Need help getting started

[ericlcarter1]

I got a freebie. 2002(?) Mercury 150 Saltwater. It was free but I have no history on this motor. I went and looked at it last weekend and went back and got it yesterday. The boat it was on was trash, but when I lifted the cowling everything underneath looked great....no signs of corrosion at all. The engine was covered with the cowling on.

The only things besides the motor that made the trip back were the throttle and shifter cables. I left the wiring harness behind thinking it would need a new one anyway.

Once I get a harness what procedures should I go through to see if this motor will crank or even turn? Starting fluid? Take the plugs out and put in some oil? I will need to get a new ignition, so once the harness is on and the ignition is connected and the cables to the binnacle, should I just be able to hook a battery up, put some water through it and see if it cranks? What order would you guys that have done this for a while follow? I know it's been a couple of years since it was cranked. Would you just take it to a shop and let them see?

Any suggestions will help....Thanks, Eric

 

[jimg984]

Re: Need help getting started

you should have got everything,, control box [shifter] and all wiring and then decide what needs replacing, would be alot cheaper, hard to think wiring for that year is beyond using,,,, sounds like part of the story is missing

 

[ericlcarter1]

Re: Need help getting started

It's not stolen if that's where this is going. My boat's shifter is side mounted, and this motor came off of a center console. I unplugged the harness at the motor and started tracing back through the boat and seriously doubt I could have got it out in usable shape. Maybe that was a rookie and expensive mistake on my part, but the shifter was busted up and didn't look usable anyway. There's no part of the story missing.....I took someone up on an offer to get get the motor off a boat that was no longer needed or usable.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Need help getting started

Eric, If you could get the plug that fits the motor, you could make a new harness for a few bucks.

First test, remove spark plugs and turn motor over by hand. Is it smooth? Second test, spray some oil into cylinders. Install spark plugs into their wires. Tape each bank of plugs together and ground them to block. Put compression gauge on each cylinder, connect battery to cables and jumper solenoid to crank motor. Perform compression test and note results.

Third test, put timing light on each spark plug, crank the motor and see if all have spark.

If all tests are good, and compression is 100+PSI and within 15% of each other, connect a flusher and some 50::1 premix fuel, turn on the water, activate the enrichener with the manual button and crank her and see if she starts. Watch to see that she doesn't overrev, or overheat.

Report back on results.