I picked up this late 90s mercury 5hp outboard at a yard sale a few summers ago, the owner said he has tried to repair it more times then he wants to admit. well now it is our time to see what is wrong with it and can it be fixed?
Except he's wrong about the remote tank valve leak. It would not suck air, unless the fuel select valve was very restricted, because the on board tank is mounted high up and would gravity feed, and probably be prevented from leaking fuel out by the one way valve, and the select valve both, so I doubt a leak at the remote fuel line disconnect valve would cause an air bleed when set properly for on board tank operation, though it would likely cause an air bleed during remote tank operation, at least if it's external to the valve. So I think either the loose jet and/or dirty selector valve were the active causes of the problems; not so much the remote tank valve leak. It's a cracked plastic valve, and it might only cause an air bleed problem during remote fuel tank operation and even then, probably only at speed. The crack should not interfere with on board tank operation unless there was also a problem with the fuel select valve, which there was.
@@alan6832 I agree with you for the most part, but the select valve WAS restricted (you saw him pulling out the "bugs"), and from my experience, the teensiest of air leaks on the intake side of a 2 stroke is lumpy running at best, and / or not running at all. Even the fact that he investigated to the level of removing they whole fuel pipe assembly says that his nose told him that it was fuel, and the carb already looked to clean to have caused much*. *Notwithstanding the original owner's half assed reassembly, which he already knew wouldn't help, he also knew that all happened because they had been investigating why it was running so badly. But I hear what you're saying.
On water pumps, I used a Mercury/force/Chrysler 15 where the rubber water pump passed static and low speed piss tests, but still overheated and blew the head gasket at high speed because the placement of the water intakes, far back on the lower unit, created a high speed vacuum at the intakes which the old water pump could not overcome at high speed, but could pass tests at low speed. so watch out for those and look back even at high speed to check that piss trail, which needs to be aimed out to one side so you can do that. However this engine was a true Mercury, not the merger induced Mercury/Force/Chrysler hybrid model.
That's why this man has my vote. His forensic anylisis and step by step thought process makes for a very entertaining video. Mustie then modifies these machines to bypass the offending problem. Would like him on my side after Armageddon .
I wonder if the Houthi rebels or Somali pirates have troubles with cracked and clogged fuel valves? or they were involved in the problems with the Gaza pier? Fuel tank crud did help sink the Bounty replica in that hurricane.
@@k1ckyscotland988do that and you’re liable to be given a glass of “special” punch by a nice fellow from Boeing’s secret corporate image protection department.
Yes,but look at the Bad Man Orange wailing about 34 Felony Convictions waaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh= Isn't that a great thing for America and Justice ?
I tell you what I love is how respectful you are of previous owners bodges or mistakes. I can imagine that a lot of this stuff is picked up reasonably locally and many will be channel subscribers.. who amongst us has bodged a gasket or used some random bit of wire to get something running, never believing that it would be exposed to 250k views in the internet
When you finally think you get a fun day at the lake , and then the darn outboard won't run .. or keeps stalling.. it's hard to be very analytical about anything. It's much easier to be patient and detail oriented if you know that there is a strange issue somewhere , you have nothing else going on that day and you can take your time looking things over in the comfort of your workshop.
Random memory - I was 12 and was trying to figure out how to stop a rototiller motor. I had started it so it would climb the hill out to the barn itself, saving me muscling it. I had the bright idea to yank the plug wire off the sparkplug. On the upside, it worked. On the downside, it took 10 or 15 minutes to get feeling back in my arm. This taught me never to start a motor without knowing how to stop it. And I avoided that tiller.
That's funny shit, when my brother was little he asked me how to shut off the lawn mower, naturally I told him to pull off the spark plug wire, he's now 57 and brings it up almost annually. I think I left him a lasting impression 😅
The crack did not interfere with on board tank operation though, that was either the crud in the fuel selector valve or the loose jet. The crack induced air bleed might only cause a problem for remote tank operation.
@@alan6832 The crack would cause a problem either way. The valve isn't a tank selector, it just disables the internal tank --- the line to the remote tank is always in the circuit.
Yeah, but I must say,... it's really hard to cat shit if you don't fully know what you're looking at ! But because you are so knowledgeable,...you were able to cat shit !!!
Jeez Mustie, you took me back to my childhood! My grandfather carried one of these Mercury 5hp during the 80's and 90's in the trunk of his Pontiac Parisienne. We would go fishing together , and he was getting old so I used to carry it for him and fit it on the boat, with pride! Thank you so much for this video, it meant a lot - funny how something as simple as an outboard motor can bring feelings back in bucket fulls. We lived not far from you, in Quebec ( Eastern Townships - Sherbrooke) Canada.
@@russoley8995 Mustie1 has lots of practice with engines in general. Although not a specialist, he did figure out why this motor was not working correctly for the previous owner... and by the video end, the engine ran normally. This channel is popular because it's like watching the neighborhood handyman.
