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87 mercury 70 ho elo

M

mv61

New member
I found an older bass tracker boat in nice shape in has 87 70hp elo 3 cylinder motor, boat was ainspected by boat dealer said everuthing looks god, just not familiar with motor or was just curious about reliability do to its ago
 
Some older motors may be more reliable / easier to maintain than new motors.--------Of course if you have to visit the dealer for every problem , than you want a new motor that has warranty.
 
The 70 of that vintage was built on the same powerhead as the 75 and 90 horse models. The 90, 3 cylinder Merc may have been their most successful motor over the years - it was a great motor.

Now are they/were they reliable. That depends. Did who ever owned it look after it? regular maintenance? sat for years in the back yard not covered over?

I have two 1986 outboards (9.9 Merc/140 Evinrude), two 1987's (9.9 Merc/2.5 Evinrude) and a 1991 15 horse Mariner. They all run as good as the day they were new - but I maintain them.

Without knowing the history of a motor there is no way to tell you if it will be reliable. It might "look good" but could be a day away from the junk yard.

If the dealer is selling it and says it's fine have them offer a warranty - say 90 days. If he/she is not willing then walk away. If it's a private sale then I wouldn't place alot of value on the motor when trying to determine a fair price for the whole package. I would place the value of a "unknown" 1987, 70 horse at maybe 500 bucks - if it's running and the compression is good - more if there are service records showing it was diligently cared for...
 
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