1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

[skydailey]

This engine "looks" brand new, however I went to put er in the water the other day for the maiden voyage and couldn't get it to pull off the trailer? The engine cranks fine and runs good with cold idle lever. When I put it in gear or let it set in idle for a second it dies. Took it to the marine tech today and he made me feel like the thing will always have problems due to the technology of the motor? He did say it looks great though and may need a carb cleaning and thats it. What are your thoughts on this motor as far as reliability and do you feel it is probably the carbs. The boat has been garage kept and hasn't ran in 6 years! Thanks

 

[corm]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Hi,

They are good motors. Check the spark, clean the carbs, it should be good to go. You may need a new water pump impeller because it sat so long
without running.

 

[skydailey]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Thank you! You have no idea how bad I want this to work! "or maybe you do".. I cant wait to get it in the water!

 

[corm]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Hi,

The distributer cap probably needs cleaning too.
I have a couple of them and they work good.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Good motors but they are old. Expect more frequent repairs than with a newer motor and parts are getting harder to find but not impossible. Major components ARE expensive. Many repair shops won't/can't even work on these motors anymore so you need to be a DIY type.

I've got a 1971 Merc 800 80hp that runs like a top.

 

[Lawrence.V]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Hi,

The distributer cap probably needs cleaning too.
I have a couple of them and they work good.

corm,

I have a 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt 500 4cyl marine engine(serial#3236226) and we are having quite a deal of trouble finding a used or affordable distributor and rotor assembly.

Do you have any good sources for used Mercury parts? or any ideas?
--- We would just clean the distributor/rotor but the cap broke while removing the part from the Engine.

Thank you!

 

[corm]

Re: 1972 Mercury 50hp Thunderbolt

Hi,

There are no affordable ing parts for these motors anymore.
www.twincityoutboard.com may have a used one. There are a lot of used parts places on the net. TCO is close to me so I know about them.
I would be tempted to try epoxy to stick it back together.
I guess it depends on how or where it broke. I would look on ebay or craigs list too. Sometimes you can buy a parts motor cheaper than the part.