my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

[isimar]

took it to the doctor and he called and said there's great spark but it's not hitting on #2 and only intermittent on #1 and #3 is taking the load....he said he pulls the plug wire off 1&2 and no change in running, pulls it off 3 and it dies.
siad something inside isn't right but to go inside and tear down would exceed the value of the engine...

it's a 1985 mercury 60hp.. one of those 3cyl 2 carb jobs.

now i need to decide if i want to gamble on a used engine or just go buy a new boat...

yeah, it's HUMP day alright, and i humped myself on this purchase..


lesson learned.

 

[Bayou Dave]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Easy solution. You now have a great reason to buy a new boat!

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Easy solution. You now have a great reason to buy a new boat!

true, but i have so little time....looks like i buy my fish this year.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Gee, what kind of doctor is he? Zoology? Did he take a compresion test? Did he run a spark test? What do the spark plugs look like?

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Gee, what kind of doctor is he? Zoology? Did he take a compresion test? Did he run a spark test? What do the spark plugs look like?

plugs were new, spark test show great spark, he did a compression test.
the guy has a great reputation and he works at a marine repair facility....others have said he's very methodical because his biggest fear is someone else making him look bad.
part time fire on #1 no fire on 2 and 3 fires all the time...weird.

 

[schematic]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Ditto Chris1956

What were the compression readings?

 

[wired247]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

You have an ignition problem. Find a mechanic that can diagnose and fix that problem instead of telling you that you need a new motor unless you actually want a new motor and are just going through the motions to sell the concept to your wife.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Could be something as simple as coils or plug wires, or perhaps a bad swichbox.

Agreed with all above, get compression numbers. If it's got compression, it very likely can be fixed without a teardown.

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

i called the guy and he said the compression is in the 130s on all three and that there's good spark to all three, however there's constant combustion to only the 3rd cylinder, intermittent to the 1st and none to the 2nd.
he said ignition is working as it should.

 

[wired247]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Your compression is good so the motor is good. You have ancillary issues. The ignition is either misfiring or the carbs are fouled or improperly adjusted. Find a new mechanic. Yours sucks.

 

[Toddboat]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

If you have good compression, the motor is healthy. Sounds like one of the coils is shot, and the wires are probably allowing charge to jump to ground intermittently. Or the pulsar coil isn't firing on each revolution for some reason. All of these parts are easily replaced. Why not take a multimeter and the manual and check through the ignition system yourself?

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

another mechanic wouldn't even touch that motor, said it was design.

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

check myself ??? because i don't even know HOW to use a multimeter !

sad as the fact that i know nothing about these things, it's why i took it in.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Gee, maybe the top carb is dirty or misadjusted, making the top cylinder not fire and the middle cylinder misfire.

Alternatively, if top one or two plugs look real clean, the motor may have a water leak into the combustion chamber. However, it is a guess for me. it should be easy for the mechanic to determine.

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

i don't know what to do..

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

If you're unable to do the work yourself, get a second opinion....

 

[wired247]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

Theres nothing to get upset about. What usually happens with older motors is they sit with old gas in them for too long and the gas turns into jello in the fuel bowls or lines. Eventually it makes its way to the jets and they get plugged up. Then you start dropping cylinders and it runs like crap. So... chin up and get a rebuild kit for your carbs. take them off, clean the snot out of them concentration on the jet orifices and passages and reassemble them just like your factory service manual says. Your mechanic is being lazy. He has other jobs that pay more and he doesnt want to invest his time in your motor. Thats fine. Do it yourself. Your compression is good and there are lots of good folk here to help. Don't start rushing things to get it back in this season. Take your time and be methodical but if it were my motor I'd be doing what Chris said and tackling that top carb first.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

As said above, carburetors would be a good place to start. Also agreed current mechanic is basically telling you he's not interested in spending the time.

2 (well maybe 3) questions:

1) Are you mechanically inclined at all? As in, do you do any car/motor work yourself? Tools and a place to work, that sort of stuff. Rebuilding these carbs is cheap and a piece of cake.

2) Where are you? Maybe there's a local member who can help.

3) Do you know of any other mechs around, especially like a smaller marina, mom-and-pop, a shadetree guy--basically someplace that doesn't automatically want to sell you a new motor?

 

[isimar]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

just talked to a mercury dealer and he said the same thing, he said it sound like he didn't know how to syc up the carbs..
it goes to them saturday morning.

thanks guys, will post results.

 

[TD_Maker]

Re: my mercury recieved the death sentence today.

I wonder if the original mechanic needed a 60hp motor?