What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

[stratodoc]

Thanks for your help. Serial number is: 6570840. The lower unit also has a number: 4 93488 (found in a silver oval). Speaking of lower unit, there is what appears to be a black rubber tube coming out of the lower unit with a plug in it. What is this for? Thanks again.<br /><br />G

 

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Hi Stratodoc! That looks like an 84. I have a very similar engine (85). I'm just learning about it but feel free to ask any questions. By the way if you want to know how I got the year, check:<br /><br /> http://www.marineparts.com/partspages/techhelp/TECH15.HTM <br /><br />I just had a run in with that black tube today. It was kind of hard to remove from the double sided barbed fitting. The only reference I could find in the book was that it was a speedo or tach tube.

 

[stratodoc]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Hey thanks Merc90 newbie. Looks like we have the same boat too (mine: '86 16 foot Glastron bowrider). I don't see a rating plate on my glastron. Any idea where yours is? My Merc runs great once it gets going. I still believe I am not getting enough electric power to the starter. She'll turn all day until the Merc starts to kick. Then the starter disengages and it acts like a car with weak battery or bad solenoid. Any ideas? Thanks.<br /><br />G

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

What do your '84-85's look like.<br />What colour bands on the cowling ?<br />Dk/Lt Blue band /white text" <br />"" "" /silver text<br />Red or brown band ??<br />This is mine.. @80-81 Australian S/N<br /> http://www.myfishingpictures.com/img/003654.jpg

 

[stratodoc]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

My '84 has a brown band and (I believe) white text.<br /><br />G

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

last Blueband was made in 1984..<br />So I reckon your about right with year.<br />Is the battery fully charged ?<br />Put it on a slow trickle overnight to get it up to 12+ volts.

 

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Strato: Wow, very similar setups! I like this boat a lot. How long have you had yours? Can I ask what you paid for it?<br />I found the rating plate on the side of the port console, just under where the (step through) windshield is. You can see it from where you are driving. I can snap a picture if you want.<br />Sounds like an odd problem- you say the starter turns the engine over OK until the motor tries to start, then the starter gives up? I would agree with unicorn to check the battery condition, or temporarily swap your car battery in to see if that works.<br /><br />PS did you get the Glasstron with a matched trailer? Supposedly mine was a package deal (when new). However I read that the stern shouldn't overhang the trailer bunks, not even by 1/4"....and mine does. <br /><br />Unicorn: I will take a better picture and post it for you to see. This picture is pretty small:<br /><br /> http://www.freepicturehosting.com/g/123917_1.jpg <br /><br />I am still conused about this 'color band' thing. Everyone seems to want to know your serial number in order to tell you about your motor. But sometimes someone asks for the band color? On mine you can see a thin white pinstripe at the top and bottom of the cowling, then the text "MERCURY" is white (though it could be a sun bleached tan?) over bands of color that are tan and maroon. Then the exhaust area has some more tan/maroon bands with the text '90'.<br />PS that's a beautiful boat you've got. I already want a sleeper cabin and a few have popped up for sale around here. I think I better learn more first though (oh yeah and there's the little matter of being broke

 

[stratodoc]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Great boat Unicorn. I put a trickle charger on the battery and it has a full charge. The battery is only a month old as well. As far as the choke/fuel enricher, I hear a click from dash when I push in the key, but the fuel bulb never goes soft. When I remove the cowl and push the button, the bulb goes soft and she is ready to fire. This last step has been intermittant however. I know if I don't get that rush of fuel she will turn over all day and not fire. When she starts to kick, the starter gets weak. This occurs no matter how much throttle is applied. I cleaned contacts at battery. Bad wires? Bad solenoid? Bad starter? <br /><br />Merc90Newbie: Bought my boat two weeks ago from someone I work with. $1500 with shore land'r trailer. Boat was never in salt water. Bunks go past transom (They're a bit rotted). No plate to be found anywhere. The closest boat from the Glastron site is the SSV-167. They show it to be rated at 120 HP. What is your boat rated for? I was thinking about a kicker motor. Where can you put it? (narrow transom). Do you think 5 HP is enough? The Briggs and Stratton 5HP is interesting. Any opinions? Thanks.

 

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Hi Strato!<br />I paid the same for mine I dont know what the boat is rated for. If it says on the CG rating plate I will check next time I have the cover off. Not sure about a kicker, it never really occured to me, would be nice to have a backup to get back to the dock in case the main engine goes. Are you going to buy new? Aren't new engines really expensive, even small ones?

