rmcinnis wrote:


These Mercury outboards I have are pieces of @#$% ! \

I am certainly never going to buy another carbureted Mercury motor, and I
may never buy Mercury again period!

Rod McInnis



To add my little story about Mercury outboards:

I purchased a new Whaler Dauntless equipped with a 115 hp carbureted
Mercury engine in 2001. This engine model is the type that runs on 2
cylinders up to about 1800 RPM, then cuts in the other 2 cylinders.

After about a month of occasional use the engine began dripping a half a
cup or so of 2 cycle oil whenever the engine was tilted up when not in
use. The oil would collect in the Whaler's engine well, then run out the
drains causing a very noticeable oil slick at the marina. (Boat was in a
slip)

At first I thought the oil tank (located on the side of the engine,
under the cowling) was leaking, but determined that it was not. I
finally realized the foam insulation inside the cowling was saturated
with oil. It seems that when running on 2 cylinders oil is still
injected into the non-firing cylinders (makes sense) but those
carburetors quickly become loaded with oil that leaks out whenever you
fully tilt the engine up.

Anyway, I called the dealer for a fix and was told "It's the nature of
the beast". Not believing that, I called two authorized Mercury sales
and service centers and was told the same thing - there is nothing that
can be done to fix it. The only way to avoid producing an oil slick was
to leave the engine down all the time.

My new Scout is equipped with a Yamaha 200 hp four stroke. Much nicer
engine.

Eisboch