1988 Mercury 115

[tallcanadian]

Hi all you Merc guru's. I'm back again seeking advice from you guys. I'm thinking about picking up a 1988 115 HP Merc for my Gypsy tri hull, The oil injection has been removed which is okay. Compression is 132-135 on all cylinders. No apparent corrosion on the wiring. Owner tells me he replaced the jets on the carbs, was flooding, clean carbs and motor ran good. I am going Saturday and fire this bad boy up. Motor looks clean and mean. Is there anything that I should look out for on these tall motors? Any common problems at all? The cowl says 1983, owner tells me 1985 but serial number tells me 1988. It's got power trim, controls and 2 stainless props. Any thoughts?

 

[jimmbo]

Another mix of parts. Yes cowl is in the 1980 - 1983 range, the power trim is Post 1983. Does the serial number on the bracket match the one on the block? Oil injection didn't appear on the inline six until 1986.
Do your own compression test. Check the gear oil for water. Look around the sparkplug area for signs of a leaky water jacket cover(often a sign that the engine has gotten hot). Check for prop shaft straightness. Check along the Crankcase seam for sings of leakage, and a glance at the bolts to see if the paint shows that the case was taken apart.
Replacing jets to solve flooding? That's a new one.
The basic engine design goes back to the 1940s and 50s, with upgrades through 60s and 70s. It is one of my favourite engines, I had a 1984 115 for 14 years. In the those 14 yrs, it only needed 1 switchbox replaced. The floats on the carbs used to stick and flooding would occur. I warped the water jacket cover and had to replace it, but merc covered the cost of the part. 2 water pump impellers too!

I put a 1971 1150 wrap, faceplate and top cowl on it. I have always thought the Red Mercs looked best. The 1984 brown is still visible on the lower cover.

 

[tallcanadian]

Another mix of parts. Yes cowl is in the 1980 - 1983 range, the power trim is Post 1983. Does the serial number on the bracket match the one on the block? Oil injection didn't appear on the inline six until 1986.
Do your own compression test. Check the gear oil for water. Look around the sparkplug area for signs of a leaky water jacket cover(often a sign that the engine has gotten hot). Check for prop shaft straightness. Check along the Crankcase seam for sings of leakage, and a glance at the bolts to see if the paint shows that the case was taken apart.
Replacing jets to solve flooding? That's a new one.
The basic engine design goes back to the 1940s and 50s, with upgrades through 60s and 70s. It is one of my favourite engines, I had a 1984 115 for 14 years. In the those 14 yrs, it only needed 1 switchbox replaced. The floats on the carbs used to stick and flooding would occur. I warped the water jacket cover and had to replace it, but merc covered the cost of the part. 2 water pump impellers too!

I put a 1971 1150 wrap, faceplate and top cowl on it. I have always thought the Red Mercs looked best. The 1984 brown is still visible on the lower cover.

Great wealth of information. Thank you. The serial number on the block, is it on a silver tag that looks like a frost plug?

I'm not sure about the jet issue either but I'm hoping it's all good.

I like the red stripes as well. Something about red and black together.

I will definitely keep my eyes out for all your clues. Very much appreciated.

 

[Faztbullet]

There was never a oil injection pump on these engines...it was a remote accessory called a Autoblend that destroyed a LOT of engines.

 

[jimmbo]

There was never a oil injection pump on these engines...it was a remote accessory called a Autoblend that destroyed a LOT of engines.

You are right about that. Maybe when the OP said it had been disconnected I thought of the V6 mixing pump

 

[tallcanadian]

I decided to back out of the deal. My gut was telling me to stay away from Frankenstein. 1500 dollars is too much.

Thank you all for your insite. It made me smarter.