Just did that
Swapped the original Chrysler 9.9 on our ’79 25 foot Cat. for a shiny new Nissan 9.8 four stroke last weekend. We have pedestal steering so locking the motor is still an issue. The four stroke runs much, much quieter and seems to have more power although that’s a tough call as the old motor had been giving us problems for years. It is heavier than the older 2 stroke, don’t have the old specs handy but I’d guess by about 15lbs or more. When I was checking the Nissan had good reviews and was lightest in class. I was confused by the tilt lock on the Nissan, which only engages when in reverse (perhaps goes to show I confuse easily…). Also still trying to figure out how I’ll lock it (keep it from turning) so I can go back to pedestal steering and not have to keep a hand on the motor tiller, which makes single handing into the dock harder. I got the long shaft, which I’d recommend. Depending on where you’re sailing this motor may be over kill although when browsing the forums before I bought it, 9.x is the recommended hp. If you search here and on Cat Assoc forums you'll find a number of threads on this topic. This baby kicks me along quite nicely, so nice I think I could have gotten away with a 7.5hp model. Then again I don’t have any tides to fight and tend to spend the day polishing bright work when waves are over 3 or 4’. If you don’t go with Nissan (or Tihatsu (sp?) an alternate brand name for Nissan) watch the weight. Swap was fairly easy, assume you’ve got a set of extension cables to the battery(s) for the current motor, you’ll need em. Cables on the Nissan are only about six feet. You'll need to un-crimp & re-crimp the fuel line, which was just barely long enough to run through the transom fitting. Am assmuming like me you have an outboard "sissors" bracket on the port side of the transom. I had a remote shift and throttle on the old motor as well and went without the remote on the new one as it stipulated “shipping to dealers for install only” and I was keeping costs down & anxious to get back out on the water. Ordered from an Internet shop out of TN, back order delay was about eight weeks. No hassles with payment, delivery, etc. Margo & Kevin Hermes
