50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

[perchjerker]

Just bought a new boat with 50 hp mercury 2 stroke. Have never owned a mercury before does anyone know how reliable they are? Also the water indicator that sprays out the side of the motor doesn't seem to spray as hard as a yamaha or johnson. Talked to the salesman who sold me the boat and he said it was probably stopped up with mud, I have never run the lower unit through mud or hydrilla. Put the water hose and earmuffs on it to flush it out and that didn't change anything. <br />Also how much would it cost to install a water pressure guage? What is the best brand and where can I purchase one? I think there is a fitting for it on the powerhead.

 

[werdna]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

well, without seeing it its hard to tell, but ive got both merc, mariner and yammy and the merc ones certainly dont spray out at such a high pressure. Sorry, but its a bit hard for me to come over from Aus to have a look

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Look here..<br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=29;t=007214 <br /><br />The telltale on your Merc should have quite a strong stream and the water only warm to the touch. At WOT it is very strong and warmer..<br />You may have a worn impeller. (These need to be replaced every few years, coz they're only lightweight rubber. Don't let that thing overheat due to lack of water... It will destroy the motor.<br />There is a fitting on the motor between 1st and 2nd cyl I think...

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Water pump shouldnt be worn out because I bought it in march and have only run about 3 tanks of gas through it. I never start the engine out of the water. I did hit a stump plowing along at about 10 mph and broke the prop shaft and had it repaired by the dealer. I wonder if they screwed something up with the water pump. Guess I'll take it to them and let them look at it. When I bought it they hooked it up to a water hose and it sprayed pretty hard. I've replaced water pumps twice on a 50 hp johnson I owned. Sold it to my dad and he has a habit of starting it on the ramp to make sure it'll run, told him it would cook the impeller and sure enough he fried the powerhead a couple of months ago.

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Is it a Brand new motor ???

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Brand new 2003 model.

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Thought it was older and your reference was to a "New to me" boat...<br />Well impeller should be fine..<br />Could have a bit of mud or sand in the exit tube. Did you try a bit of Compressed air in it to blow out any obstructiuon ?<br />BTW the fitting for pressure guage looks like this on the older Mercs.<br /><br /> http://www.myfishingpictures.com/watermark.php?file=527/1413head-med.jpg <br /><br />The gauge is on the other end of the tube (Obviously)

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

gonna take it back to the dealer and let him figure it out, thanks unicorn.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

I also made the mistake of not running enough oil in the tank during run in. It had half a tank of gas and the dealer only put in one pint. He said he didn't know I was going to fill it up. Like I would take a boat to the lake with half a tank to run it in. Anyway I got him to do a compression check on it and he said it checked out ok. The salesman told me it only takes an hour to break it in. (Same guy that said the cooling system was stopped up with mud after me telling him that I never even ran the boat through mud or hydrilla.) Not true (the run in procedure) as I found out on one of the Iboats forums. Never owned a new outboard before and didn't know about these things.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Dealer hooked up earmuffs and a water hose to it and said it was ok. charged me 42 dollars. Bought the boat in March have only run 3 tanks of gas through it. He also told me the popping that occurs when you turn the steering wheel can't be fixed. Must have charged me for working on the steering too since I know that is warranty (defective parts or assembly) Said it took 45 minutes and he had to pay his mechanic.

 

