New engine
 

Today I got the numbers to get the engine they gave me to get it running right. My guy which I have confidence in gave me the issues with it.
1 cylinder has low compression, not terrible but on the low side. He said once the engine runs and the cylinder get wet it would come up...but its probable it would. I need a new power pack as it's not sparkling on all cylinders, lower unit would need to be rebuilt. Etc.......
He recommended not to move forward sell it for what I can and get something else.

Options are a new engine or look for a nice used engine.

He does have a Johnson 200 which he just rebuilt painted and he wants 4k for it.

Not the news I wanted to hear but it a boat and we all know what that means

Plan on shopping Zuke, Merc and Yamaha next week and see how much of a whole its going to leave.

Good thing is that the wife is down for getting a new engine

Jesus, I have a 1999 Johnson 175 carbed with 162 original hours, garage kept and I don’t think That’s worth 4K. And it’s freaking Thirsty! That’s on the MA.

The Seafari I recently sold had an 06 Etec 150, a little less top end, not much, and Lightyears ahead. Injection is the difference between warming up an old Harley outside the bar, while your buddies come out fire up the newer technology and leave your ass in the parking lot! Best of luck!

Don’t get hung up on heavy outboards and debating the bracket. Just my $ .02.

Vezo

No worries I am not even thinking of a bracket . Its going on the transom. But a zuke 150 weights 520lbs. A 140 408lbs

Last year, during my refurb of the MA, I cut the forward seat of the console and moved the large console forward 7”, after replacing the fuel cell, still at 70 gallons and secured in original finished hold. Man what a difference! Snaps on plane now. Nice improvement. I think both Group 27 batteries, essentially remained in same place on deck. Gained some much needed real estate in the cock pit, but still have not mounted a leaning post. Don’t remember weight of outboard which had the VRO removed from day one. Now if I could get better than 1.1 mpg, I could get out 30 plus miles where the Grouper are all summer!?!

Vezo.

No more grinding cutting glassing for me. I did put both batteries under the console and want to say I moved the console up 2 inches, plus I'm sure I shed some weight using nida core for the deck and gunnels. If I see major squatting with the new engine I could go 50 on a new gas tank and push it forward

Sounds like some fun shopping upcoming. Looking forward to seeing the choices and pros vs. cons on the different models

Looking at the following if new

Zuke 140 or 150
Yamaha and mercury dont have a 140 to look at

Mercury and Yamaha 150's

Looking at the weight and of course pricing and warranty

Not against a 3-4 year old low hour engine..but the hunt begins

I had been 99% sure I wanted a Merc 150 4S for my Seafari. The other 1% was the Zuke 140. I am worried about weight first and foremost and then speed as I figure I will spend a decent amount of time loaded down. Both motors fit my weight requirement with the Zuke at 405 and the Merc at 465. From what I have heard the Merc is really more of a 160hp motor and the Zuke 130 so I was leaning heavily towards the Merc.

Now I see Suzuki has a DF140B motor just coming to market now that supposedly has more torque and presumably horsepower. That 130 to 160 gap may be a lot closer now. The $3k savings could be worth it. Time will tell if the new Zuke 140 will be a contender. Just something to consider.

Jorge/LNL, I ran a DF140 on my 18' SF and now have a Merc 150 on my 23' Sceptre. Both are great motors, looks like most of the changes to the Zuke are higher compression and cosmetic? The Merc is a 3 liter beast, which has pleasantly surprised me (thanks again to Bigshrimpin for blazing the trail). If you're seriously considering going new there in SoFla I'd think being real comfy with the dealer would be important. Down here none of the brands have strong dealer support, so I bought a CPO with half an hour on it for short money, one year warranty and did the install and rigging myself. Not hard (mechanical), but takes time. Good luck!

Yes ..I will be shopping the 3 manufacturer's in the next few weeks. My cousin is one of the top sales guys at Bass Outdoor and I plan on calling him today. And the boat show if they have it is coming soon down here and I've heard that have good deals at the show.

I not against in finding a engine that is a few years old with some warranty still on it.

Decisions... decisions

A DF140 flies a 20' cc with no issues at all and is the lightest and cheapest choice. I do like the Merc 150s but there is really no need for the extra weight, HP and cost.

