i don't know if they had SLOW or not. but, i would seriously look at the carbs, especially the highspeed jets being clogged. along with the other items iwombat said.
 

ofishall1

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Sep 11, 2007
Messages
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Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

sorry for the caps being on , what is this slow limiter thing and how do i find out if i have it, also the engin runs awsome in nuetral and when i put in gear forward or reverse when the rabbit ears are on it reves up just fine in forard upto 5000rpm and reverse just fine but when in the water it wants to go but wont ,, now the first day i got the boat it did this and i changed the plugs and main fuel filter the next day it ran awsome for 3 days then the 4th day it started again took it to a mechanic and he drained the tank it did have some water in it not much and blew the lines and i changed the plugs again and the filters again and put a new hose with the primer bulb, the mechanic laughed at me and said see ya in a few days your going to still have the same problem its in your lower unit, now i honestly feel it was a fuel problem, it wants to go but when it gets to right around 2000rpm it just stays there, then kinda wants to take off then idels back to 2000, i dont have a temperture gage, but the preveious owner who is a minister swears the boat has never never never has had a problem of any kind all maintence has been done , his last trip was 100 miles 7 months ago off the washington coast he said if the boat had a problem he would of never gon that far so i checked his last gps trip and sure enough it was 100 miles out after that trip he parked the boat then moved to kentucky and had his son sell the boat and i bought it.. im just dumbfounded the mechanic that i had work on it said the motors purr now if the motor are not under a load would that make a differance when we are working on them or would the problem occure with or without a load on it, and again how do i find out if i have this part that shuts the engine down to 2000rpm thxs guys anyone have a ph# ill call who ever you guys say to call thxs again.. tom gore in Longview washington
 

iwombat

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Jul 12, 2006
Messages
3,767
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Well first of all never run it over 1500 RPM on the muffs. Spinning it up to 5000 is a great way to get a connecting rod tossed in your face.

There's nothing about a lower end that would limit the RPMs to 2000. You need to find a new mechanic. What you've probably got is dirty carbs. However, you should really do a compression check and spark check and see if your engine is healthy on all cylinders.

Forget the LU, it's not there.
 

ofishall1

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Sep 11, 2007
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Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

you guys are awsome <<<<< just talked to mechanic on the Oregon side 20 min away i told him my problem and what you guys said , well he agreed and said it is the water pump that is probably bad and the sensore is not allowing me to go past the 2 grand , he also said to change the thermostates at the same time, he said he can get to it on wensday next week and it would be around $250 or so to do those 2 things, is that a fair price and also is this something i could do im mechanicly inclined, i work on my own cars and on my deisel trucks im no mechanic but i try to do what i can to save money im disabled do to my diabeties and ive got arthrities real bad im only 41 go figure so if some one thinks this is something i can do let me know and i will go buy the manual, also should i have him put new jets in at the same time or leave them alone???do these water pumps just go out, or can the sensor be bad again the last owner never never had a problem?? thxs again you guys are awsome,:);):D:)
 

Solittle

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Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Your engine does not have the Slow system if your engine is the 1987 1.6L crossflow (rateed at 110 hp not 115) bubbleback. There is an overheat sensor but it just acxtivates an alarm. Your symptoms fit crud in the carbs. You could try to squeeze the primer bulb when the power drops off. It would be a good idea to rebuild the carbs anyway and it is not a big job.

You paid $1,600.00 for what (you're engine is not worth that)??? And the mechanic said the rpm limit is caused by problems with the lower unit??? I'm with wombat on that. Check the oil in the gearcase yourself and look for a new mechanic.

You do need to replace the water pump and while you are at it the t-stats. You can do both yourself if reasonably handy and save some $$ though $250.00 is not completely out of line. The t-stats can be done but are a major pain due to the difficuty of getting to the three bolts.