[steam_mill]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

I have a 90 hp '03 Merc. My telltale completely stopped. I had read on this board to run compressed air through it. Did this and the telltale came back. <br /><br />To prove my theory, I took the boat through the weeds and the tell tale stopped again. Checked the intake and they were clear. Block was cool to the touch. Blew air again and telltake came back and has remained for the duration.<br /><br />Blow air through and you should be fine.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Steamill what part of the motor do you blow the air into? The telltale works but even at wot it doesn't pee any harder than a 90 year old man with prostate trouble. I've owned johnsons and yamahas and am used to a real strong stream coming from the telltale. Haven't run the motor through mud or hydrilla. I think I'll post a picture of the telltale. When I bought the boat the telltale was real strong. I saw it when they serviced it when I bought the boat. Dealer and mechanic even remarked about how strong it was.<br /> Had a broken propshaft replaced and after this took the boat out and the shift linkage on the motor came loose. Took it back to the dealer and he fixed it and so I thought maybe they screwed up a seal or something in the water pump. Guess I'll have to fix it myself since I was told by the dealer that the only warranty the motor has is for defective parts. I might as well have bought a used boat. Also the steering wheel pops and is hard to turn. Dealer checked it and said that there is nothing that can be done about it. I check several other boats on his lot and none of them had this problem. All were easy to steer and didn't pop.

 

[nospark1196]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

I've got the same problem w/my 02 50hp Tracker. It has ,maybe, 5-6 hrs on it. I purchased it used, the guy didn't use it much. Anyway, water does not come out as soon as the motor starts, it takes a second or two. It comes out quicker at start up if I give it some throttle. At WOT, it is just fine. I think I have my idle too low ,that is why the stream is weak at idle. I agree that you should blow air , I would place the air hose at the point where your tale tell hose exits the head.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Can I tell whether the water pump is functioning by touching the block, if it's cool to the touch is the water pump functioning correctly? Maybe the telltale just needs to be blown out.

 

[nospark1196]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

They say that if you can hold your hand on the block for a few seconds, it is not too hot. Try blowing out the tale tell line w/air first.I also heard that Merc's can have two types of pumps, high pressure or high volume. Try posting this so that The Marine Doctor will see it. Edit your post or just email him. You should have a full stream (not broken or sporatic) even if it is a weak.

 

[steam_mill]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

I didn't get too sophisticated to blow out the tell tale. My boat stays in the water May to September. <br /><br />When I noticed the tell tale not flowing, I grabbed my portable compressor and went down to the dock. I couldn't find my air gun so I took the hose and removed the quick diconnect and put it over the tell tale. Blew air for a 20 seconds. Air bubbles were coming out of the lowerunit water inlet. <br /><br />I started it up and my tell tale was back to normal.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Thanks for the info nospark & steamill. I'll try both.

 

[Wellcraft 89]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Well I have a 04 90hp 2 strokr and it pee's like race horse instantly on start up.<br /><br />Your dealer doesn't sound to swift or something.<br />That tell-tale should be strong,post a pic if you can,let us see.<br />A couple things could have happened the water tube that goes to the power head might not be in all the<br />way,or possibly the tech put the impeller in wrong or something. <br /><br />Explain to us about this poping when turning?????<br />Rich

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

Wellcraft, you can turn the wheel to the left and it's pretty easy, when you turn it back to the right it's pretty stiff and you can hear and feel a pop. I've adjusted the trim tab and know how to do that so this isn't the problem. This is when it's running or sitting on the trailer. I tried the steering on the other boats similar to mine at the dealer's and they all were very smooth and didn't "pop". Dealer told me that there's nothing that they can do about it but it seems like to me it's a defective part or improper installation. I can't figure out why they won't fix the steering because I know the warranty would cover it. I've replaced the water pump and seals on a 50 hp johnson twice and a 115 evinrude so I guess I'll have to fix it myself. I saw how hard the telltale sprayed when they serviced the boat when I bought it so I know something's not right. I'll post a photo of it hooked up to the earmuffs. Mercury Marine sent me a survey form and I've been saving it for something like this...he he he.

 

[perchjerker]

Re: 50 hp mercury water pressure indicator

About that popping in the steering. I was mistaken, it pops in both directions. You can turn the steering wheel about 3\4 of a turn in either direction and it pops. I showed it to the dealer and he said they would have to take the steering mechanism apart to determine if it is covered by the warranty or not. I said you mean that at 84 dollars an hour it might cost me 200 bucks or more? He didn't say anything. I complained about this when I bought the boat and they said they would fix it. Was told by dealer that the warranty covers defective parts only.