Im hoping i can get some better educated advise. I own a 1987 22' seafarer cuddy cabin for about 4 yrs.in salt water 100% of the time. Which i really like and happy with. It currently has a 1998 mercury 200xl 2 stroke. But i never needed to touch the engine it always started and ran great.Now i am starting to get some issues like hard starting, wont idle. If i were to need a engine replacement what would be the best way to go. Have my engine rebuilt or just find a newer replacement equivalent to what i have. Any and all advise will be greatly appreciated.
Rebuild or Replace
- Thread starter Jersey2
- Start date
It may just need some maintenance. If you haven't 'touched' it for the 4 years you owned it, it will most certainly need maintenance. Hopefully you did do unnecessary damage to it. Have you changed the lower unit oil, fuel filters, etc routinely?
Just because the engine is hard starting and doesn't idle well doesn't mean you need to rebuild the engine. Those two symptoms are related and most probably can be straightened out with a complete tune-up by a genuine knowledgeable Merc mechanic. It won't be cheap, but nothing compared to rebuilding that engine.
Mustang65fbk
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I agree, I'd look for a shop or mechanic that will work on the older 2 stroke motors, take it in, have it looked at and see what they have to say first before spending potentially tens of thousands of dollars if you don't have to.
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Mustang65fbk
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I think the way that the OP worded his message was slightly confusing but I think he means that he's owned the boat for about 4 years, not that he hasn't used it or run the boat in 4 years. Especially since he later mentioned that the motor started and ran great, but now it doesn't. My previous boat was a 21' Arima that had a four stroke Honda 130 hp outboard on it, of which the only thing I ever did on it in 4 years was change the spark plugs once or twice and add a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank every winter. The oil after 4 seasons still looked brand new and I never had an issue with the motor, though I likely never put more than 100 hours on the boat each year. Not saying that this should be done, but it worked for me.
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Jersey, as others mentioned, 4 years is a long time to go without doing any maintenance. They call it "preventative maintenance" for a reason 
Keeping up with a little PM prevents (well, "helps", anyways) issues from popping up.
Do you use a good fuel additive all the time?
I don't know which model engine you have, but it sounds like it needs either a carb job or possibly injectors cleaned, etc.
From what you've written, it doesn't sound like you are anywhere near engine replacement. Take it to a good shop - they'll take care of you.
Keeping up with a little PM prevents (well, "helps", anyways) issues from popping up.Do you use a good fuel additive all the time?
I don't know which model engine you have, but it sounds like it needs either a carb job or possibly injectors cleaned, etc.
From what you've written, it doesn't sound like you are anywhere near engine replacement. Take it to a good shop - they'll take care of you.