I have a pair of these engines and have had them for 14 years. The engine itself is pretty much the same as other 4 cyl OMC. I have had no trouble with the SeaDrives but I have been told by many that parts are hard to come by. If you plan on keeping this rig try to find the OMC service and parts manuals. They are excellent and very detailed.
 

ofishall1

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Sep 11, 2007
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Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

just got the 2 manuals today, in the mail also this bubble back your refering to is it the hump thing between the heads???? and as for the 1600 i spent i called him back today and he said it cost 1200 to drain tank and hoses on main enging and flush it also 280 to do the same to the 9.8 kicker and he also took a welding tip cleaner to the jets on the kicker he said they a metal not bronz and are coroded in but since he had to heat them up with the torch to clean them that added to the cost oh yea he also added 2 cans of heat to the fuel, he also said i got a bargain,, LOL he came highly recomended go figure, i didnt even get a reach around..LOL o well i know better next time i could of done all that myself and would off i thought he was fixing my problem, well ill look at the manuals, also the book shows the screw for shift rod at the side of the motor mine is behind the carbs how the heck do you get that thing off i had everything off tonight but i couldnt get to that bolt or nut what ever it is any ideas guys would be appreciated i might as well do it that is the replace the water pump but i cant get to that bolt or nut can someone walk me thourgh it . thxs or send me a diagrame on this my book shows a screw on the side i dont have that thxs again guys your awsome thxs .. tom gore Longview washington next to the Columbia river
 

iwombat

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Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
3,767
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Whew! Finally someone that's got the what's what on this motor. I thought SLOW was a long shot, but it sure fit the symptoms well. Crud in the carbs is probably the ticket.

The mechanic HEATED the jets to clean them? WTF?

I think this guy is charging his customers for his own therapy. He's clearly

stark


raving


mad
 

sankanother1

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
129
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

HOLD ON!!!Back up the boat!You paid that much money and left with your boat running the same way..Have I got the lawyer for you.I know of a couple B.S artists that talk alot of crap but can't fix a toaster.The funny thing is I don't know where they are anymore.:mad:
 

ofishall1

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Sep 11, 2007
Messages
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Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

tell me about it this guy came HIGHLY HIGHLY recomended and is well known in the area also he told me at first it was going to be 350 to 400 to drain everything and after all is said and done i paid him cash he nknew i wasnt happy and i asked why are you chargeing me tax im paying cash he said cant do that and he didnt even give me a receipt when asked for one, owell what can you do i didnt want him to keep my boat but man $1662 to clean the water out of the tank and fuel lines and out of the motors , funny thing is though, when i went to change the fuel filter on the motor all the fuellines were still gooey and mucked up like they wernt even taken off, he told me they took off all the lines and blew them out.. NOT..... I GOT BLOWN, AND IT DIDNT EVEN FEEL GOOD... lesten learnedwell ill do what you guys say im going to have a new water pump kit put on and new thermostates and have the carbs done at the same time , now if its the carbs would that to limit the rpms to 2000 just wondering anyway thxs guys I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE IT you guys are great , thxs for all the help.. tom gore..:)
 

cortes

Seaman
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
52
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Check the throttle plates and make sure when WOT the plates are parallel to the ground. Also you might want to get a spark tester and make sure you are getting spark on all cylinders, (look at me giving advise, I am learning alot from this site) oh and check compression, but get a repair manual first.
 

Solittle

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7,518
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

You will need a 1/4" drive with an extra long extension and a universal joint, and a 7/16" (I think socket) to get to the bolt that is attached to the shift rod. Access is from the starboard side. You may have to disconnect the gear shift and the throttle cable to get access. When you get it loose try to leave the bolt in the near side of the fork as it will be easier to reinstall. Before you start put a couple of bolts in the lower unit to keep it from falling. Also when you slide the lowere unit off try not to turn the shift rod as the length is important.

If you decide to rebuild the carbs pull them off first and disregard all of the above. The shift rod is easy to get to if the carbs are off.
 

Solittle

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7,518
Re: 1987 omc 115 sea drive

Did you get it disconnected? Don't get discouraged just yet. A little cussin might help.
 
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