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  1. HotTommy

    New plugs how often 2016 Four Stroke 115

    I will be starting my third season with my 2016 Mercury 115 four stroke next spring. I'm wondering how often I should check or replace the spark plugs. I'd rather leave well enough alone until the time is right. If it matters, its on a lake on a pontoon boat using mostly alcohol free gas. I'd...
  2. HotTommy

    Thanks to someone for help with prop

    They say there are two types of unknowns. There are the things you know you don't know, and there are the things you don't know that you don't know. One of the benefits of hanging out on forums like this one is I sometimes learn something I didn't even know I wanted to know. That happened last...
  3. HotTommy

    Prop change for my old pontoon boat

    Here's what I now have: Old two log 24' pontoon boat with outboard Use it mostly for family outings on a medium size lake (tubing at WOT, cruising a mid-throttle) Engine is 2015 Mercury 115HP 4-stroke with Command Thrust gear box Current prop is 4-blade aluminum 14.8" diameter with 15" pitch...
  4. HotTommy

    Concept Discussion - Hydrofoil on a pontoon boat (not the motor)

    I found myself surfing some videos about hydrofoils like those on the America's Cup sailboats. I eventually found my way to a website about a hydrofoil that could be mounted between the twin hulls of a powered catamaran style boat. It looks like an inverted T that attaches to the bottom of the...
  5. HotTommy

    Severe jolt to my new engine

    Earlier this spring I bought and installed a brand new Mercury 115 HP, 4-cycle engine on my old pontoon boat. It's worked flawlessly so far and I love the performance. ... Monday I was towing some teens on a tube at about 20 MPH, 5000 RPM. I felt a strong thump and immediately the engine RPM...
  6. HotTommy

    Real world experiece with three different engines

    Folks often come here asking advice or seeking to know if their boat is set up right. I offer the following as one person's experience with three different setups on one boat. Here is are the basics. The boat is a 25 year old pontoon boat with two U-shaped logs and three sofas. My usual load...
  7. HotTommy

    Wiring 2015 remote control box and SC1000 monitor

    I am installing in my old pontoon boat a 2015 Mercury 115 HP engine and a new remote box, wiring harness, SC1000 tach, and its wiring harness. It is apparent where the male and female 10-pin connections go, but there are several other wires whose functions are not obvious. There is no wiring...
  8. HotTommy

    2015 motor with 1993 remote?

    I have an old pontoon boat with a 1993 Force by Mercury 150 outboard on it. The motor is about shot and I want to replace it with a new 2015 Mercury 115 HP four cyline outboard. My current remote is a side mounted unit that looks like this . One dealer told me I'd need all new remote and...
  9. HotTommy

    Need help diagnosing Force 150 cooling problem

    I need advice to diagnose a cooling problem on a 1993 Force 150 outboard. Here are the relevant facts. Engine ran well with no obvious problems for several months last summer. It is used mostly in deep lake water. While running at about 4500 RPM, the engine started losing power and I slowed to...
  10. HotTommy

    Compression testing partially assembled engine

    I am putting my 1993 Force 150 outboard back together after replacing the pistons. It is off the boat. I'd like to check the compression by hot wiring the starter to a battery to turn it over. I understand that I need to ground the spark plug wires to do this test on the boat using the key...
  11. HotTommy

    What size socket for connecting rod cap bolts on Force 150?

    The FSM says the bolts on the connecting rod caps for my 1993 Force 150 use Special Tool # FT-2953. It's a 12-point socket that appears to be about 1/4" or 7mm. Does anyone know the size of this socket?
  12. HotTommy

    Force 150 - What's going on here?

    Disregard, Problem solved.
  13. HotTommy

    Advice on changing bottom piston in 1993 Force 150

    Last summer my 1993 Force 150 outboard suffered damage to #3 and #4 pistons when, apparently, one ring failed triggering an overheat and subsequent damage to the adjoining piston. This is an engine that had already had the #1 piston replaced for a similar reason. With that experience, I have...
  14. HotTommy

    1993 Force 150 diagnosis

    Some of you may remember the Force 150 I rebuilt last year. It's been doing well for a while except for those flywheel bolts that broke for no apparent reason a month ago. That problem was fixed and I've put about twenty hours on it since then. Today I encountered a new problem with three...
  15. HotTommy

    1993 Force 150 flywheel - need answer quickly

    Preparing to take my pontoon boat out of town for a week tomorrow, I noticed a new ding in the engine cover. Inside I found this on the replacement flywheel I installed last summer. Two of the four ears used for rope starting the engine are missing. The four bolts that hold them are broken...
  16. HotTommy

    How much better (i.e., reliable and low maintenance) are new outboard engines?

    I realize that some will question me posing a question about new outboards on a forum where the newest engines covered are almost 20 years old, but I know you guys so that's what I'm doing. I've long wondered why we have to tolerate engines that don't do well in the very environments we know...
  17. HotTommy

    PM spark plug change how often?

    I did a pretty thorough rebuild on my 1993 Force 150 last year, so I'm asking this question just for info, not because anything is wrong. Some 2-cycle engines I've owned before would just stop running when the spark plugs wore out. I'd rather that not happen when I'm out in my boat. So what...
  18. HotTommy

    Skin your pontoon boat?

    This topic comes up from time to time. I skinned the underside of my boat last spring because it seemed intuitively the right thing to do. I had visions of water pushed up by the logs striking the frame crossmembers and slowing the boat with each small push. But I didn't know for sure what...
  19. HotTommy

    Primer Bulb

    As winter nears I'm dreaming of being on the water next spring. That got me thinking about a minor problem with the 1993 Force 150 outboard on my pontoon boat that has baffled me. .... I rebuilt the entire boat two seasons ago. That included removing and cleaning the 30 gallon fuel tank that...
  20. HotTommy

    Water in cylinder of 1993 Force 150

    I'm baaaack. After 30-40 good hours with the 1993 Force 150 I repaired earlier this year, I noticed two symptoms of trouble last weekend. First, it was down on power and second, it was hard to start (as if the starter/battery were too weak to turn it over at full speed). I pulled the boat out...
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