I'm headed to Islamorada for the rest of the week but next week I'll be making some calls on this

https://www.boattrader.com/listing/2...btg-103228069/

My 20MA has enclosed transom and bracket with a 2019 DF140A on the back. No trim tabs, planes out easy enough without them when I am solo. With 2 other people, need the passengers to move forward a little to plane out nicely. She touches 40mph fully trimmed out and cruises in flat water at 31-32 at about 5gph give or take. I love the way the motor runs. I regularly go 3 or 4 trips without needing to gas up. I have put 150+ hrs on it in the first year of use.

Do I wish sometimes I had a bit more power? Only when heading in or our of the inlet on days I end up turning around anyways. Otherwise, the 140 is perfect for me.

This is the direction I may take when I get the 20 done.

Went to a local Suzuki dealer yesterday and priced bother A and B models.

Both prices include engine, installation, gauges, and prop and taxes
The A mechanical model comes to $14,358
Fly by wire $16,476

They do have financing with either a 5 or 6 year terms

There is a wait list of about 3 weeks of either

I did run into a 2011 Yamaha 150 with 350 hours that looked very clean asking $8500 included everything except the gauges.

Spoke with the prior owner about the engine he gave me and he told me that there is nothing wrong with the engine and to take it to his mechanic that he was the only one that touched the engine. Have a appointment for the 18th for the 2nd opinion.

Let's see what happens

FYI and comparison, two years ago I tracked down a Merc 150 "Certified Pre-Owned" motor at a dealer in West Palm. It showed .5 hours on the computer, the story was that it had been installed on a new boat and didn't run right during commissioning, so Mercury said to return it to the factory (story could be a load of bull, but that's what was told). Motor looked like new and was $8,500 out the door. One year warranty came with it, but it's run flawlessly. Good luck!

I know you are in Miami but it might be worth getting a quote from International Marine in Lantana/Boynton. They did my swap and mine was a little less than your quote on the "A" and included a new Seastar steering cylinder AND a Garmin GPS. So unless the costs went up by quite a bit, you may be able to save a couple of grand by making the trip up to Palm Beach County

Called them today....nada

No reply?

I can call for you if you like.

I did speak to them....nothing used and a wait list for new, same as down here

With work and my son having some health issues...nothing major...I'm just going to wait for the 18th when I have a appointment with the shop that serviced and knows the engine and continue to do the some minor and some major things needed to get the boat done. And the boat show is coming soon

Nestor my friend...good to hear from you!

Repowering with a 300? That must be some ride you have.

I'll send you a message with my contact info

I've been going back and forth on what new engine to go with. The zuke 140 will do the job but after looking at various sites and comments I have concerns about the performance. Most say the top out around 40 mph with minimal weight. Im not a small guy and my 2 sons are pretty big guys. Add the TTop and gear and 50-60 gallons of gas and it may not perform as I would like. Going up to a 200 would probably make the boat stern heavy. I could take out the 70 gallon tank and replace it with a 50 and push it forward and much as possible to offset the heavier engine. If that's the route a 150 to 200 Zuke might work. Damm this 2nd guessing

How often are you trying to run 40 mph? It is easy to get too wrapped up in top speed but just for reference, I am only able to run 28-32 mph 98% of the time due to sea and bay conditions and I'm in a 23'.

Have you looked at a Merc 150? They are a very strong 150 and similar in weight to the Zuke 140. The more weight you put on the transom will definitely complicate CG and weight distribution and it is something to consider. Most all who have gone with the 140 have been very happy with ride and speed. If you go to a heavier motor that can do 50 mph but cause the boat to squat at rest and cause other problems.... Is that extra 10 mph in the channel worth it?

If I haven't learned anything in resto mod SeaCraft building.... I have learned "light is right".

for me personally it would be between the Zuke 140 and a Merc 150...and I would pick the one with the best dealer service...I have an older 140 on my sceptre and it's plenty for me and the wife...have a brand new 150 merc on another boat (not seacraft) and nothing but praises for that motor as well although I have not had it that long. Bigshrimpin uses a merc 150 on his 23cc for comparisons sake.

strick

FWIW, I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up with one of the DF140BG's on my new 73 20sf. Forty mph is plenty fast and I will be taking considerable weight out of the stern, just like the 18. (keeping it on the transom) Good luck with your decision.

