buying a used zuki

[txbandit44]

Any advice on older zuki's? I am looking at a 1982 85hp anything I should look for? Any tell tale signs that its a bad idea to buy?

 

[phwrd]

Re: buying a used zuki

Bought one, bullfrog called in a guy who has experience on them.

Check around to see if there is someone local that knows how to repair them.

Seems in some areas, there are not alot of mechanicis that have worked on these before.

Find one first and then ask him all of there questions :

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=188767


good luck

 

[hankll]

Re: buying a used zuki

I bought an 87 150SS, a couple of years ago. Had to do some normal stuff to get mine to be reliable, i.e., carbs rebuilt, water impeller replaced. Other than that I had some electrical issues, replaced a coil pack, had a bad low oil warning module, but all in all, its been a strong motor. Even the mechanic I went to for some of those issues said it was a good strong motor, indicating that carbs and water impeller are "normal" maintenance items, and anybody worth his salt needs to make sure those are maintained regularly. Other than that for the most part older motors are going to have electrical issues at times just from age issues. Zuki's are generally accepted to be a good motor. Mine has been, and if given the chance again, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

 

[crappie-attitude]

Re: buying a used zuki

Any time I buy an older engine, a compression check is the first thing on order. Even if you don't know the designed compression, you can look for relatively even pressure across all cylinders.

I bought an older Suzuki that had been unused for roughly 5 years which worried me, but a comp. check was good and it worked out well. Depending on how long it's been out of service, if it has, plan on a water pump kit, carb cleaning, possibly a fuel pump (kit), and the rest of the typical maintenance.

 

[hankll]

Re: buying a used zuki

As to your plans to replace fuel pump, my mechanic when he was going over mine after I had bought it (mine was running), so other than rebuilding carbs and new impeller replacement, when I asked him about some of the other systems. Particularly, I asked him about fuel pump, and oil pump and whether he thought they needed rebuilt. His only thought was not usually an issue for Zuki's. Yea they can go bad, but out on the lake test would verify any issues. My fuel pump system is working fine, but I keep an eye on everything anyway, listening for any sound out of ordinary. As to the oil pump, he only suggested mixing oil in 1st tank of gas until I determined that oil in tank was dropping levels, by putting a piece of tape on the oil tank and comparing after a day on the lake. With a slightly heavier oil plume during that first tank (notice my avatar pic, you can see the oil plume, just after first launch) but now its completely not noticeable, except when its first started. I see that on a lot of 2 cycles on my lake that are carbed.

 

[James R]

Re: buying a used zuki

Main issue is check compressions. They should be fairly even and better than 100PSI.
If not, dont buy it. Oversize pistons are probably NA.