The boat contains a Mercury 250, serial number
The boat and boat engine has been meticulously maintained,
and has extremely low hours, under 60.

During the life span of the boat, the initial power head
failed, which was replaced.

Immediately after warranty expired, the lower gears broke.
I was quite upset, however, paid to have the lower unit
replaced. One year later the second power head failed, the
drive shaft broke.

These major failures is beyond coincidence, and is reflective
of a faulty product. Especially one that has been
well maintained and has low usage. In a limited search for similar
boats with similar engines I came across, three different instances
where the 250 engine had a major failure and had to be replaced.

Same boat, same engine, similar failure, again this is beyond
coincidence and is indicative of systemic design and manufacturing
issues with this engine.

I called Mercury support center to obtain information on 250 failures
and how we could work together to resolve this issue. I was confronted
with hostile behavior and unwillingness to work together. I am
extremely
disappointed in the quality of the product and the quality
of support.

They won't return email.

Mercury should notify the public this engine is subjecting them to
undue
risk. People are at Sea and relying these parts, Mercury is responsible.

wrote in message
oups.com...

The boat contains a Mercury 250, serial number
The boat and boat engine has been meticulously maintained,
and has extremely low hours, under 60.

During the life span of the boat, the initial power head
failed, which was replaced.

Immediately after warranty expired, the lower gears broke.
I was quite upset, however, paid to have the lower unit
replaced. One year later the second power head failed, the
drive shaft broke.

These major failures is beyond coincidence, and is reflective
of a faulty product. Especially one that has been
well maintained and has low usage. In a limited search for similar
boats with similar engines I came across, three different instances
where the 250 engine had a major failure and had to be replaced.

Same boat, same engine, similar failure, again this is beyond
coincidence and is indicative of systemic design and manufacturing
issues with this engine.

I called Mercury support center to obtain information on 250 failures
and how we could work together to resolve this issue. I was confronted
with hostile behavior and unwillingness to work together. I am
extremely
disappointed in the quality of the product and the quality
of support.

They won't return email.

Mercury should notify the public this engine is subjecting them to
undue
risk. People are at Sea and relying these parts, Mercury is responsible.


At work we have a boat with the Merc 250's and have had similar problems.
Port side high idle and will not shift out of gear. Stb side broken lower
unit. Engines have less than 50 hours on them. The high idle and shift
problem was identified under a recall. The boat is registered to the shop
and we were not contacted about the recall.

wrote:


OK we better make sure we're on the same page because you don't
actually say the word "Optimax"; is it an Optimax???

This is a 250HP 3 ltr Merc outboard which is an Optimax???

If you answer yes then I'll have a go at explaining (again) why & how
your engine etc keeps failing, let us know??????

K


The boat contains a Mercury 250, serial number
The boat and boat engine has been meticulously maintained,
and has extremely low hours, under 60.


During the life span of the boat, the initial power head
failed, which was replaced.

Immediately after warranty expired, the lower gears broke.
I was quite upset, however, paid to have the lower unit
replaced. One year later the second power head failed, the
drive shaft broke.

These major failures is beyond coincidence, and is reflective
of a faulty product. Especially one that has been
well maintained and has low usage. In a limited search for similar
boats with similar engines I came across, three different instances
where the 250 engine had a major failure and had to be replaced.

Same boat, same engine, similar failure, again this is beyond
coincidence and is indicative of systemic design and manufacturing
issues with this engine.

I called Mercury support center to obtain information on 250 failures
and how we could work together to resolve this issue. I was confronted
with hostile behavior and unwillingness to work together. I am
extremely
disappointed in the quality of the product and the quality
of support.

They won't return email.

Mercury should notify the public this engine is subjecting them to
undue
risk. People are at Sea and relying these parts, Mercury is responsible.

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 12:19:25 -0800, pm12801 wrote:


The boat contains a Mercury 250, serial number
The boat and boat engine has been meticulously maintained,
and has extremely low hours, under 60.


Well, mine's a BIT smallier: a 2005 9.9hp 40-stroke. I've had it in to two
different dealers four times, to fix some fairly simple but annoying
problems:
1. it doesn't start when cold "on idle" (ie the way it says in the manual)
2. it doesn't idle when cold
3. it vibrates a lot, esp. when in gear in idle (ie WAY more than the old
Johnson Seahorse it replaced)
4. There's a big "lag" as I throttle up out of idle.