Here is what I'm thinking.
Go with a new Suzuki 150, its only 2000 more than the 140. It gets me better performance. I would get the engine on and see how the boat sits in the water. When I did the build I used all composite materials which should have lighten the boat, moved the batteries under the console, and the TTop should move some weight forward. If it still stern heavy I would remove the 70 gallon original gas tank and replace it with a 50 gallon tank and move it forward, or just run the 70 but not till it up all the time.

Got quote today for the zuke 150 and it's 15,500 installed..

And before I forget. I got the current evinrude back today. Needs a lower unit and new key harness and carbs rebuilt.

Going to get a "new to me" lower unit harness and rebuild the carbs and sell it.

So here are the results on shopping the new engines.

Yamaha 150 installed with 3year warranty by a top flight shop. $17,500
They do offer generous financing as to years which makes payments comfortable.

Suzuki 150 installed with 6 years on the warranty came to $15,300
Can finance with either 5or 6 years.

Mercury 150xl came to $15,500 with 3 year warranty installed
Adding 2 more to the warranty adds $1100. They also have decent financing packages

All have their plus and minuses

You need to add in the dealer cost of scheduled maintenance!! My neighbor just had his 200 hour (I'm sure it was 200) on his 300 Yamaha and it was crazy, crazy numbers. The maintenance cost to keep the warranty valid was a secondary factor on why there is not a 300 Yamaha on my boat, however the main reason was initial price & installation costs. From my shopping two years ago, Yamaha does not need or care about re-power business and it shows. Good luck!

This is a fun thread to keep up with since I went through all the same thoughts when I evaluated choices for my 300 back last fall. Decisions, Decisions. I’m sure you will pick the right one and be happy. I think you have apples to apples on the motors. I also agree the Zuki 150 is a more comparable than the 140 Zuki (small block 2 Liter)

You're not required to have a dealer perform maintenance to maintain an outboard engine's warranty.

Very true Mr. Cool, however some folks don't even know what a spark plug is....let alone change six of them!! :)

I just went thru the same thing, comparing all 4 main contenders, Mercury, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha. Discounted the Yamaha first due to the scheduled maintenance costs and Mercury soon after due to the high initial cost (although it was one of my 2 favorites). At the end it was between the Suzuki and the Honda, technologically they're very similar and their weight is pretty close but the Suzuki initial cost won out in the end, a difference of more than $5500, (this included a new instrument panel, relocating a battery and installing an NMEA 2000 network system to tie in the engine, tank and digital gauge to my chartplotter/sonar, the Honda dealer didn't offer any of these options)! I just got her back from the dealer and started the break-in process and this engine is even quieter than I expected, I barely hear it at idle, hell, the telltale cooling stream is louder than the engine! I haven't been able to take it to full throttle yet but at the present max of 4000 rpm she ran at 37 mph and gave 3.1 mpg, and at 3750 rpm she ran at 34 mph and gave 4.1 mpg! Incredible but I hear it's pretty common for the Suzukis. Just my 2 cents but you can't go wrong with Suzuki, just make sure you go to an authorized Suzuki "Re-Power" center to get the best experience.

Hi Nestor-

Congrats on your new Suzuki 300. I am sure you will enjoy it.

As an employee of Honda Marine, I wanted to point out that Honda does offer a NMEA 2000 network, as well as analog to digital fuel sender converters and a variety of other sensors to allow our engines to share data and network to MFD's.

I have all of it on my 27 Tournament that is powered by twin 250 Honda's and love it.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

Thanks Ed! I tell you, it was a close decision and you're correct, of course Honda does offer the same components. The advantage I found in Suzuki was mostly related to the dealer, he was able to sell me a 300 hp engine with digital controls and gauge, remaking the instrument panel and installing the NMEA 2000 network for a lot less money than the local Honda dealer did for a 250 hp engine with manual controls, analog gauges and no NMEA 2000 network. I assume a different dealer may have made a different offer but this being a small town there aren't many to go to, the next closest dealer was 1.5 hours away. That's why you should go to several different dealers, even from the same brand, to ensure you get the deal you want.