Looking for a good Manual ?

[John115]

I'm finding Mercury Manuals all over this site and others and was wondering before i make my purchase if there was a paticular kind that would be better for me since i dont know much about boats and starting to learn.

 

[John115]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

and what about these online manuals where you subscibe and view your manuals online, would these be good?

 

[achris]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

and what about these online manuals where you subscibe and view your manuals online, would these be good?

They are seloc, and I wouldn't touch them with a 50ft greasy pole!!!

Only get factory manuals... What engine (hp and year or serial number) do you have? There may be a factory manual available to download...

Chris.......

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

100% agree, factory manual only way to go....

 

[John115]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

It's a 1983 Mercury 115 hp, serial # 6300804

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Only. An OEM Merc Manual. Worth every penny.

 

[bob1340]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Only. An OEM Merc Manual. Worth every penny.

I have the seloc and it is indeed a waste of money. Kind of like teats on a boar hog, of very little use.

But, I have yet to find a factory manual for my 69-70 7.5 motor yet. There is a CD on ebay that looks promising, but I still am not sure if it's factory or not.

My '71 Evinrude 18 HP has the factory manual available easy and cheap.

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

I have a Factory manual and a Seloc, I find both manuals to be very good! I have read replies to other peoples Threads on this matter and i do not understand why knowledgable folks on iboats bash the Seloc manual...My Factory manual is 30 years old (1966 thru 1974 motors)...My Seloc manual is brand new and for the same era of motors...now how much more educated could a 30 year old manual be than a new manual...? None! About 95% of whats in the Factory manual is in the Seloc manual...PLUS 30 years of education and working knowledge learned of these motors! Im not bashing the Factory manual...i refer to it along with my Seloc...Look in the Factory manual for wiring schematics for a power trim pump...none, look for wiring schematics for controllers...none, look for wiring schematics for instrument panels...none, look in the Factory manual to learn how to tell the difference between a Cam Shift 1 and a Cam Shift 2 Lower unit, or even the ez-shift models...it's not in the Factory manual, but it is in the Seloc manual....I could go on with this, I have both manuals, both are good, but i don't want to hear how superior this Factory manual is...It's not, it's 30 years old folks...!!

 

[bob1340]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

I have a Factory manual and a Seloc, I find both manuals to be very good! I have read replies to other peoples Threads on this matter and i do not understand why knowledgable folks on iboats bash the Seloc manual...My Factory manual is 30 years old (1966 thru 1974 motors)...My Seloc manual is brand new and for the same era of motors...now how much more educated could a 30 year old manual be than a new manual...? None! About 95% of whats in the Factory manual is in the Seloc manual...PLUS 30 years of education and working knowledge learned of these motors! Im not bashing the Factory manual...i refer to it along with my Seloc...Look in the Factory manual for wiring schematics for a power trim pump...none, look for wiring schematics for controllers...none, look for wiring schematics for instrument panels...none, look in the Factory manual to learn how to tell the difference between a Cam Shift 1 and a Cam Shift 2 Lower unit, or even the ez-shift models...it's not in the Factory manual, but it is in the Seloc manual....I could go on with this, I have both manuals, both are good, but i don't want to hear how superior this Factory manual is...It's not, it's 30 years old folks...!!

Wow, on my little 7.5 HP motor the seloc is nothing more than a couple pictures. I have never seen a factory manual for this motor as I think it's not available, but if the seloc on my motor is as good as a factory manual the factory book must be worthless. I've learned nothing from my seloc. The pictures they have you can get on most part websites so they do little to help.

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

BTW, don't do the online manual thing...you'll want to have a manual in front of you while your working....sometimes i go back and read a particular subject many times and might even have to refer to another section of the manual about a related point...computors just aren't user friendly when it comes to onsight engine repair...

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Well...it's 7.5 hp bob, how much could there be to that...couple pics is all it should take...Im just kiddin' bob...little humor to go along with things....just want everyone to know im not "uptight" about this subject...just stating my case, i have no problem with counterpoints...I like to hear what others have to say...and sometimes i listen...!!!

 

[achris]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Wow, on my little 7.5 HP motor the seloc is nothing more than a couple pictures. I have never seen a factory manual for this motor as I think it's not available, but if the seloc on my motor is as good as a factory manual the factory book must be worthless. I've learned nothing from my seloc. The pictures they have you can get on most part websites so they do little to help.

