Re: 96 Merc 25hp....good motor?
Josh
I've got a '99 25hp 2-stroke. I didn't know much. if anything, about outboards when I bought it and found out that the cylinders were scored and therefore the engine did not perform well. It performed well in a trash can but not when it was on my boat in the water!
I ended up doing alot of reading and eventually rebuilt the motor. It runs great now. It starts very easy and runs surprisingly quiet. I get more smoke from my 9.9 2S than I do this one.
It pushes my MV 1571 at around 26mph so no complaints there either. TAKE CARE of the motor and perform any necessary maintenance and I don't think you will be disappointed.
I also run my oil at 40:1 rather than 50:1 as spec'd just to insure that it stays on the rich side as far as lubricant is concerned.
Thanks for the advice. I picked the motor up tonight, and tomorrow it is heading to the mechanic to be completely gone through. Thought about doing it myself, but I want it done right
I am planning on leaving my old 18 on my boat for now until this winter when we head to Oklahoma for our duck hunting trip. This motor is heavier than what I have on the boat now, so I am going to move the fuel tanks and batteries to the front of the boat, and do some other minor things to the boat itself before the motor is even put in use.
