lower unit or new motor

went fishing last weekend for all of an hour went to make a run and lost my lower unit... got me far enough from ramp that it was about a 5-6 hour troll/drift back. to the best of my knowledge this is the second lower unit put on this boat. when i bought the boat the guy told me that he had replaced it a few years earlier... and i've had it for 2 years now.

motor is a 1996 225 johnson gonna be 2600 for new lower unit...
found a used 2001 225 optimax for 4200

any help or advise would be great!!
thanks

[QUOTE=shakey head;502299]went fishing last weekend for all of an hour went to make a run and lost my lower unit... got me far enough from ramp that it was about a 5-6 hour troll/drift back. to the best of my knowledge this is the second lower unit put on this boat. when i bought the boat the guy told me that he had replaced it a few years earlier... and i've had it for 2 years now.

motor is a 1996 225 johnson gonna be 2600 for new lower unit...
found a used 2001 225 optimax for 4200

any help or advise would be great!!
thanks[/QUOTE]

If the guy you bought if from replaced it a 2 years earlier and you are replacing it 2 years later - I see a trend that is deserving of some attention. I have a Mercury 200 on my boat and I absolutely love it. With this said I have to also add that the 2001 optimax you are looking at also falls within the year range where the optimax had some issues (1999 - 2002) - I recommend you google this year range and read it for yourself. Honestly I think if you shopped around you coulld potentially find a place that had a optimax (03 and up) at a comparable price. You might find a place that would be willing to take your upper Unit on trade. All in all if it were me I would get a new motor to ensure I had something reliable and avoid the gamble of a potential repeat experiience . - that's just my opinion.

The first thing that I would do is pull your lower unit and see if it is made by SEI. If so, it might be under warranty since they offer a three year warranty on their units. If it is not a SEI unit, you can purchase one for around $850 plus shipping. I replaced one on my 99 Johnson 225. I also have a spare one new in the box I might be willing to sell if you are interested.

[QUOTE=Sth;502301]The first thing that I would do is pull your lower unit and see if it is made by SEI. If so, it might be under warranty since they offer a three year warranty on their units. If it is not a SEI unit, you can purchase one for around $850 plus shipping. I replaced one on my 99 Johnson 225. I also have a spare one new in the box I might be willing to sell if you are interested.[/QUOTE]

Shakey head - with the info Sth has given - I have to say his idea is much more economical. In turn that would mean you get to blow more money on rods and reels !!!!:cool:

I have a Johnson 200 Venom and love it. It looks like you have a good avenue for a lower unit. I would opt for the lower unit replacement. If it went bad it is likely due to improper installation. Lower units and out drives are pretty durable as long as they are properly shimmed and maintained. if you still need a lower unit let me know. I have a lot of different avenues for used or reman units

[QUOTE=Benjo;502300]If the guy you bought if from replaced it a 2 years earlier and you are replacing it 2 years later - I see a trend that is deserving of some attention. I have a Mercury 200 on my boat and I absolutely love it. With this said I have to also add that the 2001 optimax you are looking at also falls within the year range where the optimax had some issues (1999 - 2002) - I recommend you google this year range and read it for yourself. Honestly I think if you shopped around you coulld potentially find a place that had a optimax (03 and up) at a comparable price. You might find a place that would be willing to take your upper Unit on trade. All in all if it were me I would get a new motor to ensure I had something reliable and avoid the gamble of a potential repeat experiience . - that's just my opinion.[/QUOTE]

If you have boat insurance it should cover you losing your lower unit. I would check if I was you.

[QUOTE=wags;502337]If you have boat insurance it should cover you losing your lower unit. I would check if I was you.[/QUOTE]

Only if you HIT something............and there needs to be visible damage of that......Insurance may also help pay for a blown motor if you **** stuff up into the motor.

I sucked plastic up in to the intakes and my insurance paid for a rebuild.....

Later,

Geo

I am an insurance adjuster and I can tell you that this is the case. There has to be visible damage before there would be any type of coverage. once the unit is torn down, you can also see if there was improper shimming, if it got hot we can tell that too. Unfortunately I think you have to bite the bullet and go with the lower unit

[QUOTE=Jabbo;502351]I am an insurance adjuster and I can tell you that this is the case. There has to be visible damage before there would be any type of coverage. once the unit is torn down, you can also see if there was improper shimming, if it got hot we can tell that too. Unfortunately I think you have to bite the bullet and go with the lower unit[/QUOTE]


That depends on who the insurance adjuster is....You are obviously knowledgable on the subject, but not all adjusters are....I hit something during the flood last year, and called my insurance comp and they came to take pictures...When he got there he asked me what he was supposed to be taking pictures of, and I said the lower unit...He said "what's that"...However, if you didn't hit anything, don't contact your ins company as it's insurance fraud

For what it's worth, don't buy a remanned or aftermarket lower unit, I've been through 4 this year to prove that...The 4th time I made them put a OEM lower unit and haven't had a problem since

i would fix what you have,even with the opti it may blow up in a month or last 10 years for the 4200,have to do all the re rigging to use it,even if you go the $2600 unit i would think it would be as well,as long as the powerhead is in good running order,your going to have a used a motor either way.i have heard good and bad about the sei lowers.personally if it were me i'd go over on bassboatcentral and talk to Eddie Pope,aka gearcaseman.
he is a guru on the omc lower units and will be much cheaper.he is located in east tenn.


if you do go with the opti i would be interested in your motor.let me know

Thanks for all your in put, I wanna get optimax or a newer motor... But I guess that will have to wait till the next boat I get... Talked to the insurance they are gonna get the clam started first of the week hopefully I can be on the water before 2013

Thanks again for everyone's input

+1 on talking to Eddie aka "gearcaseman" without a doubt one of the best IF not the best OMC lower unit guru's in the US.