The factory manual for the 7.5 is 140 pages!!! Given that same manual covers all the small engines, it is still miles better than after-market.... I have ONE clymer books (same as seloc) and that 185 page 'manual' covers all engines from 50hp to 200hp from 1964 to 1979.... That's a joke. Merc needed about 15 manuals to cover the same range. The factory manual for the Merc 3 and 4 cyl (70-115hp) is only for 1987-93 (7 years) and is over 300 pages!!! How can a 184 page manual for every engine 50-200 for 16 years be as good as a 300 pages manual for a single 'family' of engines of just 7 years???? I also have a clymer for Mercruiser engines and stern drives. It's 600 pages, but it took Merc 6 manuals of at least twice the thickness of this one to contain the same info... I tell you, those people at seloc and clymer must be geniuses to get the same info in 1/10 the number of pages....

The reason knowledgeable folk dislike the seloc and cylmer books is because they ARE very inferior....

Chris..........

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Kind of like teats on a boar hog, of very little use.

Unless you're showing them in a 4-H fair...

The factory manual for the 7.5 is 140 pages!!! Given that same manual covers all the small engines, it is still miles better than after-market.... I have ONE clymer books (same as seloc) and that 185 page 'manual' covers all engines from 50hp to 200hp from 1964 to 1979.... That's a joke. The factory manual for the Merc 3 and 4 cyl (70-115hp) is only for 1987-93 (7 years) and is over 300 pages!!! How can a 184 page manual for every engine 50-200 for 16 years be as good as a 300 pages manual for a single 'family' of engines of just 7 years????

The reason knowledgeable folk dislike the seloc and cylmer books is because they ARE very inferior....

Chris..........

As an example, there was a guy that came in here a little over a month ago wondering about initial timing of some merc outboard (don't remember the model) and he was quoting his seloc manual that was just plain wrong. I believe it was you or silvertip that straightened him out.

Go get a factory manual, they really are good manuals. The seloc/clymber are hit and miss.

 

[achris]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

UAs an example, there was a guy that came in here a little over a month ago wondering about initial timing of some merc outboard (don't remember the model) and he was quoting his seloc manual that was just plain wrong. I believe it was you or silvertip that straightened him out.

Go get a factory manual, they really are good manuals. The seloc/clymber are hit and miss.

You mean this one:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=413324

Go to posts 9 and 10.....

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Ya, that's the post.

I already had my FSM at that point but if I hadn't, that post would have sealed it for me...

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

I have to admit...I WAS VERY WRONG in my statements of this topic! I think i need to hide my Seloc manual and spend more time reading my Merc manual. Thanks for the counterpoints...it really open my eyes about this...I WAS JUST PLAIN WRONG!

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Got to Love a Guy that admits He is wrong.
whether it is boats or Autos, Don't buy that CR%p.
OEM....
Do It right the first Time. MY .02

 

[monk-monk]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Thanks for the compliment Mi...I was eager to read counterpoints to my comments! Everyone had really good points, but the person that really made the difference was the posts from achris...I visit iboats forums every night and know this guy is someone you can learn from, and i have great respect for him, so when i read his reply i knew i was dead wrong, and it was time to find out why...I layed the two manuals side-by-side on the kitchen table and started going through particular sections and comparing them...didn't take long to understand the difference between the two...The Seloc is like a childrens book compared to the Mercury manual...Thanks to all, and especially achris...see, you never know what type of influence your actions have on others...Set a good example, you never know who's watching!

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Monk. I am glad that you did not take it the wrong way.
I try to help People.
Buying Clymers/Seloc Just confuse people.
Thanks.

 

[achris]

Re: Looking for a good Manual ?

Thanks for the compliment Mi...I was eager to read counterpoints to my comments! Everyone had really good points, but the person that really made the difference was the posts from achris...I visit iboats forums every night and know this guy is someone you can learn from, and i have great respect for him, so when i read his reply i knew i was dead wrong, and it was time to find out why...I layed the two manuals side-by-side on the kitchen table and started going through particular sections and comparing them...didn't take long to understand the difference between the two...The Seloc is like a childrens book compared to the Mercury manual...Thanks to all, and especially achris...see, you never know what type of influence your actions have on others...Set a good example, you never know who's watching!

I feel touched and humbled by your comments.... Thank you..