Merc 115

[opto55]

I am looking at a boat with 1988 Merc 115 two stroke. The service place will not work on them, he says too hard to tune ? Have you heard of this before? Does this engine have problems? Please help as I would like to buy the boat but not if the motor has issues.
Thank you.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Merc 115

That motor should be an inline six. If so, it was one of the best, most successful designs ever made. They are not hard to tune. I suspect your shop has never worked on one before and is afraid of the unknown.

Take a compression test, and look at the gear oil. If the gear oil is clear and the compression is pretty even (within 15%) on all cylinders, anything else that may be wrong with it is fixable.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Merc 115

The service place you went to has NO knowledge of mercs. go somewhere else, if you can't do the work yourself.

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Merc 115

The Merc 115 inline-6 is the best OB I have ever owned.....and I had many. It is still going strong to this day and always starts right up. Once you get it in shape with the usual maintenance.....it goes and goes.

 

[Dave1027]

Re: Merc 115

I am looking at a boat with 1988 Merc 115 two stroke. The service place will not work on them, he says too hard to tune ? Have you heard of this before?

Consider yourself fortunate you dodged a bullet on this one. Had this mechanic been a shyster, they would have f'd up your motor and billed you for the trouble. Instead this mech was a somewhat honest buffoon. They are hard to tune for those without proper knowledge.

 

[opto55]

Re: Merc 115

Thank you to all that replied. I am taking for a test drive tomorrow. Any other questions I should ask?

 

[mr 88]

Re: Merc 115

When was the impeller last changed. Make sure the tell tale is pushing water out. Accelerate slowly/fast/slow then fast etc. you want to check throttle response and see if it is setup correctly.There is more info on what to look in the hull,check the general forum use search icon if there isn't 5 post on the first couple pages about what to look for I am buying a boat post's haha.Things like Lights working,transom, floor,stringers solid,wiring cracks in gel coat and on and on,good luck !!