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Force Outboard

"Yes, kinda...

In 1984 Bayl


"Yes, kinda...

In 1984 Bayliner bought what was left the the mostly bankrupt Chrysler outboard division.

They began producing Force outboards as part of their U.S. Marine division. Their plan was to build their own motors to package on their boats at a "value price".

In 1986 Brunswick (who owns half the boating industry) bought out Bayliner. Since they already owned Merc, they gave the Force division to them.

Merc continued to cobble together Force outboards until the late 90's. They were a very inexpensive motor, however, were treated as "disposable".

Merc turned out roughly 3 types of Force motors.

Ones that were mostly old Chrysler parts, some that were a kinda hybrid between whatever Chrysler and old Merc parts would fit together and yet others that were mostly just old Merc parts. It was a great way to get rid of stuff sitting in warehouses that they had not hung on their own motors since the 1970's in some cases.

As an example, in the late 90's they produced 47 different models of the 125 Force. Whatever would bolt on went out the door and if the parts were significantly different, they gave it new model number (47 times)....

So while Force was built by Merc, you can not compare either the quality or the technology. A 1990 Force model had all the technical advancements of a 1975 Merc...."
 
"wow, thanks for info..very in

"wow, thanks for info..very interesting. As I stated in the force forum I had a '89 100hp mariner, it got saw grass wrapped around it and destroyed the lower unit $1000 repair estimate...I found a 1996 120hp Force for $500 in great condition, well maintained, and low hours a man was getting rid of bc he upgraded to a 200hp engine. I bought it and was really wondering what I was getting myself into or if I had made a mistake...
thanks,
Brandon"
 
"Force takes alot of "bash

"Force takes alot of "bashing", and after working on a few I more than agree that they were cobbled together.

Having said that, a good friend of mine has a 1990, 90 horse, bought new.

Last year, at 17 years old and over 2000 hours of run time it ate a piston.

Prior to that (aside from plugs, impellers and gear oil) we had only replaced 1 coil and a starter - not bad for 17 years.

He elected to rebuild given the cost of replacement. For under 1000 bucks, we got it bored out, then we installed new pistons/rings/bearings/gaskets etc also replaced the trigger.

The motor runs "like new" again.

Moral of the story, "a running Force outboard is better than any better quality outboard that is sitting in the scrap heap"
"
 
"good point, marine engines ar

"good point, marine engines are "holes in the water where money is thrown" as the sign reads as you walk out to my dock. I have a good dealer i work with here and take very good care of my toys. I have impeller, gear grease, and when they are needed plugs done yearly"
 
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