This reminds me of a boater's flea market at a yacht club. I went over, guy had an older inflatable with a wooden floor and a 2 hp suzuki. "motor won't run, you're just paying for the boat" wanted $300 I gave him 2, threw it in my truck went back to my dock/marina. Ok, these things won't run due to fuel or spark. Check got spark. Check no fuel. What's this knob do? unscrew unscrew whoop, that's the fuel filter. Brass. Totally plugged with rust and debris. Took it out cleaned it up with a toothbrush, went to the marina fuel dock and got 2 1/2 gals of gas and 2 stroke oil, mixed it up, filled it up, pulled BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Put it on the back of the boat, puttered over to the yacht club, waved at the guy who sold it. Total time: 35 mins. OH man he was pissed. My buddy belonged to that yacht club and he raged about it all summer. See, the motor and inflatable would usually sell for $800 to $1000.
Great video, I have the same outboard and have had the entire thing apart to fix as well. That 50:1 pre mix oil from the store is really rated for air cooled engines and not water cooled outboards. The air cooled engines get much hotter so the oil is rated to burn off at a much higher temp. That's why you are seeing all of the oil goobers in the water drum. Outboard oil is TCW3 which is rated to burn off at a lower temp, and burn cleaner at a lower temp. Not a big deal for your bench testing but long term, it would carbon up the engine and foul the plug. I also found that I could not get 100% power from my outboard when using that pre-mix oil. I played with the carb over and over, and then learned that the premix stuff actually has less BTU than pump gas, as other people had performance issues with lawn equipment not getting full power as well. Change the water pump, hit the grease fittings and you are ready to go!
I’ve seen the reviews of the pre-mix as well, sadly after I purchased a gallon of it. Most of the small engine repair channels on YT don’t recommend it.
@@jacquejecker4435 yes, I saw the Chickanic video about Truefuel. I had previously seen ‘Taryl’s’ video where he was testing fuel additives over the course of a year and was surprised at how cleanly Truefuel burned. I went out and bought some, then saw Chickanic’s video, and never used it…..
There's lots of "one-man repair shows" out there and they're trying to film with one hand and wrench with the other. They SUCK, but many many thanks for Mustie's tripod *and steady hand when he is holding the camera. The videography is astoundingly intuitive here, in each and every video. Camera always where it needs to be, and good lighting
It has always astounded me how such a gifted mechanic is also as equally a gifted videographer. The presentation is sometimes like looking through a microscope and sometimes so seamless you can forget that you are not actually in New Hampshire wrenching with Mustie1.
Mustie1, the first video of yours I watched was an outboard video. I was hooked immediately and have since watched every video in your catalog. My wife and I love Sunday mornings hanging out in the garage with Mustie!!
Morning from MN guys! Love how the seller was super honest about it! Mustie has it! 30 in and he catches a cracked fuel valve.. thats why hes the best boys!
for most people the day has just started, for me these videos always come after Sunday dinnertime with a coffee and it just doesn't get any better than that. Greetings from Jakarta Indonesia. Have a great (Sun)day all. Lovely video on this outboard, it is always all about the little details.
In my experience outboard motors either always work or are a terrible cause of endless problems. I especially remember an incident that happened when I was a kid, no more than three possibly four years old. It was summer and my parents always took their bout out for four weeks during vacation. It was a sail boat but dad had bought a decent outboarder for when needed. At the time I'm thinking of we were following a shipping lane on the chart when it got foggy and the wind stilled. We were in the middle of the lane and not moving anywhere. My father prepared the outboarder when we suddenly heard a foghorn from a cruise ship. Now these were up to a hundred meters long and well they followed their route or risked going to ground just about anywhere. So well we were in it's path. My father spent a long time trying to get that outboarder to start. When he finally got it running and got us out of the shipping lane we were passed by that huge ship uncomfortably close. I was happily unaware of the real danger and just sat there watching dad and learning sever new and interesting words. It was also the thing that caused him to look for a more reliable outboard engine. The old one was sold to a friend who used it for parts, the new one was a total different machine always starting when needed. Now the only one i have looked at more closely was a real ancient deal, a Seagull. It's extremely primitive but also extremely reliable. I still have it even though I no longer have a boat to hang it on.
Absolutely loved the bit where you sort of did the inside out motorboat! Never seen a running outboard in water moving across land! You kind of made the whole world the boat, and the bucket the ocean!
Purchased an outboard in a similar way when I was a teen. Neighbor had it for listed $15 said if you want to carry it home it's yours. 1970's air cooled Sears 5hp. Ran everytime except on the lake. Ran it an hour straight in the trash can on the dock. Shut it down, put it in the boat starts on the first pull then dies with in a minute and never restarted. Put it back in the can, by the forth pull was running like nothing happened.
Nope, spent a good month of tinkering on it. Was going to attempt to swap the crank into another Tecumseh, but ended up getting knocked off the bench and breaking off the skeg and cracking the foot through to the gear case. Gave it to another neighbor for parts. Rowed myself for the next 5yrs.
I'd be the first to admit I know nothing about outboards so I'm getting another cup of coffee and getting ready to be schooled. Greetings from North Carolina!
