1961 Merc 500 Questions

[Thor80]

Hi All,
So short story, I exploded the cast aluminum in my '62 Merc 500 a few weeks ago when we had some 15F weather. (Didnt check my lower unit all summer and it was full of water, froze and bam, no lower unit gearbox.) So the other day i lucked out and found a boat/trailer/61Merc500 for 175 bucks! Guy claims he didnt know if it ran. Today I cleaned it all out had spark on all four cylinders, cranked it up and it runs! So I have a running good motor, and the running top half of my old 62 for spare parts etc... Couple questions.

1. Does the 61 Merc500 have a "pee hole"? I ran it for probably 30-45 seconds and didnt see any water coming out. I dont want to run it much till i know if maybe the impeller is bad or the pee hole is clogged but I dont see a pee hole where there was one on my '62. Or does the water run back out the lower unit?

2. If i squeeze the primer bulb too much and/or when i shut off the motor it seems like there was fuel draining back out of the carb intake. Is that normal or are the carbs needing rebuilt. It doesnt seem to leak when its running.

3. I know how to wire it to start, but how do I wire it to kill it? Right now I just choke it out to kill it...

Anyway thats pretty much it. Any help would be appreciated!

P.S. Anyone know if we can get a "free" digital manual for this? I get free ones for my trucks online from the manufacturer.

Again thanks in advance!

-Torsten

 

[coolguy147]

Re: 1961 Merc 500 Questions

yes it does have a pea hole its on the exhuast side right under the cowl. may have to stick some wire up there to clear it out. mine was clogged up too

how are your fuel lines suggest to replace them.

is the gas coming out of the hole on the top or somewhere else?
carb probably need to be looked at and the needle height needs to be set a little above parralel when the part is upsidedown so it wont leak out. i had the same problem.

impeller is cheap but really hard to replace. like acually doing the work.


id check compression too since it may run but how well

 

[Thor80]

Re: 1961 Merc 500 Questions

Thanks for the info! I think I found the Pea Hole this morning its just smaller than I thought it would be. Hopefully it is just clogged, if not i think the impeller from my 62 will fit. I think I'll probably just rebuild the carbs this winter to be safe. It looks like the fuel lines in/out of the fuel pump are fairly new (clear plastic type) but the one connecting the two carbs looks a little rotted.

Any thoughts on wiring in a kill switch? Thanks again!

-Torsten

 

[coolguy147]

Re: 1961 Merc 500 Questions

ummmmm

replace the impeller with a new one. you can buy it right here from this website. the 1962 impeller is probably rotted out too.

replace all of the fuel lines with ethanol resistant lines. get rid of the clear lines. also replace your oil return line that is on the block! make sure your hoses are the right size too!

kill switch? i've been wanting to know how to hook one up to my 1961 mercury 500 also. if you figure out how please let me know as a return for helping you out