Southcentral Outboards

Southcentral Outboards We sell new and used outboard motor and marine parts on our website southcentraloutboards.com We offer remanufactured and rebuilt parts as well as used parts.

Southcentral Outboards sells new and used outboard and other marine parts out of Altamont, IL. Everything we sell is guaranteed, warrantied, and ready to use.

06/06/2026

Three lower unit problems you can probably fix yourself in the driveway:

🔧 Motor revs but the boat won't move
You spun the hub. The rubber bushing inside your prop tore loose, so the prop spins independent of the shaft. Pull the prop, replace the hub kit (or just swap props), and you're back on the water. 30-minute job.

🔧 Hard to shift, or stuck in gear
Nine times out of ten it's the shift linkage at the helm — not the lower unit. Cable stretches over time, linkage falls out of adjustment. A few minutes with a wrench and you're good.

🔧 Drained your gear oil and it came out milky
Water got in past a seal. The drain itself is the easy part — but the milky oil is your warning sign. Catch it now and you replace seals. Ignore it and the bearings rust out from the inside, and then you're looking at a much bigger bill.

Stuff to know before the season really gets going. 🐟

Most people don't know what a skeg actually does until they hit a stump and snap one off.That little fin at the bottom o...
06/05/2026

Most people don't know what a skeg actually does until they hit a stump and snap one off.

That little fin at the bottom of your gearcase is what keeps your boat tracking straight at speed. Bent or missing one? You'll feel your steering wander, and your top end will go soft.

Two ways we can help:

• Got a damaged skeg? Call us for a quote on our welding services.
• Past saving? We sell empty gearcase housings every week — perfect if you've got a good set of internals from your old unit and just need a clean shell to drop them in.

Send us your part number or a picture of the damage and we'll figure out the best route.

👉 southcentraloutboards.com

Southcentral Outboards — Altamont, IL

We've been buying motors all winter.Which means the shelves are stacked — props, powerheads, gearcases, ignitions, lower...
06/03/2026

We've been buying motors all winter.

Which means the shelves are stacked — props, powerheads, gearcases, ignitions, lower units, you name it. Mercury, Johnson, Evinrude, Yamaha, Force, Chrysler. Old stuff, new stuff, weird stuff.

Tell us what you're looking for. If we've got it, we'll ship it. If we don't, we probably know where to find it.

👉 southcentraloutboards.com

Southcentral Outboards — Altamont, IL

Quick one: if your motor's hitting WOT but won't quite touch its rated max RPM, you're probably over-propped. Every 1" o...
06/01/2026

Quick one: if your motor's hitting WOT but won't quite touch its rated max RPM, you're probably over-propped. Every 1" of pitch you drop = roughly 200 more RPM at the top.
Running 21" and only seeing 5,400? Try a 19. Boat'll feel like it woke up.
We've got props in every pitch from 13" to 27", and we'll help you figure out the right one — just give us a shout.
👉 southcentraloutboards.com
Southcentral Outboards — Altamont, IL

05/30/2026

Two lower unit problems that are doable for the handy guy with a Saturday and a service manual:

🔧 Water in your gear oil
If you caught it early (oil looks milky but the gears still feel smooth), you can reseal the lower unit yourself. Pull it down, pressure test it to find which seal is leaking, drop in a fresh seal kit. Most common culprits are the prop shaft seal, driveshaft seal, or shift shaft seal. A few hours of work saves you a whole gearcase.

🔧 Shift cable or shift shaft splines worn out
If the linkage at the helm is adjusted right and it still shifts hard, the wear is down in the gearcase. Pulling the lower unit and replacing a shift cable or the shift shaft itself is well within reach for a DIYer. Just take your time and label everything.

Both of these are the kind of repairs where a service manual pays for itself the first time you use it. 🛠️

Not the DIY type? Give us a call and ask about our inspection and rebuild services.

👉 southcentraloutboards.com

Southcentral Outboards — Altamont, IL

📣 CONTROL BOXES IN STOCK — new and used.Limited quantity of new units left. Used units bench-tested before they ship. Bo...
05/29/2026

📣 CONTROL BOXES IN STOCK — new and used.
Limited quantity of new units left. Used units bench-tested before they ship. Both options ready to go with expedited shipping available on request.
Not sure which one fits your motor? Reach out — you'll get a real person on the other end who knows these boats, not a chatbot or a call center. We'll help you find the right box for your setup. 📍 Southcentral Outboards | Altamont, IL

This is Smokey.She's seen every carburetor, every ignition system, every powerhead, every part that's ever left this sho...
05/27/2026

This is Smokey.
She's seen every carburetor, every ignition system, every powerhead, every part that's ever left this shop. From her perch, she watches the chaos, ignores Oliver, and makes sure nothing goes out wrong.
Twenty years of outboards behind her — and a sunny corner that's earned. 🐾
South Central Outboards 🔧

Power trim test:Up? ✅Down? ✅Somewhere in between because it felt like it? ❌If your trim's making its own decisions, it's...
05/25/2026

Power trim test:

Up? ✅
Down? ✅
Somewhere in between because it felt like it? ❌

If your trim's making its own decisions, it's time. 🔧

🎁 WHAT DAD REALLY WANTS 🎁Forget the necktie. Forget the World's Best Dad mug. Dad wants his boat running.Southcentral Ou...
05/23/2026

🎁 WHAT DAD REALLY WANTS 🎁

Forget the necktie. Forget the World's Best Dad mug.

Dad wants his boat running.

Southcentral Outboards has:

⛽ Lower units & gearcase housings
🔩 Propellers, water pumps, starters
🎱 Powerheads, controls, vintage hard-to-find parts
🛠️ Evinrude, Johnson, Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki, Tohatsu/Nissan, OMC — 1950s to current

Affordable prices. Real expertise. We ship anywhere.

DM us Dad's motor info before Father's Day and we'll help you get him exactly what he needs. Pickup in Altamont, IL or shipped to your door. 🛥️

Customer called yesterday: blown upper on a '94 Alpha One Gen 2, boat scheduled to launch Saturday.We had three on the s...
05/22/2026

Customer called yesterday: blown upper on a '94 Alpha One Gen 2, boat scheduled to launch Saturday.
We had three on the shelf. Confirmed the 1.81:1 ratio against his serial, boxed it, on the truck same day. He's running this weekend.
That's why we stock 140+ sterndrive uppers — MerCruiser, OMC Cobra, Volvo Penta, Yamaha, all opened and inspected. Most with a 6-month working warranty.
Got a project sitting in your shop? Send us the serial. 📍 Altamont, IL

Address

14 N 2nd
Altamont, IL
62411

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 7am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 4:30pm
Thursday 7am - 4:30pm
Friday 7am - 4:30pm

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