There is a world of diff between the 260 and 280, if you want all the details go to screamandfly.com that is the outboard site.

I personally want an alt, with the electric fuel pumps, gps etc, I would be worried about getting stuck.

Tom
if it's the flame jobbed spectre in Ft.Myers the motors have stators and not alternators. Just a bit of info that you may have already known

If they're 95's they are 260's. The first 280's didn't come out until late 1998. Check to see if the hours are original or since re-build. If they are original then the motors have side-pinned pistons which can be a problem. If they're re-built (and they were done right) the person who built them should have put top-pinned back in.

If it's the flame one on Ebay, they do have sportmasters which is good, and the cowlings are the newer style but appear to be aftermarket and not factory.

The 2.5's can be good motors if when re-built, done by a reputable shop and/or person. They will live if the rpm's are kept under 7500. You need to run premium oil, not just the Merc. premium plus, so that can get expensive with 3 motors. (i.e., I run Klotz in mine, which is $30+ a gallon.) 40:1 is the ratio most people run.

Definitely, have a leakdown test done. If it shows much more than 5% it will most likely need rings. (Compression alone will not always tell the whole story.)

Good luck.

That is bogus man. We ran a TON of races and pleasure running at WOT on our race boat and never had a issue. I am guessing that all those guys are not doing the rebuilds correctly or something cuz these motors will run a LONG time if you keep them up.

Jon

My biggest complaint is that they are LOUD. A LOT of noise comes out the intake snorkle.

Jon

if the motors are running good i would consider selling them and replacing with the 300xs's, as you could sell the 260's for about 8000 ea and run 2 of the 300's and run all day and very econimical on fuel,noise,reliability, the 260's are not my favorite but there not that bad, the 280's are bad-ass and mine run great , but i dont spin them over 8000 rpm's, but if i were buying new i would go with the xs's as merc doesnt make the 280 any more..
another thing about outboards is you can have a powerhead off and on the floor in half hour, lower unit in 20 minutes and you donr need a lot of tools and have to be a contortionist to work on in a nasty hot bilge

Tell me about you Fountain CC?

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That boat will struggle to break 110 with 3 motors. I would run 2 you can run a consistent 100+ with less headaches. 2 300x's would be best for speed, 2 300xs's would be best all around. The lower unit on the center motor will take a beating being exposed in the middle of the tunnel.

My first set of 280ss on my 28 skater went to 220hrs before they blew.So I rebuilt,upgraded to 325hp,Spent a bunch of $$,promised my wife they would last a long time at least 100-150hrs before rebuild,got some Bad gas in Ala.and blew them up @ 26hrs:( Now i am saving more $$ for new 300xs . Hell the only reason I got into outboards is I was lead to believe they lasted longer than I/O`s.I will try the 300xs if they let me down I will go back to Real motors that sound good!

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Maybe compared to inline 4 banger on the back of a bowrider. :rolleyes:

(Also no intake going on at the exhause dump, just lots of noise. :D )