1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

[johncrowe1]

i just recently acquired a 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp outboard engine no controls and no wiring harness to plug into it the starter is off of it and the spring in the rope start is broke . i havent paid for it yet and made this transaction final . the starter dosent work i guess it needs rebuilt . it has good compression on all 4 cylinders though. i really dont know where to start at here.i dont want to dump a bunch of money in to this thing and it never run . with it in reverse and forward the prop turns when you spin the flywheel does that mean the lower ends good. this is first boat and boat motor i have ever worked with.

 

[turtles11756]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

you may be able to rope start it by just removing the pull starter from off flywheel .if the price is good grab it you will come by the parts cheap later on and learn alot .the prop should make a rachet click when turning it by hand in foward gear , spin freely in both directions in neutral. the gear oil drain hole is on the very bottom drain the old oil and see what it looks like and you will have a better idea about the lower gears. the spring for pull starter should be available installing it is another story .take it to a service shop

 

[fishin98]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

My advice is, unless you are doing a restoration take the motor back and run away. Thoses motors are mostly impossiable to get parts for, never run right,never are reliable. A good late model 35-40hp merc will outdo it all day long.

 

[johncrowe1]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

well these are kinda split comments lol. my friend has a starter for it so ive loaded it up and heading off to see him this evening and hes a mechanic also so we will know soon enough. i need a wiring schematic for it cause i have to make me some sort of harness to use this if i end up with it. oh yeah i beleive its been rebuilt at somepoint cause its blue and these were originally white correct.oh and by the way the guy only wants 100 for it

 

[johncrowe1]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

you may be able to rope start it by just removing the pull starter from off flywheel .if the price is good grab it you will come by the parts cheap later on and learn alot .the prop should make a rachet click when turning it by hand in foward gear , spin freely in both directions in neutral. the gear oil drain hole is on the very bottom drain the old oil and see what it looks like and you will have a better idea about the lower gears. the spring for pull starter should be available installing it is another story .take it to a service shop

it clicks and spins free just like you said

 

[turtles11756]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

check the bolts holding the two halves of crankcase together . mercury used a small wire seal on one of the bolts i think just below the starter or where the starter was. if the seal has been removed you will see a small hole thru one of the bolts where the seal was if it's still there i doub't it has ever been apart. check to see if it has spark to all spark plugs .you will need to install a new water pump impeller before running it or you will over heat the motor. get the factory service manual (not cheap) check ebay and wait till the right priced one shows up. i bet it will run like a champ. compression should be around 120psi on all .

 

[johncrowe1]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp water intake

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp water intake

where is the water intake on this engine i bought some muffs to try and run it but cant find the intakes. it has a hole that looks like a bolt hole up above the prop and a triangle looking thing with what looks like sevreal holes in it where is it at lol. so its got spark but not enough to fire coils bad all oil has ran out of it . wheres the water intake its got me stumped.

 

[etnamb72]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

where is the water intake on this engine i bought some muffs to try and run it but cant find the intakes. it has a hole that looks like a bolt hole up above the prop and a triangle looking thing with what looks like sevreal holes in it where is it at lol. so its got spark but not enough to fire coils bad all oil has ran out of it . wheres the water intake its got me stumped.

Did you ever find were the water intake is. i to have a 1962 merc 1000 thunderbolt. I just go this boat (For Free) and asessing the what needs to be done to start this puppy up. I have tested the starting system and everything looks good. Has good compression, but darn it cannot find where to pu the muffs. Do you have a manual? I think I'm going to buy one. The only problem I see the repair mauals start at 1965.

 

[johncrowe1]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

it takes in water through the trim tab right above the prop so you gotta use a barrel . you can get the older manuals but they cost like 85 bucks. i got mine running im just waiting on finishing the boat and ill post pics on here.

 

[etnamb72]

Re: 1962 mercury kiekhaefer 500 50 hp

it takes in water through the trim tab right above the prop so you gotta use a barrel . you can get the older manuals but they cost like 85 bucks. i got mine running im just waiting on finishing the boat and ill post pics on here.

Thanks for the info. My father in-law and I figured that one out. We were able to fire our merc 1000. It sounds great... We need to fix or replace the ignition switch, change the gear oil, and figure out why the mechanism that locks the engine in the down position does not work..