This channel is mostly about repairing old outboard motors and once in a while tools and other mechanical equipment. I wanted to create a channel that provides people information about how I find and fix these motors, showing that if I can do it anyone can.
I have also decided to open my garage to repairing other peoples boat motors as a side job after work, so as people bring me their motors and sometimes motors attached to their boats you can watch me diagnose and make repairs.
Also I live to fish and at times I’ll be taking a break from working on motors in order to fish the Great Lakes of Michigan and surrounding waterways. So come along with me and we can enjoy life, working and sometimes relaxing to enjoy boating and fishing in Michigan.
There isn't any shift linkage. The only thing you disconnect is the shift cable. It's the electrical cable that connects with blade connectors (green and blue) from the base of the powerhead and runs down inside the leg shroud and into the gearcase.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepairgot mine is a 1969 Johnson w no glide shift wire just a metal linkage that has to be unscrewed to let the lower unit drop. One more question, how do you line up the copper water pipes as you put the unit back on with the rubber “holes” they go into? Just trial and error hoping they line up? One of mine came down w the lower unit and one stayed up in her upper… In every video I see online they never show the water tubes or then getting them back in the holes when putting them back.
I have a 1975 Merc Outboard 2 stroke four cyl 50hp. It has a Mercury 333-3213A3 ignition switch, which the mechanic said went bad (the boat wouldn't start). I can't find an off-brand (new version replacement) for this. 2 or 3 original styles are available for 450 USD +... i already bought 2 for close to a hundred... Does anybody know if this ignition box only deals with the boat starting? I ask because after one company never shipped me a used replacement, another one did and mechanic installed it. My issue before the replacement was boat wouldnt turn over. Now, with used replacement, boat starts, but its idling really fast (in forward and neutral), and when i give throttle on the controls, boat only goes a touch faster and maxes out just a touch mlre than trolling speed. REALLY SLOW. Feels like I have a 4hp motor insteaf of a 50hp. My mechanic thinks there's something to do with the ignition switch box and timing in the way that the motor is running really bad and revving really high. But I was thinking this ignition box only took care of ignition and not the way the motor runs once the boat is started. I'm now trying to find yet another ignition switch box in case the one that I got in is defective in a different way. Even though my boat is now starting, something is really wrong with it. Plus, oil is dripping from the bottom of my propeller now into a little pail since using the boat for the first time yesterday. If anybody knows I would appreciate any help I can get cuz I buried so much money into this old motor I'm losing my mind. Ps - i can't find a replacement for my model. Thanks for your time!
Start with the basics. Do you have good spark on all 4 cylinders? What is your Compression values on each cylinder? The oil may be coming from unburned fuel out the exhaust. This means you may be lacking spark on 1 or more cylinders. Give it the sniff test and see if the oil smells like fuel if not check your lower unit to see if you have water intrusion if not then back to a missing cylinder. If all that checks out ok then you may have a fuel delivery problem. Carbs, Fuel Pump, Fuel Line, Primer Bulb and make sure you vent your gas tank too.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair appreciate the reply! Although I understand the items you mentioned, I don't understand how to do most of these tests myself . I had my boat for a month at the mechanic and it's a long story but he said everything it's fine but he thinks I need another ignition switch. I find that weird because the boat seems to fire up no problem, but doesn't go much faster than idling and forward my hunch feels like it's a fuel issue but he claims it's not. So I figured I would ask around on RU-vid if anybody has ever seen the ignition switch box, affect how the motor runs with the throttle
@@mikecorazza the motor should run with the throttle cable disconnected. If you can throttle it up normally with it disconnected then you know something is wrong with the control box or throttle cable. The ignition switch only controls power to the starter. Once the motor is running the stator provides power to the motor.
@LivetofishOutboardRepair appreciate the reply. I'm not a boat mechanic and embarrassingly, I'm not sure where stator is located? It's not in the ignition box on the 1975 merc? I just heard from somebody that the 1975 merc was the only year this was made, and that the ignition switch box was notorious for issues. In any event, since replacing my original ignition box with a used one off Ebay, motor went from not starting at all to motor now starts instantly after turning key, but a) idles super loud, and when I put it in gear (forward), it trolls much faster in fwd gear (pre throttle) than before as well. So you're thinking the ignition box is OK if motor is starting OK? The moment I give throttle, motor only speeds up a tad more, then either does nothing, or bogs down then cuts out. I figured maybe fuel wasn't getting into the system but mechanic checked everything with that, also replaced fuel pump. Where would stator be? Thanks !
