Force Outboards

[Gill]

Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with Force motors? I am thinking of buying a Sylvan with a 85hp motor and am not real sure who makes them and what kind of track record they have. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks, Gill

[perchjerker]

What year? They have been through a few hands.

[fishhunter]

Dont matter what year it is they are all junk. relize that you have to mix oil/gas they smoke bad!!! Wont troll down without loading up also the lower unit on the 85 is about size of a 40 merc and they have about the same power.

[Jedi]

May the Force NOT be with you. The good news is it may be a collectors item because a large percentage of Force motors are in motor heaven...or would that be motor h-e-l-l?

[eyeamdaman]

I am not kidding you!!! They are NOT a good choice for a motor! They are like the Yugo of boat motors! If you do choose to buy this, make sure you have a "Brand Name" kicker to get home.
Sincerely,
Eyeamdaman

[Wetsalmon]

I have one,do not buy one! They are junk!

[GlassHalfFull]

Agree with all the previous posts. Although I had few problems, on trade in, I was offered basically the price to scrap it (a 3 year old motor). Take the advice, Look elsewhere !

[perchjerker]

I was trying to be nice!!
Yes, I wouldnt own one either. I had an old Chrysler that became Force, it was ok, my friend had a Force from the mid 80's until it died. Last I heard, Merc had parts for them under the Quicksilver brand.

[Tom]

guys i have to disagree, mercury bought force in 1996 i think i could be wrong, i have a 1997 40 hp force motor i have had it since 97 and have never had a problem with it, i use it all year on erie and the rivers i fish, the motor just dosn,t get any rest and it has served me well, i use amesoil and i get very little smoke i mean a lot less than i see from other outboards, i do agree that when chrysler made force motors they were junk and they still have the reputation but when merc bought them they were totallay redone to mercs specs and all the problems disapeared, if you have to buy replacement parts for them you,ll find that you will get mercury parts, you guys are right about the trade in value with them some dealers won,t even take them!!!! i have had mine for 4 years now and it has never let me down!!!!! from all the reserch i did when i was going to buy mine the 1 common thur out the states was anything that was pre 1996 i was told to stay away from, i,m glad i bought it cause it has proven to be very dependable.







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[Sakman]

The reason why they named that motor Force is because sooner than later it will FORCE you to buy another type of motor. I owned 2 of them. Too soon old too late smart.

sakman

[King Possum]

My buddy Chicken had one that we ended up using as a anchor for our duck blind. This was an older Chrysler. Don't know about the newer ones but I'd avoid an older one like a case of herpes.

[Fishgut]

I could think of nothing worse than a FORCE motor on a SYLVAN boat. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on BOTH!

[LTF.]

Tom I also had a 1996 force, which by the way said force by mercury right on the motor. Had the force till 2001 and NEVER had any problems. SOLD THE BOAT OR I WOULD STILL HAVE THAT MOTOR. My brother bought the boat and loves the whole package. PS. that forty horse force pushed that 17 foot spectrum bass boat 32 mph, on gps.

[fishandhunt1]

Gill Pay now and be happy latter go with a Merc. Yamaha or Honda when it comes to motors do not buy something with a reputation that force has. Nothing more frustrating then when the walleye or any other fish are biting good and your rig is setting in the repair shop. Not to mention what it costs in these repair shops. Good luck and remember by something that has a proven track record it wont cost you any more in the long run. HAPPY HOOKEN!!!!!!!! Larry

[MNStarfish]

I had a '89 Force 50 hp, it was junk!!! When I bought my new boat there was not a boat dealer in the state of Minnesota that would take it on a trade in.

[wjw]

I have a friend that bought a new 120 Force in '96 when Mercury took them over. I had a 115 Merc at the time. I was always impressed with that Force when we went out to Oahe with our boats. It was quiet, ran strong and always behaved well. He had it on an 1850 Lund Grand Sport. I had explained to him about the previous engines when Chrysler owned them. Low and behold, last year he had trouble with a head gasket and it would have cost more to fix it than what the engine was worth. Poor resale value killed all prospects of fixing it. The boat now has a 150 Optimax - that Force lasted only five years and ended up on the scrap heap. Partied hard and died early.
wjw

[mbrandt]

I had a 1990 Force 90 hp for 11 years. Only problem I really ever had was the impeller broke after the 10th year, my fault not the motors. Had a Tempress trolling plate on it and trolled for hours and it never missed a beat. A simple yet proven design that was easy to work on yourself. 1990 was the last year that US Marine made the motor. Mercury bought them and started making them in 1991. Only had really 2 complaints. If it was cold, was hard to start. Temperature below 40 is what I am talking about. The other was that after use, I had to run the gas out of it completely or it was hard starting. If you did this after every trip, it always started right up the next time, even after sitting idle all winter. The only bad thing about Force motors now, IMHO, is that it is really hard to get parts as they are no longer made, especially pre 1991 models. After that year, you can still get stuff thru Merc, but it's limited. That is the only reason I sold it. After the impeller broke, I had trouble getting a new one. Yes, you have to mix the oil, but is that a big deal. We all did it for years prior to oil injection and 4 strokes. Back in 1990, the motor was $2500 less than a comparable Merc 90hp. I used it for 11 good years. To me it was worth it. I always see these posts saying Force are junk, but no one ever says what the problem was, just that there junk. I didn't think they were, just a good inexpensive motor that gets you where you want to go.

My 2 cents!

Mark

[force of coarse]

Gill:
Here is what I know about Force Outboards. When they were owned by Chrysler they were of less than acceptable quality. When they were bought by O.M.C. They made it a point to raise the standards of quality of this line of motors. I bought a new 21' Trophy in 98 with a 120 h.p. Force outboard. The first trip out I had the thermostat stick. The fine people at Avalon Marine in Medina Ohio, sent a service man out to replace it no questions asked, and I have not had a lick of trouble out of it since. As for the mixing of oil/gas, it is a bit of an inconvenience however I don't have to worry about an oil injection failure causing me to have to do a major overhaul. I work with a guy who bought a Trophy identical to mine with the same motor, and he hasn't had a bit of trouble either. As for power, my boat will run around 39 mph on a flat Lake Erie. Since Erie is rarely flat, I don't need a motor big enough to push grain barges. In closing I don't think that these motors are as bad as everybody thinks. If they have been taken care of they will be fine. If they weren't they will be no different than not taking care of your truck.

[tahoej]

The best place for a FORCE outboard is in the DUMPSTER!!!

[fish]

the problems with force motors are they wont troll wont idle wont put out the same power a same size anything else you have to mix the gas cant get parts nobody wants them when you trade knowone wants to fix them the load up are hard on plugs anyone add anything else

[MNStarfish]

Buy something else, I wish I had!

[Gill]

Thanks for all the input. Think I'll pass on the Force.

Good fishing,

Gill