I too know nothing about boats or their means of propulsion. Hello from Strathclyde in Central Scotland,as far away from the sea as it's possible to get in Scotland. Quite happy about that,the sea is full of stingy bitey things and we have no business being in it.
As a former rowing coach, these motors allowed keeping up with crews as they did their miles. Most of the miles were on the Merrimack from Pawtucket falls up to Merrimack, NH.
Another success. Yay! I started watching your channel many years ago when a VW video caught my eye and have watched every video since then. I appreciate the work involved in making the videos for all of us Mustonians! Thanks!
That reminds me of the time I was riding my 400 kawi triple to work and it started to run poorly. I pulled over, checked a few things, and then pulled the left carb float bowl to check for fuel, then proceeded to dump the contents down the gutter. I then realized that the main jet for that carb was missing! I had dumped it, with the fuel down the gutter! Food thing I was carrying extras!
My first video was how to fix a broken pull string on a lawn mower and guess what, my puppy chewed through the pull string on my mower. Been watching ever since. Thanks mustie
Another classic Mustie1 repair video. I was that guy that would sell/get rid of something because I could not figure out the problem and was tired of messing with it. But after watching Mustie1 for a couple of years now I am not intimidated/overwhelmed by the small engine issues I run into.There are other RU-vidrs who do small engine repairs but nobody matches Mustie1 in how he explains the process/issues with us "looking over his shoulder". Watching the wrenching in Austin, TX.
Yes more outboards please. Oh and test them 4 real, just get some of them ready and load them all in so we can see many outboards on the boat. It's a good test to see who is better in live performance. cheers ;)
Good Morning Mr. Mustie! Always a great start to Sunday morning. Love the variety of what you work on every week, from outboards, to small engines, to V-Dubs, to whatever else!
nice relaxing vid. once i re-ringed a 57 johnson. owner wanted to help...ok. LUCKILY i found a needle bearing for the rod big end that he said wouldn't fit. thanks pal. let's tear it down again before it hits the barrel.
Thanks as always Mustie great little score having the knowledge and eye to spot the small issues that cause major problems is what makes all the difference. Daz from Oz
Oh, I see why the extra fuel supply, makes sense but with that size tank, I'm sure the original one holds plenty. Great video for a Sunday!! Have a great day to you and those who watched ...
@@maartenyzer4121 They sure are thirsty for their size. I had a 3.3 hp Mercury, the 1.3L internal tank would be gone in 45 mins at full power (and they have fixed timing, so they run very rough below 2/3 throttle or thereabouts) . I think the tank on the 5 hp is about the same size, probably only lasts 30 mins or so. Obviously you'd get a lot longer at lower speeds. Since changed to a 2.4 hp Suzuki 4 stroke. A bit quieter, and the fuel consumption is far lower.
Well I caught up with part two of the MG yesterday and today I got an insight into marine engines wrenching Love the variety of your projects Really looking forward to MG part three now
These are great little motors. Made in Japan by Tohatsu. I have the identical Tohatsu one on my little 8 foot dinghy and it planes along at a really good speed. It has never once let me down despite being a late 80s model.
I use a jis screwdriver and bits on All Screws. Whether it's a Phillips screw or a jis screw, as you can use jis on Phillips, just not the other way around. Great video brother
Great to see you both fix the motor, and work out why the last guy went wrong as well. I always love to see you work on outboards, so I'm keen to see the other Mercury and the Yamaha too.
Always enjoy your videos. I can just imagine the previous owner having worked on it multiple times and never getting it to run right. Watching your video and seeing the tiny crack in the plastic housing that was allowing it to suck air and thinking "really, that was the problem". I can see though how easy that was to miss, this is why you are the BOSS. :)
Soon as you said dual fuel supply, I knew the problem. Have been given 3 small outboards with the same run issue and all of them had some sort of fault with the external tank conmector. Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦
I remember the video with this motor in the thumbnail(!). This is going to be interesting to say the least. I always like the engine tare-downs you do, no matter the outcome.
Waited until Monday to watch because this weekend was so so nice I spent it all outside on yard work and in the garage. Slept like a log too. Catching up on my RU-vid on Monday night. Retirement isn't all fun and games but it sure beats working.
Most excellent, I have a newer model of this 5hp Mercury 2-stroke outboard, bought new in Tahiti in 2022 and used for my dinghy on my sailboat, so it is fascinating to watch Mustie work on it. The engine looks basically identical, just the cover is different. You cannot buy 2-strokes new in the US or many other places now, so I was glad to get one. It gets my dinghy on a plane with one person in it.
👍👌👏 Very well done again, Sir (video and troubleshooting/work). Congratulations 🎉 for the purchase. It's a really nice little outboard motor that should sell well after you're done what has to be done. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health in particular.
Had a Friend that owned small engine repair shop, He told Me that Most of the problems that His Customers have with Lawn Mowers, Chain Saws, 4 Wheelers, Outboard Marine Engines, Leaf Blowers, String Trimmers, etc; was fuel related. Thanx Mr. D for sharing Your Knowledge to help People.😃
