regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

[carp the other white meat]

Any suggestions or secrets to maintaining a healthy out board for a long life and few repairs? I have an "89"-"90" 85 HP Force. I don't know much about outboards, their cooling, high octane gas usage?, high quality spark plugs?, oil/lubrication process etc... Any additives to suggest or avoid? Lastly, anyone used the dolphin fins sold to help fuel economy and for slower plane? They attach to the fin on the lower part of the engine. Thanks in advance,<br />Carp

 

[JB]

Re: regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

Moving to General Outboard

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

to keep that thing running for long time... well here goes...<br />change water pump every other year, soe do it every year. always use what the manufacturer recamneds. dont do what your bowling budy said is cool... these are not cars... they operate way different... DO NOT USE CAR PARTS AT ALL !!! it may save you a few bucks, but dont do it...<br />get a manual.. you can get em here at iboats or on ebay... it will be the best 30 bucks you EVER spent, and it will save you 10 timnes that in cash with the money you save doing the work yourself, its not hard...probably wouldnt hurt to rebuild those carbs if theve been sitting, or at least clean em,.,,

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

Just to add a couple of things that a Manual will cover anyway. Change the lower unit fluid every year and check it's condition. 87 octane fuel is fine. NGK spark plugs(BUHX surface gap) are the ones to use for that engine. Oil mix is 50:1.(1 pint TC-W3 oil per 6 Gallons of gas) No additives nessesary or recommended. Water pump every couple of years is a very good idea on these engines, as was said above. Check compression every year also to see how the internal parts of the engine are holding up. Force motors need all the TLC they can get.

 

[quantumleap]

Re: regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

If you haven't done it yet, read through the FAQ's.

 

[1986mariner150]

Re: regular maintenance? & the "Dol Phin " for trim

I have run Force and Chrysler through the years and imho with proper care the 2 and 3 cylinders are just a reliable as OMC or Merc. In addition to what is stated above 2 critcal things for a long lasting Force. 1. Keep the RPM below 5250, these are great workhorse motors but not racehorses. 2. De-Carbonize every year. These motors tend to build up carbon on the piston tops and if left unchecked it will eat a ring. I use a product called Deep Creep as instructed on the can.