Basically, I've been told "that's the way they're supposed to run" and I'm
SOL on getting it fixed. HOWEVER, I was also told by the mechanics that
the Solution to most of the problems is the Idle Mixture, which they're
NOT ALLOWED BY LAW TO CHANGE!

It does have lots of power and abolutely NO smoke (don't give me any BS
about "newer" 2-strokes not smoking - I've seen them, and they smoke
koff!koff! )

Lloyd Sumpter
"The Tin Boat" Mirrocraft 12

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

Well, mine's a BIT smallier: a 2005 9.9hp 40-stroke. I've had it in to two
different dealers four times, to fix some fairly simple but annoying
problems:
1. it doesn't start when cold "on idle" (ie the way it says in the manual)
2. it doesn't idle when cold
3. it vibrates a lot, esp. when in gear in idle (ie WAY more than the old
Johnson Seahorse it replaced)
4. There's a big "lag" as I throttle up out of idle.

Basically, I've been told "that's the way they're supposed to run" and I'm
SOL on getting it fixed. HOWEVER, I was also told by the mechanics that
the Solution to most of the problems is the Idle Mixture, which they're
NOT ALLOWED BY LAW TO CHANGE!

There was a little metal cap epoxied over the idle mixture screw on my
Honda that the shop had no trouble removing with a bit of heat.
Apparently Big Brother hadn't gotten to them yet.

Have they determined that your choke is working right?

Is the idle speed correct?

good luck,
-rick-

On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:47:52 -0800, -rick- wrote:

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:

Well, mine's a BIT smallier: a 2005 9.9hp 40-stroke. I've had it in to two
different dealers four times, to fix some fairly simple but annoying
problems:
1. it doesn't start when cold "on idle" (ie the way it says in the manual)
2. it doesn't idle when cold
3. it vibrates a lot, esp. when in gear in idle (ie WAY more than the old
Johnson Seahorse it replaced)
4. There's a big "lag" as I throttle up out of idle.

Basically, I've been told "that's the way they're supposed to run" and I'm
SOL on getting it fixed. HOWEVER, I was also told by the mechanics that
the Solution to most of the problems is the Idle Mixture, which they're
NOT ALLOWED BY LAW TO CHANGE!

There was a little metal cap epoxied over the idle mixture screw on my
Honda that the shop had no trouble removing with a bit of heat.
Apparently Big Brother hadn't gotten to them yet.


The Merc had a brass cap screwed in, which would have to be drilled out.
They weren't willing to do that.

Have they determined that your choke is working right?


Funny thing is, the one mech at one dealer looked at it and determined
that the screw that's supposed to pick up the idle RPM when you pull out
the choke wasn't even touching anything. However, they didn't even change
THAT. (They did manage to hit the trim-tab so now it pulls HARD to stbd -
I lost my grip on the tiller and the boat turned so fast I almost fell
out!)

Is the idle speed correct?


Yes. They did mention that the prop was too steep and that would
contribute to the vibration, but they didn't change it.

Lloyd Sumpter
"The Tin Boat" Mirrocraft 12

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:47:52 -0800, -rick- wrote:

There was a little metal cap epoxied over the idle mixture screw on my
Honda that the shop had no trouble removing with a bit of heat.
Apparently Big Brother hadn't gotten to them yet.


The Merc had a brass cap screwed in, which would have to be drilled out.
They weren't willing to do that.

Have they determined that your choke is working right?


Funny thing is, the one mech at one dealer looked at it and determined
that the screw that's supposed to pick up the idle RPM when you pull out
the choke wasn't even touching anything. However, they didn't even change
THAT. (They did manage to hit the trim-tab so now it pulls HARD to stbd -
I lost my grip on the tiller and the boat turned so fast I almost fell
out!)

Is the idle speed correct?

Yes. They did mention that the prop was too steep and that would
contribute to the vibration, but they didn't change it.

That's got to be frustrating to get service like that. Some follow the
philosophy that it's better to go to an authorized dealer for service so
"you know the work is done properly" but after such poor results I would
re-think that.