@@mikecorazza The stator is located under the flywheel and connects to the switchbox. My video shows how to check peak voltage readings and resistances for the Stator, Trigger and Switchbox. If these values are not within specification will cause running issues or even a no start condition as you have stated. If you now have a good strong spark at each spark plug then I would be looking at your carbs as the problem.
I have to say I really REALLY miss my Johnson motor from my previous boat. This old Mercury Thunderbolt thats on my current boat is an absolute nightmare to work on. Just a simple carb removal is an all day venture full of sinful language and blasphemous rage.
I am being constructive here, i'm sure someone already mentioned this but the elbow was in the way but very glad you said which direction. I'm not a youtube fanatic but found your video useful in determining my mercury 20hp, for that I thank you and give you the good old thumbs up. I completely understand your dilemma. your trying to fix the motor and forget the camera isn't seeing things through your eyes as you are. again, thank you and got your thumb up buddy. Appreciate the help you did here! (edited) Sorry I see several folks mentioned the elbow and really don't want to irritate an already vamped topic) Sorry for that, but kudos and thank you again for your help, what people forget as I did, its been mentioned and no use beating a dead cat! You made this video to help us newbies and thank you thank you!)
I need to replace all the fuel hoses and fuel pump. I can run WOT fine but can’t idle. I have to start up and quickly put the high idle on and then get in gear or it does. I’ve traced it to not getting fuel. This looks like a miserable removal process to take the front pieces off!
I have a 1997 mariner 200 efi. Plugs have no spark on starboard side. Boat ran great before pressure washing out the boat and battery compartment. Water in kill switch ? Shorted something out ?
Wonder why switchbox failed. Bad coils will damage seitchbox. You dhould replace every coil before sttaching a new switchbox. Otherwise the new switchbox will fail very much the same as the old one.
I suppose the switchbox failed from the owner overheating the motor. I have never heard until now that coils can damage a switchbox. Thanks for watching and commenting.
@LivetofishOutboardRepair I think that coils are very delicate devices. Thoy will not handle vibrations forever. They are very difficult to be tested unless you have a good inductometer available. The secondary winding inside is very easy to be checked with a simple ohmeter and I have never seen any reading too far away from 1,000 ohms. On the other hand I have measured very low inductances (and very low impedances) at 120Hz, which is a frequency close to the maximum rpm which is limited to 6,000. A too low inductance, and impedance, on the primary circuit may overload the limits of any switch box. Two day ago I had the opportunity of measuring a dozen of coils. I found incredibly low values from 0.9 to 0.2 mH while I have read that a good coil may have an inductance as high as 8 mH. I do think that all 12 coils were bad. All these 12 coils were sparking alright because the ratio between primary and secondary was higher than ever. The number of turns of a new coil at the primary might be only 100 or 200 turns of thick wire and more than 20,000 turns of a much thinner wire sit inside at the secondary. A bad coil, an old one having suffered lots of vibrations for too many hours during several years, might get very many turns in shortcircuit at the primary winding. The lower the number of working turns at the primary the higher is the voltage at the secondary, assuming that the switchbox can handle 20 or 30 ampere of current instead of only 5 or 10 amps. Replacement of all coils every so often is.... mandatory, just to avoid the switchboxes to fail. In fact I do think that all coils AND switchboxes should be replaced every 500 hours or every 5 years... just in case! All old bad coils wouldn't avoid the engine to bring us back to the shore at very low rpms, but a single bad coil is able to kill the switchbox, which in turn might overheat the engine up to the point of having to buy a new engine!
@josemariatrueba4568 I've owned my Boston Whaler now for over 20 yrs with the original 115 hp Mercury and have only ever replaced the spark plugs and water pump impeller. I must be very lucky.
I guess you meant 20 years not 20 hrs. Not carbonated calcium deposits nor salt clogged the internal passages? Your poppet valve diaphragm still alive? You are not only lucky, you probably know how to take good care and never overheated your engine. Mine is a Pursuit 2550 with a single 1997 Mercury 135 v6 2.0. It used to have two of them, cw on starboard and ccw on port, but the later got completely destroyed from running a new set of three pairs of carburators because one of the 6 bowls didn't get any gasoline and one cylinder didn't survive running with no oil. The starboard engine has been reinstalled amidship and is powerful enough to get more than 25 knots the 3000 pound hull plus the 200 gallon tank half empty plenty of stuff, a 9.9 hp auxiliary 4 stroke and 6 persons onboard. It gets too hot after a couple of minutes. I'm sure that the passages are full of salt because we the broken engine looks terribly dirty inside. @LivetofishOutboardRepair
I have this same motor and I’m struggling with the link and sync. Right now my engine idles fine but the carbs are only about 70% open when I’m at WOT. When I push the throttle to WOT and adjust the throttle link rod so the carbs open completely, when I bring the throttle back to neutral, the throttle cam is lower than it should be and the line is below the center of the roller. What am I doing wrong? The carb linkage tie bar has been adjusted and the carbs all open simultaneously. The throttle stop screw is adjusted so the throttle valves are fully closed at idle. If I adjust the throttle cam so it contacts the center of the throttle cam roller, then I have to decrease the length of the throttle link rod, and then the carbs don’t open completely at WOT. Is there an additional adjustment I need to make to my throttle to make it all synced and open completely at WOT?
