Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

[adesoto]

Hello, I'm looking for a motor and I have an oppurtunity to purchase a 1985 115 mercury?
Any thoughts, what should I look or know about this motor before purchasing it...
Thanks,

 

[Laddies]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

There great old engines

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

I had an '89 tower of power. Might caution you about those engines however. If you don't want to be sitting in front of a screamin demon might pass on it. Only thing they liked to do was RUN!

Mark

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

Hello, I'm looking for a motor and I have an oppurtunity to purchase a 1985 115 mercury?
Any thoughts, what should I look or know about this motor before purchasing it...
Thanks,

Relatively simple. Tremendous power fer the weight, (someone said Screamin' Demon: YOU BET), very good lookin', (none better IMHO). Not so good in salt water GREAT in fresh water! My $.02 JR

 

[gregtobin]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

I have a '74 1150 (inline 6) on my '79 17.5foot Glassmaster. The motor has worked well, but I've had to attend to a lot of ancillary stuff (like wiring). Yes, the motor is a bit loud, but you don't have to run it wide open all the time, unless you are my son....
Gas consumption is supposed to be kinda high on these, although I can run for about 1.5 hours at about 20 mph on 5-6 gallons.
You might consider a 4-stroke if you're concerned about environmental impact.

 

[saltfisher]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

Are the late 80's black max series like these? Reliable good old engines? i also heard the black max engines like to scream as well.

 

[71'Thunderbolt]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

check the compression on any old engine because i purchased a 71 1350 straight 6 with a piston with 0 compression.... so make sure that u check that before u invest any money into a old engine...

 

[Kajun37]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

yup compression and spark check and let us know the results...

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

I'll take the opportunity to chime in and say yes, they're fantastic motors.

When buying any motor, compression and spark check are a good plan. Might be wise to check the gearbox as well, for smooth operation and to make sure it is free of water. Check the tilt/trim to make sure it works well, and has smooth operation from full up to full down positions. Inspect the wiring and fuel lines for signs of deterioration and decay.

If you do purchase it, take the time to ensure the carb for cleanliness and proper jet size for your elevation, confirm syncronization is valid, and re-check the timing. Install a new water pump impeller before assuming it is okay to use as is.

If you do all that, you should have a good chance for a reliable motor for years to come.

Are you familiar with the history of that specific motor?

 

[adesoto]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

Hello, I do not know the specifics on that motor...
This is my deal, orginally I bought a 82' 16ft DynaTrak 160 Bass boat w/ no motor.
Had a guy selling a 76' 1150 w/ 17ft fish and ski that had no spark for $600. Compression was 120 across the board/#3 had the highest compression however all of them are within eachother. So that's why I bought it.
Changed switch box and regained spark, rebuilt fuel pump, fuel lines, cleaned out Carbs.. and know just teeking it.. will have it in the water this weekend.

My thing was once I had the 1150 running then I would put that motor on the bass boat and sell the fish and ski boat w/o the motor.

A marina not to far from me has this 85' 115 for sale at $800 in running condition so they say, so now I'm considering leaving the fish and ski boat w/ the 1150 and buying the 85' 115 for my 16ft bass boat..

I'm new to all this (boating, working on the motor myself), I'm learning everything for the first time, if it wasn't for this forum, with guys like you, laddies, plainsman, chris, Clam Cannino..and of course my manual. I would have been lost.

So I'll go by this weekend and take a look at the motor, get compression checks/spark etc.etc...and give you all a heads up with including how my 76' 1150 work...

 

[saltfisher]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

When you say check the spark? What do you meen by that, and how is that done?

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: Thoughts on a 85' 115 Mercury?

Hello, I do not know the specifics on that motor...
This is my deal, orginally I bought a 82' 16ft DynaTrak 160 Bass boat w/ no motor.
Had a guy selling a 76' 1150 w/ 17ft fish and ski that had no spark for $600. Compression was 120 across the board/#3 had the highest compression however all of them are within eachother. So that's why I bought it.
Changed switch box and regained spark, rebuilt fuel pump, fuel lines, cleaned out Carbs.. and know just teeking it.. will have it in the water this weekend.

My thing was once I had the 1150 running then I would put that motor on the bass boat and sell the fish and ski boat w/o the motor.

A marina not to far from me has this 85' 115 for sale at $800 in running condition so they say, so now I'm considering leaving the fish and ski boat w/ the 1150 and buying the 85' 115 for my 16ft bass boat..

I'm new to all this (boating, working on the motor myself), I'm learning everything for the first time, if it wasn't for this forum, with guys like you, laddies, plainsman, chris, Clam Cannino..and of course my manual. I would have been lost.

So I'll go by this weekend and take a look at the motor, get compression checks/spark etc.etc...and give you all a heads up with including how my 76' 1150 work...

BTW, The 1985 115 rated at the prop is the same engine as the 1981 140 at the crank was, (or nearly the same). Very underated!! My 1979 115, (at the crank would kick the sh*t out of my 1976 1500 outa the hole [150 HP at the crank]), don't know why as both motors were on the exact same boat. The 1500 was freshly rebuilt with 6 new 140 hp pistons, and had PT where the 1979 does not. The top speed was much greeater with the 1500 probably due to greater fuel bein' burned and the PT! The 85 115 should be a killer (if in good shape). I do prefer the dist fired ignition, ('cause I'm a dynosaur). My $.02. JR