Fishing Forum

Last fall I got some water in my lower unit on my old outboard and it froze and it wasn't worth repairing.

I found a replacement outboard (1969 100 HP Mercury Tower of Power) listed on KSL. When I went to check it out I discovered that the prior owner was in a hurry to haul his boat to the land fill and obviously had zero mechanic skills. Instead of figuring out how to remove the throttle and the wiring he just cut off all of the wiring about 4 feet from the outboard and also just left the cables on the boat![shocked]

The prior owner had a receipt from a local shop that had previously done some work on the outboard. N.E.T.O. and I (mostly Randy) installed the replacement outboard on my boat and I took it to the local shop to have the wiring left on the outboard spliced into my wiring. Only charged me $100, which seemed like a good deal. This was in January.

Took the boat out a few weeks ago to test it and it fired right up. Before I got out of the Willard Bay Marina I smelled something burning and noticed smoke coming out of the throttle box. First tried to paddle the boat back on the boat, but that wasn't working in the wind. Fired up the trolling motor and because the Remote Troll isn't working these days, had to get back near the trolling motor to run the outboard and guide it up onto the trailer. Got it on the trailer without any difficulty.

Returned the boat to the shop and was told that the wiring was bad in the starter switch and so he replaced it. Only charged 1/2 hour in labor and the cost of the new starter switch.

Tested it again and smelled something hot. I felt the wiring going into the throttle and it was hot enough that it could have burned my hand. Using the trolling motor, trying to trailer it in the wind at Utah Lake State Park, I ran the bow of the boat through one of the rear windows of my Suburban[mad]! Found out that the glass shop will waive the $100 deductible for all insurance companies except for State Farm.[frown]

Gave up with local boat shop and took the boat up to Lee's Marine. He found that the new starter switch that had been put in was too large (causing it to short against the throttle box), steering cables shot, blades worn in throttle mechanism and the outboard wasn't putting out any electricity to charge the battery. Lee is waiting on parts. Hope it is now fixed.
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I can relate. Two years ago I bought my boat. Took a friend who is a marine mechanic with me out on it's maiden run at willard. He went through the boat before I bought it. The boat auto rev limited down while we were running. He said it was overheating and the impellar needed to be replaced. I saw water spewing but he said it should be stronger than that. So he replaced that to the tune of a bunch of money. Took it out and it seemed to run fine but I really don't use the big motor except to get me to the fishing spot then I use electric or kicker. Later I'm running and it does it again. I checked out iboats.com and saw there is an in line oil filter that is most likely the problem. I told the mechanic about that and he replaced that to the tune of a bunch more money. I take it out to DC and it gets ugly fast. I hammer down and realize I can't turn left when at full throttle. Gears in the steering wheel were all screwed up but the auto rev limiter didn't kick in so there is one victory. Replaced that, more money. I then am out and my trim motor is skipping bad, then wouldn't raise or lower my motor. Had to have that rebuilt just now. Every time I turn around I'm throwing $400-$800 plus at a marine mechanic which I question if most of them have a clue on what they are even doing. Frustration is the biggest understatement I could state. I've paid more for repairs on the boat then I paid for it two years ago. The last repairs were done by wakeless marine in Manila, he seems to be a lot more knowlegeable then the guy I was using down here. He pointed out the guy down here had my sensor unplugged so who knows if it was fixed or not as it wouldn't have went into safe mode because the sensor was unplugged. I took it out Sunday but didn't run it very hard, next trip I will run it for a while and see if it's been fixed. Break Out Another Thousand is very true in my case. If I didn't love fishing so much I'd sell this boat and be done with it.
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I can sense the pain (money) and frustration, but Lee's is honest and he knows what he is doing, so once he fixes it, it will run right. I know its a drive for some folks (up to Hyrum @ Lee's), but in the long run it is worth the gas money and time. What a great guy and instant friend too!
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Lee is honest and more thorough than other mechanics that I have used. Picked it up yesterday and tested it on Hyrum. Had to call Lee to join me on the water for some final adjusting, but now works great.
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Never take my boat anywhere but Lees. A drive, but worth it.
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Hey:

Fixing your boat is a lifetime effort. In addition to Lees in Hyrum, a little farther north in Smithfield is Dons Boats. I am a total perfectionist on my boat and most of the time he has met my expectations. He has worked on my boats for the last 15 year and I always felt treated right. He wont hesitate to give you a "Scotch Blessing" if he thinks you did/fixed something stupidly or incorrectly. He is a Evinrude/Johnson now Bombardiar (sp) but still works on Mercs, Yamahas and the rest.

By the way, my 1994 175hp merc OB with EFI is so much quieter and starts so much easier that my 1995 150 hp Johnson. After 40 years of OMC products, I like that big merc! (But I really like my friends 4 stroke Yamaha, but dont let my boat hear that)
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Another great place to have your motor repaired (and buy a boat) is Walton Marine on 30th South and 500 East in Salt Lake. The guy is honest and he's not money hungry.
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Does he work on older outboards?
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[quote kentofnsl]Does he work on older outboards?[/quote]
Kent, Joni and I have seen motors from the '50's in there that he's rebuilt. It seems Mike has been in business forever. Never heard one thing bad about him, his work, or his sales. He has an enormous return customer base.
He has some funky hours, so I would call 801-466-1912
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I feel obligated to add to my story. Lee (of Lee's Marine) advised me to get a prop with a 13 pitch to replace the 15 pitch that was already on the outboard, in order to increase the RPMs to the advised range. I stopped by A-Rock Propellers (they were the shop who did the work on my outboard before I ended up taking it to Lee's Marine). Keith at A-Rock found the propeller I needed and I asked if he would consider swapping a propeller that I had brought with me (fit my previous outboard). Keith said that my prop was worth more than the one he was going to sell to me and suggested that I just take the new prop and see if it worked any better and if so return and pay him. Total trust -- I like that. I told him that I would rather just trade him the prop that I had and he agreed to the trade. He then asked how my outboard was running and I told him that I ended up having to take it to another shop to get it repaired. I then explained to him the problems that I had encountered and that he missed. He apologized for missing those items and insisted that I keep both props so that I could sell the extra one and recoup some of my losses. That was a class act on his part and I was impressed with his concern and effort to make it right.
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Totally agree, so many shops want to get you in quick and out without paying close attention to either finishing the job or recommending additional repairs that would prevent future problems.

I understand Lee is very good, if anyone needs another reliable place to have boat service/repair i do all mine through a guy named "Sid", he runs "Custom Marine" from his home in West Haven very honest and professional. He is looking to open a shop on 1900. After every service he cleans and vac's for free. His number is 801-668-7473.
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Well - I took my boat to Lee's about 6 weeks ago - It was making a strange sound when you engaged the motor into forward. Well long story short - Lee found the problem - knew I was mechanically inclined - so he just ordered the parts and I installed them. Saved Me $$$.

Long drive but I'm sure I saved in the long run.

Thanks for everyone advice and comments about Lee's !!
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