As long as the throttle closes completely and are fully open at WOT. I wouldn't get hung up to much on where the line contacts the roller as long as it idles good and reaches full throttle.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair I adjusted the throttle link rod so the carbs were all the way open with the throttle at WOT. Then I pulled the throttle back to neutral and pushed it back to WOT again, and the carbs only open halfway. It seems like something is slipping and the problem isn’t actually the link and sync. Any ideas?
Can you tell me overall from end to end how long the plunger and plastic part for the choke is? I have 2 that are broken and trying to repair them but need to know the overall needed length please.
I have a 115 hp mariner 1989. My readings between the stator blue to blue white was 8.50 x 1000 and my manual calls for 6.0 to 7.0 x 1000. Is that too high and i need a new stator? Btw. Great video.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair I have the flywheel off and wanted to ask before I put it back together and test voltage. So now I will do that and check the switch box as well. Thank you for a quick response. I will let you know what happens.
Very similar to the ol' girl I just got but mine's a 9.8 and I believe a '77 or '78. I'm curious, one of the wires on the CDI is a bit burnt up so I'm going to change the CDI for a new one, what could be a probable cause for the wire going to the bottom connection for the lower cylinder becoming burnt? Thank you for the video, I learned a lot from watching
Maybe the wire was to close to the hot exhaust gases from a leaking gasket. It's very hard to say. Good luck with your motor. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hi, I have a 40 hp mercury classic I believe it’s a 1989-97 platform. Do these engines have air intake boxes? I have been told that there is supposed to be an air box between the carburetors and the oiler jug but mine doesn’t have one.
I have a 1964 Johnson 75hp V4. Diagnosing a fuel issue and believe it’s the pump. The smaller spring within the fuel pump is “falling” into the hole and sitting flush with the internal body. It appears as though yours is raised above the hole, and the cap sits atop of it. Could this mean I have the wrong spring or faulty spring in my unit?
Great tutorial!! So I have 1987 mercury classic 50 2 stroke 4 cylinder.. I bought the boat a few years back and noticed wasn’t raising like it should /was working fine. So figured I needed to top the fluid off .. well, I made a rookie mistake and added the quicksilver power trim fluid /blue label. Gentlemen at the marine store told me this is what I needed I noticed that the fluid was red in the system and still proceeded to fill with the new fluid /I noticed was clear/. Still worked but progressively got worse. I know ,o messed up!! So my question to you how to drain the system completely. Do I open or take out the manual relief screw lift the motor and let it fall pushing fluid out the valve?? 2nd question, I noticed u used ATF to fill Just making sure I fill it with the correct fluids this time🤦🏼♂️ Thank you, I hope to hear from you. Your video has been more helpful to me than any other I’ve seen!!
Great tutorial!! So I have 1987 mercury classic 50 2 stroke 4 cylinder.. I bought the boat a few years back and noticed wasn’t raising like it should /was working fine. So figured I needed to top the fluid off .. well, I made a rookie mistake and added the quicksilver power trim fluid /blue label. Gentlemen at the marine store told me this is what I needed I noticed that the fluid was red in the system and still proceeded to fill with the new fluid /I noticed was clear/. Still worked but progressively got worse. I know ,o messed up!! So my question to you how to drain the system completely. Do I open or take out the manual relief screw lift the motor and let it fall pushing fluid out the valve?? 2nd question, I noticed u used ATF to fill Just making sure I fill it with the correct fluids this time🤦🏼♂️ Thank you, I hope to hear from you. Your video has been more helpful to me than any other I’ve seen!!