 

[skier]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Hello guys:<br /><br />What years are your boats? I have a 1996 Glastron GS160 and it is rated for a 120hp. I have a 1979 Mercury 140hp outboard. Mine is rated at the powerhead, yours are rated at the prop. Mine is about 126hp at the prop (If the 140hp rating is correct) Mercury was known for under-rating their motors. I have a 17p prop on mine and at sea-level, I can go over 50 at 6000 rpm's, and pull 3 adults on single skis. I have had 5 adults in my boat and each were over 200, plus all the normal crap and she still jumped up on a plane.<br /><br />As for your problem starting your 90. This is the way to start ALL Mercury outboards (Prior to the fuel injected)<br /><br />Pump bulb till hard.<br />Advance throttle about 1/4 (Or lift cold start lever (Older controls)).<br />Turn key and push for choke (Push choke button (Older controls)) and hold (The choke does nothing but flip a cover over 2 of the carb throats. It doesn't prime or send any fuel into the motor.<br />Turn key and crank until it fires, then let go of key and choke.<br /><br /> This works every time. I only had a motor flood once .<br /><br />If you can send me a picture or 2 of your boats, I can send a few of mine back. My address is skier@p2kisp.com<br /><br />Thanks.<br /><br />Craig

 

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Strato I forgot to take a picture of the rating plate for you but I will do it tonight. I believe it says max load 6 people or 800 lbs. I don't recall what the max HP rating was.<br /><br />PS what is Glasstron's website? I can't find it.<br /><br />But I did look it up on NADAguides.com. The only ones that look close are the Conroy Z16 or the X16. The Z16 is not listed with a default engine (Used retail about $1000 with no options, 750 lbs net weight), and the X16 is listed with a 120HP engine as default (Used retail about $2100 with no options but obviosuly includes 120HP motor of some kind) It is listed as 725 lbs net weight which must be minus motor!<br /><br />Mine has the model name on a sticker on the steering wheel, but I can't remember what it is right now! I will check that tonight too.<br /><br />As for the motor, NADA lists two 1985 Mercury 90s:<br />The 90EL which has no power trim, and the 90ELPT which does. It lists the 90ELPT 315 lbs dry weight, electric start, 6 cyl, $667 average used retail price (seems pretty low to me)<br /><br />I misspoke above, I said I paid the same but I actually paid $1800 with trailer. Even so, I consider it a deal because around here boats go for a huge premium (not sure why). You should have seen some of the crap we were seeing in this price range! (until we found this boat I bet if you brought that boat out here you could sell it for over $2k within a weekend.<br /><br />Ok some questions for you: Do you have a long narrow hatch between the two console seats? Lots of water seems to collect in there. Does this area proceed aft and connect to the bilge area in the rear of the boat? <br /><br />Did you get anywhere with the starting problems? I heave read elsewhere on theboard that the straight sixes are a bit hard to start. I have had the same experience at the dock, needs a bit of cranking to get going. I was pretty happy the day I dicovered the "throttle" button that disengages the shifter But seriously, if this motor is new to you it might be just that you have to get used to it. I had a two stroke ATV that I would pull and pull and pull on the recoil starter, It took me 15-30 mins to get it started, if I could even get it started at all, and I was too exhausted to ride it after that! I cleaned the carb and kept tinkering with the settings but after messing with it so long I learned what it likes and how to start it. Where to set the choke, how much gas to give it and when, etc. Now, would you believe, it starts up the FIRST PULL every time I go out to it. If it's been sitting for over a month it might take two pulls, but the point is I had to get used to it's quirks. It might not be the case here but I have found that to be true with a lot of the 2 stroke engines I have worked with. Just my 2 cents.<br /><br />Merc140: My boat and motor are both 85 as far as I can figure out. I have to believe what's on the registration because it doesn't say on the boat anywhere

 

[stratodoc]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Hello Merc90newbie. I was away boating for awhile. My glastron does have that wood covered ski locker between the seats. There is a tube that connects this area to the back bilge area. It stays reasonably dry. I keep tow ropes and ski stuff there. I was checking out the classic glastron site-good stuff there (I think it's classicglastrons.com) If I'm wrong let me know. <br /> <br /> The starting problems did continue while away. At one point I was stuck for about an hour. It would take about an hour to cold start in general. I did find an odd solution however. I was following the standard starting procedure and found the choke/enrichener valve seemed to work intermittantly. <br /> I found that if I raised the bulb and fuel line after pushing the key in (at about a 45 degree angle), I would get that familiar rush of fuel and the bulb would go soft. After pumping the bulb back up, she would run all day. If I don't raise the bulb, it stays firm and never gets that rush of fuel. It will then run for awhile and then stall out. <br /> Maybe this is my motors's quirk or maybe I have a bad fuel line. Either way it seems to be working now. <br /> My uncle gave me an old Evinrude 2 horse outboard. I was trying to figure a way to attach the motor onto the glastron. It's not much, but the price was right. I'll let you know how it works out.<br /><br />G

 

[Merc90HPnewbie]

Re: What year is my 90 hp inline 6 Merc?

Thanks for the websites. I wasn't finding them because I was stupidly spelling Glastron with two S's! Anyway I had a bit of the same starting problem you did the last time I was out; the starter would kick over the engine once or twice and then disengage (I heard it spinning). It was tough to get the engine started this way as it would only really crank for a second or so. But fortunatley I have a strong battery so after a few minutes it was started. I have no idea what the problem is... I will go out this weekend again and see if I have the same trouble.<br /><br />PS what is your RPM reading at WOT?