Mercury repairs

[SeaStan]

I have a 73 Chieftan with a 135hp mercury in line 6 motor, about a 1976 . A mechanic (who said he knew all about these motors) hooked the battery up backwards while setting the timing and fried the electric module in the distributor which is sealed into the distributor housing. He then broke off the firing sensor while trying to fix it. I got it back in a box of parts. Anyone know if there is someone I could send this thing to to get it fixed or replaced? I missed all last year not getting on the water because of this.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Mercury repairs

Did you stomp on that knowledgeable mechanic's foot at least?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Mercury repairs

Welcome aboard, Stan. It is better to post your question in the Merc forum. You get a larger audience there. You're gonna need your serial number and other info to get good answers. Good luck.

I hope you did more than stomp on this so-called mechanics foot, a little higher is better.

 

[rheagler]

Re: Mercury repairs

Wow Stan. That's horrible. I hope you get it taken care of before the coming season.

 

[bunker108]

Re: Mercury repairs

There is a very loyal following to these towers of power. The wiring is notoriously brittle and some of the electrical components are known to fail. After market wiring harness are available for these engines as are most of the components. Venture on over to the Merc forum and those guys should set you straight. There is also a fan page for inline 6s on Facebook with some very knowledgable folks over there as well.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury repairs

There wasn't a 135HP inline six manufactured in the late 70s. That motor is likely a bit older. Post the serial number for exact identification.

There is an electrical test for the battery powered CDI unit in that Merc on the CDIElectronics web site. The ignition part in the distributor is the trigger. The test will prove that the rest of the ign system is good or bad, and you can replace the trigger housing ($200+) or the rotor and shaft ($200+) or buy a complete used distributor. Likely all these options are avail to you.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Mercury repairs

I kind of agree with some of the above posts, but YOU should not have to buy a trigger or rotor shaft or switchbox!! The so called mechanic should either give you the money to replace the damaged parts or supply the parts for the repair. That engine should have the "horseshoe" trigger and it was a R&R item only thru CDI. I think they quit that so you have to order the trigger kit and a new cap for the new style trigger. You could easily spend $700 on new ignition parts...