Yes, lifting the leg and allowing it to drop using the relief valve will purge the air out of the system but be patient because it will take some time to get it all. You should be able to completely remove the relief valve to drain most of the fluid quickly. Also I used ATF synthetic trans fluid which worked well. Mixing the two different fluids may have been causing your problem. Taking off the motor allowed me to remove all of the fluid, clean and replace with ATF.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair Thank you very much much for a response !! I will be working on this today !! As of right now it goes up but very very slow , also it sounds like it’s whining. Is it possible I also could use a pump motor
@@sxcrdsplit8937 it will go up slow until you get the air out of the system. The high pitch whining sound is from to much air and maybe not enough fluid. Keep bleeding the system until the lifting speed increases and the whining improves.
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair so I’ve the motor all the way up and I was turning the relief screw and I got a few drops to come out. It seemed like the screw was not made to come all the way out so I was afraid to keep going with it! Although I seen I your video u had it all the way. So I tightened it again and cracked it until the motor slowly fell, trying to bleed air. It didn’t want to go back up afterwards. Should I just back the screw off until drips very slowly and let motor fall and push fluid out and repeat and much as necessary? Thank you
Only once you have the proper amount of fluid raise the LU with the motor, Crack the relief valve and let gravity do the rest this will bleed the air out. Taking the relief valve all the way out will drain the fluid quickly. The relief valve has two o-rings to overcome to pull it out completely. The inner o-ring seals the oil and the outer o-ring allows air out
The motor didn't have a problem shifting into neutral. It was stalling out when Shifting into forward and reverse because the tank was to small causing the prop to hit the tank which caused the stalling. Thanks for watching!!!
@@LivetofishOutboardRepair i got mine 1969 running by watching your videos . I rebuilt the lower unit and used type C. But for some reason i cant get into neutral it will shift into reverse and forward but not neutral. I was trying to avoid dropping the lower unit again Thanks anyway
Type "C" is no longer available. It's been replaced by "Johnson Premium Blend". It sounds like you have a solenoid not working. If you lose the function of one solenoid it will not shift into neutral. If both solenoids stop working it will default into forward gear.
I have a 1978 model 200 20hp with electric start. I was wondering if your twist throttle springs back to an idle if you let go? Mine does not and I don’t see how it would be able to in these years. Thanks!
Hello! I would like your help.I have a mercury 40 2t classic 1993 I have two questions, does it have a thermostat? And in case the impeller doesn't work could I set an alert to see it before the engine starts? Thank you!
I would need to have the model number to see if it has a tt. The only way to tell if the water pump is working is if water is coming out the telltale. If not it's either plugged up or the impeller is worn out.
So I also have a bad CDI all my wires are very corroded. I know this was an older video, I tried to look for CDI on eBay looks like you can buy them for around $50.00 idk if they are that cheap because they are aftermarket?
You probably already have your pressure washer fixed by now, BUT OK! Yes i have a TroyBuilt i bought Refurbished from Sears in 2010 AND IT HAS BEEN A GREAT MACHINE!!! Well last year it just went KA PUT on a job i had to finish, So i figured it was time to R & R the pump. When i took the pump off i quickly discovered there was a problem THERE WAS NO KEY. so i figured just go to ACE HARDWARE and pickup a small 1/4 inch X 1/4 inch key square stock, Well when i went to install it the pump STILL turned and was DEFINITELY not ENGAGING with the engine. I was stumped for about 1/2hr. when i finally RELIESED that one side (that engages engine to the pump) HAD TO BE LONGER/THICKER by about 1/16 of an inch to 1/8 of an inch. So i grabbed my mig welder and piled on the material (VERY CAREFULLY) then when i was done i grinded the taller side of the key flat and installed on the shaft, BUTT the key would NOT SIT still when i wanted to install the pump on the engine shaft SO i tack welded the key on the engine shaft. aaaaannnd WA LA the pressure washer finished the job!! and has worked ever since. PRAISE BE TO GOD!!
If you get a chance, or even want to, I got this, no DVA tester, just an old fluke multi-meter; Testing the Stator; Rd/wht to Rd : 67.5 ohms Blu/wht to Blu: 7460 ohms Rd/wht to Rd; 21.86 volts AC while turning over Blu/wht to Blu; 253 volts AC while turning over Trigger wiring; White to Purple; 846 ohms (while disconnected from switchbox) Why w/blck to Brown 850 ohms (also disconnected from switchbox) All connections to ground were "OL" or 0 ohms. Blue wire on right side to white on left side; 300 volts Blue on right to ground 136 volts Red to Blue 112 volts Red to Ground 25 volts Since I don't have a "DVA" tester, not sure I can trust my results for the rest of the test...It may be my next purchase. Thanks for all the help livetofish Outboard Repair!