I recently read an interesting book that covered that issue and much
more, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig.
It's quite a good read.

As for your motor, I couldn't accept that they're not allowed to adjust
the idle mixture if it's not right. Would they rather replace the carb
under warrantee? If all else fails perhaps you could find a shade-tree
mechanic who is more competent and agreeable. I'd at least take a good
long look at that choke linkage.

Blaming idle vibration on your prop pitch doesn't make much sense
either. Doesn't it vibrate in neutral?

good luck,
-rick-

On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 23:24:49 -0800, -rick- wrote:

Lloyd Sumpter wrote:
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:47:52 -0800, -rick- wrote:

There was a little metal cap epoxied over the idle mixture screw on my
Honda that the shop had no trouble removing with a bit of heat.
Apparently Big Brother hadn't gotten to them yet.


The Merc had a brass cap screwed in, which would have to be drilled out.
They weren't willing to do that.

Have they determined that your choke is working right?


Funny thing is, the one mech at one dealer looked at it and determined
that the screw that's supposed to pick up the idle RPM when you pull out
the choke wasn't even touching anything. However, they didn't even change
THAT. (They did manage to hit the trim-tab so now it pulls HARD to stbd -
I lost my grip on the tiller and the boat turned so fast I almost fell
out!)

Is the idle speed correct?

Yes. They did mention that the prop was too steep and that would
contribute to the vibration, but they didn't change it.

That's got to be frustrating to get service like that. Some follow the
philosophy that it's better to go to an authorized dealer for service so
"you know the work is done properly" but after such poor results I would
re-think that.

I am. I'm giving them One More Chance (esp. I want the thinner prop!),
then I'll say to hell with the warranty and fix it myself!

I recently read an interesting book that covered that issue and much
more, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig.
It's quite a good read.


One of my favourite books!

As for your motor, I couldn't accept that they're not allowed to adjust
the idle mixture if it's not right. Would they rather replace the carb
under warrantee?

The Problem is it's part of the "emissions" regulations. It's been set to
pass various emissions standards, and tampering with it is illegal,
apparently. Guess they'd rather have a "clean" engine than one that runs
right.

Blaming idle vibration on your prop pitch doesn't make much sense
either. Doesn't it vibrate in neutral?


It vibrates much worse in gear. They explained the vibration by saying
they cut all the weight they could from this engine, so the flywheel is
too light. But the engine DOES need a thinner prop - doesn't sound like
it's getting full rpms at WOT.

Lloyd

Yamaha sells motorcycles (225 cc) that won't hardly start due to carb
settings required to meet clean air laws. You drill out the cap covering the
idle screw adjust and go from there.
Gordon
"-rick-" wrote in message
...
Lloyd Sumpter wrote:
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:47:52 -0800, -rick- wrote:

There was a little metal cap epoxied over the idle mixture screw on my
Honda that the shop had no trouble removing with a bit of heat.
Apparently Big Brother hadn't gotten to them yet.


The Merc had a brass cap screwed in, which would have to be drilled out.
They weren't willing to do that.

Have they determined that your choke is working right?


Funny thing is, the one mech at one dealer looked at it and determined
that the screw that's supposed to pick up the idle RPM when you pull out
the choke wasn't even touching anything. However, they didn't even
change
THAT. (They did manage to hit the trim-tab so now it pulls HARD to
stbd -
I lost my grip on the tiller and the boat turned so fast I almost fell
out!)

Is the idle speed correct?

Yes. They did mention that the prop was too steep and that would
contribute to the vibration, but they didn't change it.

That's got to be frustrating to get service like that. Some follow the
philosophy that it's better to go to an authorized dealer for service so
"you know the work is done properly" but after such poor results I would
re-think that.

I recently read an interesting book that covered that issue and much
more, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig.
It's quite a good read.

As for your motor, I couldn't accept that they're not allowed to adjust
the idle mixture if it's not right. Would they rather replace the carb
under warrantee? If all else fails perhaps you could find a shade-tree
mechanic who is more competent and agreeable. I'd at least take a good
long look at that choke linkage.

Blaming idle vibration on your prop pitch doesn't make much sense
either. Doesn't it vibrate in neutral?

good luck,
-rick-