11/13/2026
2008 Suzuki 115 hp 4 stroke. Power tilt and trim, long shaft, good looking motor. Customer said it runs great. We lifted it and got it inside today. We mounted it on a stand and We tested compression today..
This is a great motor, sadly it has an issue . If you look at the last photo you will see a crack in the block. 
I have researched it and this is a problem with these motors. But it is possible to fix.
SO HERE IS THE DEAL!
READ THE ENTIRE POST PLEASE:
Before we part this engine out for the customer and sell it in pieces on eBay. We would consider offers for the entire engine.
This is contingent on the customers agreement with the price.
Please don’t think I’m rude or obnoxious. But don’t send me a message and ask if we will take a few hundred bucks for it, or try and tell me how it’s not worth this or that. We work on outboards every day and buy parts almost daily. The motor is worth a nice amount. I do believe it can be fixed. However, we will not warranty it in any way.
Again, we will entertain real offers by messenger. But if also do not mind parting it out.
Thanks for looking, I appreciate it. Rude comments will be deleted.
Gemini’s response to “is this a common problem to have this engine crack”
Yes, that exact spot—right below the round serial number welch plug on the side of the cylinder block—is a classic textbook spot for a crack on the DF115/DF140, and it happens for two very specific reasons:
1. Freeze Damage (Most Likely Here)
Looking closely at the photo, the crack runs horizontally right along the base of the raised boss for the serial plug, pushing the metal slightly outward with fresh, bright aluminum along the fracture line.
Bullet That raised boss sits directly over an outer cooling water jacket in the block.
Bullet If the outboard was stored tilted up (or if silt/salt blocked the lower drain holes) during a hard freeze, trapped water expands right against that thin outer water jacket wall and pops it outward along that exact stress ridge.
2. Internal Water Jacket Corrosion
On pre-2010 DF115 and DF140 blocks, the water jacket wall surrounding that port-side area is fairly thin and relies heavily on the internal block anodes (the small round zincs bolted into the side of the block/head). When those internal zincs aren't serviced, saltwater eats the aluminum from the inside out until the wall gets paper-thin and splits open along the casting ridge—usually accompanied by white chalky corrosion blistering out from under the paint.
What to Know About Repairing It
Because that crack is on the outer water jacket (low-pressure cooling water, not crankcase oil or combustion pressure), it is often repairable if the surrounding aluminum isn't rotten from corrosion:
Bullet TIG Welding: A good aluminum welder can vee-out the crack and TIG weld it, provided the metal around it is solid and not thinned out by internal saltwater rot.
Bullet Epoxy / Marine-Tex: Because water pressure in an outboard cooling jacket is very low (usually under 10–15 PSI), plenty of boaters have successfully V-grooved, cleaned, and patched outer water jacket cracks like this with Marine-Tex or JB Weld as a budget fix, though welding is the proper permanent repair.
Bullet Check the Rest of the Block: Before putting money into welding it, inspect the opposite side of the block, the cylinder head, and the lower unit housing—freeze damage rarely stops at just one spot.
