85 Mercury 40 hp Reed Valve Problem?

[Billy Bob]

Looking to buy another motor on the cheap. I was told it needed reed valves replaced. The motor (and boat) are 1 1/2 hours away from me so I've been in no hurry. Somebody my brother works with. Anyway was told the motor does run on one cylinder.<br /><br />Big question!!! From the minimal amount of info I gave, can you tell if that would be a likely issue? And if so, how much would repairs cost if I do them correctly the first time? <br /><br />thanks<br />Billy Bob

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: 85 Mercury 40 hp Reed Valve Problem?

A 40 on one cylinder will not run like a 20. Funny huh?<br /><br />A reed if broken can sometimes reek havack. Get caught up in the exhaust port and score things up badly. <br /><br />Then again sometimes maybe no noticeable damage other than the reed might be observed. <br /><br />Might be good to pick it up for it's value as spare lower unit, carb, ignition components, but as a usable core you should be suspect. Reed valves are not an easy change on some of the old Mercs.

 

[FlyBoyMark]

Re: 85 Mercury 40 hp Reed Valve Problem?

If it needs reed valves because a petal broke off and got swallowed........JUNK............or one helluva lucky chance nothing internally got damaged......BUT then again, somebody musta been runnig it on one cylinder to know....... Hmmm? (jus' maken' more metal)

 

[Billy Bob]

Re: 85 Mercury 40 hp Reed Valve Problem?

Hey Guys<br /><br />Thank you. Might buy it for parts and if it is ok, then so much the better. The way you describe it, this guy may not know what he is talking about. If he was running the motor (getting less than 20hp, funny) surely he would have noticed the scraping, clanking, scoring, etc types sound/s coming from the motor. <br /><br />Now let's begin to be unrealistic here: I take the motor home and a spark plug wire has come loose and the guy didn't notice it. POOF!! Wake up. You've been dreaming. <br /><br />thank you again<br />Billy Bob