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  1. l008com

    Smokey Engine - Air/Fuel problem or Oil/Fuel problem?

    I've got a 1989 Mercury 90hp and these past few years, it's running a lot smokier than it ever used to. Looking in to it a bit, smoke can happen from a bad air fuel mix on a 2-cycle engine. It can also happen from a bad oil-fuel mix going in to a 2-cycle. My motor is oil injected, so it's...
  2. l008com

    Steering Slack and Stiff Steering

    If you start squeezing grease in there with a gun, will it have a place it can release out of somewhere?
  3. l008com

    Steering Slack and Stiff Steering

    90hp 1980's mercury. There are fittings but are they actually steering fittings or are they trim system fittings? Regarding the rod, isn't the seal going to wipe that grease right off when I turn? Is any of it actually going to get inside the cable housing?
  4. l008com

    Steering Slack and Stiff Steering

    I'e watched a few videos where they are greasing all the fittings on the motor with a grease gun, but in the comments, everyone is saying how those fittings are for the motors turning pivot and the trim system, not for the actual steering cable/rod. Is there a fitting somewhere specifically for...
  5. l008com

    Old Mercury Leaking 2-Cycle Oil

    Oops I forgot the motor details: 1989 Mercury Outboard 90HP 2-Cycle 3-Cylinder I can get the serial number too if anyone needs that for any reason.
  6. l008com

    Dust Cap Woes

    I bought another set of caps today to replace the latest one that fell off, and I eventually got it in there without any modification and from what I can tell, no damage either. Hopefully this one stick and this problem goes away! The first one went in within 5 minutes, so now I have a spare! As...
  7. l008com

    Steering Slack and Stiff Steering

    I just put my boat in the water for the first time this year, today. Yeah, in September :( The steering is very tight. I suspect it just need a lot of fresh grease. Is there a specific type of grease you need to use for steering (like suspension grease) or is it just regular old thick marine...
  8. l008com

    Old Mercury Leaking 2-Cycle Oil

    I've got a problem. My motor leaks 2-cycle oil. It's not a big enough leak that it affects the operation of the boat. If you fill the tank, it will still take a very long time to run out. But it's getting everywhere. Every surface inside the cover is coated with oil. If I tip the motor up...
  9. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Update: I started to feel like I was really at an impass where I couldn't know if there was really something wrong with this motor until I went and opened it up for a while. So I did that today. It was barely running at first, I had to push the choke button non stop. But eventually it started...
  10. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Ok since my last post, I went to west marine and replaced the thermostat. So new impeller, new thermostat, new hose for the water waste cooling water, and I also blew out the clean looking passageways as best I could with an air compressor. And despite all that, its still getting very hot to...
  11. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Taking a closer look at that hose in the daylight, it wasn't just kinked, it was double kinked from being jammed in the housing of the motor when i closed it. I was able to get some vacuum hose to replace it at NAPA for like $3 so that's all good. Also with another hour of messing around, I...
  12. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Ok here I am trying to jam it up there and it's just going absolutely nowhere:
  13. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Ok I replaced the impeller and I'm trying to reinstall the lower unit, but I can't get it in there. I slide the axle up and it gets to around 3/4" to 1" up and it won't go up any further. It sounds like a very solid metal on solid metal sound. I've tried tapping it, shaking it, i've tried...
  14. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    LOL apparently it's in the photo I posted above haha.
  15. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Whether it's the cause of the problem or not, that kink bothers me so I'd like to replace that hose. What kind of hose is it? Should be cheap enough right? Also where is the thermostat on my motor? I've seen videos of removing it on newer engines. Should be easy enough to pop it out and see if...
  16. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Finally had a few hours to work on this again today. I got the new gaskets on there on either side of the plate, got the new impeller and housing bolted up, the lower unit is ready to be thrown back on the boat. But I couldn't do THAT because it started raining. I did get out there with an...
  17. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Hmm, neither of the replacement gaskets I got have a sealer bead on it. Is that going to be an issue? Also I'll try lifting up and spinning next time I'm working on it, just to see. I'm hoping I can get at least another 10 years out of this 39 year old boat :D
  18. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Bummer. Ok one more part on order. New, related question. The motor was in neutral when I took the lower unit off. When I turn the main drive shaft by hand, the propeller does not spin (as expected). But the rotation is not smooth. It feels pretty rough. Is that normal? If there are bearings in...
  19. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    Ok I got the new gasket that goes between the plate and the impeller housing. I was scraping off the old one, which seemed to be some form of "liquid gasket" on top of an older real gasket. So after some scraping, I decided I'd just pull the plate off to make it easier. Once I did that, there...
  20. l008com

    Overheating at idle, cool as a cucumber at speed

    I took a closer look today and it looks like the last person to replace this used gasket caulking or whatever it might be called. But it's peeling off so I agree I should replace it with a new, real gasket. Can you get JUST the gasket? Anyone know THAT part number?
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