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1997 Evinrude 200 Ocean Runner

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davlan88

New member
Hey, New here and very concerned about my new to me boat engines. I have 2 Evinrude 200 Ocean Runners. I noticed some odd wobbling on the starboard motor while out. After looking it was missing the 2 upper motor mount bolts. I thought maybe they vibrated out, seemed possible. Well after closer insoection, the bolts had broken off. Anyone ever seen this happen or heard of it. After lengthy web searches I have only found a few occurrences, one guy had it happen multiple times. Now I'm gunshy about running my boat in case it happens again and possibly becoming dangerous. Does anyone know what might cause such a thing? Extremely concerned about my next outing or should I just go on business as usual as I have already fixed it and replaced with new bolts. By the way, the motor mount was not broken.
 
davlan88 said:
Hey, New here and very concerned about my new to me boat engines. I have 2 Evinrude 200 Ocean Runners. I noticed some odd wobbling on the starboard motor while out. After looking it was missing the 2 upper motor mount bolts. I thought maybe they vibrated out, seemed possible. Well after closer insoection, the bolts had broken off. Anyone ever seen this happen or heard of it. After lengthy web searches I have only found a few occurrences, one guy had it happen multiple times. Now I'm gunshy about running my boat in case it happens again and possibly becoming dangerous. Does anyone know what might cause such a thing? Extremely concerned about my next outing or should I just go on business as usual as I have already fixed it and replaced with new bolts. By the way, the motor mount was not broken.
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I assume you mean the bolts that go through the transom and bolt the engine to the boat?.. Assuming that is the case -

This is not typical. Did they corrode down to nothing and then break or are they stainless bolts that look fairly clean, which just broke somehow?

If it's not corrosion most likely there was play that allowed the engine to bounce around and fatigue the metal - it would not take much for you to break a 1/2 inch stainless bolt just beating it back and forth with a 5 lb hammer for a few minutes, nevermind what a 450 lb engine could do for hours.

The question then would be - why was it loose in the first place? If some dumbass just didn't tighten it down well then no big deal, put new bolts in with nylon locknuts (seal them up with 5200 when you do this), keep an eye on it and you should be all set. When possible I also like to use some sort of backing plate on those bolts - heavy duty (like 3/8) channel aluminum is great, you can cut it with wood tools, drills easy, and doesn't corrode. Use two short pieces per engine - going horizontal or vertical such that 2 engine mount bolts go through each piece.

If there is play because your transom has gone soft (plywood core rotted out) then that's pretty common too - in which case the transom needs repair and I'd say the boat IS unsafe.

Jon
 
leaky said:
I assume you mean the bolts that go through the transom and bolt the engine to the boat?.. Assuming that is the case -

This is not typical. Did they corrode down to nothing and then break or are they stainless bolts that look fairly clean, which just broke somehow?

If it's not corrosion most likely there was play that allowed the engine to bounce around and fatigue the metal - it would not take much for you to break a 1/2 inch stainless bolt just beating it back and forth with a 5 lb hammer for a few minutes, nevermind what a 450 lb engine could do for hours.

The question then would be - why was it loose in the first place? If some dumbass just didn't tighten it down well then no big deal, put new bolts in with nylon locknuts (seal them up with 5200 when you do this), keep an eye on it and you should be all set. When possible I also like to use some sort of backing plate on those bolts - heavy duty (like 3/8) channel aluminum is great, you can cut it with wood tools, drills easy, and doesn't corrode. Use two short pieces per engine - going horizontal or vertical such that 2 engine mount bolts go through each piece.

If there is play because your transom has gone soft (plywood core rotted out) then that's pretty common too - in which case the transom needs repair and I'd say the boat IS unsafe.

Jon
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Hi Jon, Thank you for the reply. No, not the bolts that mount to the transom. These are the bolts that run through the steering arm and in to the exhaust block just under the power head. David
 
davlan88 said:
Hi Jon, Thank you for the reply. No, not the bolts that mount to the transom. These are the bolts that run through the steering arm and in to the exhaust block just under the power head. David
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You said "upper" but really there are just two of those, at least the bolts I'm thinking of, correct?

Jon
 
leaky said:
You said "upper" but really there are just two of those, at least the bolts I'm thinking of, correct?

Jon
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2 for the upper mount bolts for the steering arm and then there are 2 lower mounts on the foot. The 2 steering arm mounts snapped. Can't figure out why this would have happened.
 
OK I get that. Sorry do not have a whole lot to add on that subject, never seen it.

I think if they became loose over time, or were not tight to begin with, similarly they could fatigue and snap. Since the steering arm is steel conceivably corrosion could chip away at the mating surface too.

How do the lower mounts look? Is there any play in the bottom that would cause flexing on those top bolts?

Jon
 
leaky said:
OK I get that. Sorry do not have a whole lot to add on that subject, never seen it.

I think if they became loose over time, or were not tight to begin with, similarly they could fatigue and snap. Since the steering arm is steel conceivably corrosion could chip away at the mating surface too.

How do the lower mounts look? Is there any play in the bottom that would cause flexing on those top bolts?

Jon
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When I pulled the old bolts out, they came out with ease. Looking at the broken pieces it's almost as if they were over torqued. No twisting in the metal. Maybe it was as simple as an over torque. Hot do I check the bottom mounts? Is there something to look for when pulling the covers? Who sells a good manual for these motors?
 
You can find them right here on this forum or E-Bay. Make sure you get the Factory OEM manual for your motor.
 
On the bottom mounts I would just check for play, ie pull on the lower unit and see if anything can be moved around at all (either play in the bottom mount or the swivel bracket that would rock back/forth on the top bolts).. If you can't detect anything then I can't see anything to be concerned with - just keep an eye on it.

It would take a whole lot to over-torque those 1/2 inch bolts though - seems like must be some other root cause.. If nothing turns up, since the bottom mounts are rubber mounted and somewhat flexible, maybe someone hit something at one point and it sheered the tops.

Tread lightly if you go taking things apart on the bottom mount for inspection, those parts have an awful tendency to be seized, not worth breaking bolts if it all seems sane.

Jon
 
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