let my old friend down today
 

well, after 20 years and 1700 hours, my mariner 150 is in critical condition. the sad part is, it was through my on actions. i ALWAYS top off the oil tank when i gas up. i usually get 40 to 50 gallons. last week i gassed it up during the week to avoid the holiday rush and just parked it in the driveway. got up sat and went trout fishing, started running rough, so came home and thought i had bad gas or water. popped the cowling and the onboard tank is empty. i guess the cap sensor had failed and gave no indication of no oil. i ran a comp test and 120 on 5 with 30 on top port.

i know it can be fixed, but a 20 yr old motor, seems like too much sugar for a dime. i'm going next week to look at the merc 150 4 stroke.

that has been the best motor i have ever had, never let me down and never had the carbs off. water pump, t-stats, poppet valve and foot oil every spring is all i ever had to do.

sorry for the long rant, feel like i've lost a family member.

2 stroke
 

Sorry for ur loss. But why four stroke? Mine an 86 was a Merc 150 600 hours. Now 175 E-tec so far a great fit for me, I just can't give up 2 stroke.

thanks booch

mainly the dealer support for the merc is the best in my area. have a friend who repowered with the merc 4s on a 20 dusky (hull very similar to v20) and loves it. claims to get 4-4.5 mpg. while i got 2.5. i average 85 hours a year @ 12 gph =1020 gallons a year. if i could cut that in half, save 500 gallons @ $4.00, that's 2 grand a year saved on fuel.

also, i like to diy all i can on my stuff and the merc is the simplest system out there.

Sorry to hear Phat.

I feel for your loss. I have similar Merc pains this morning.. I got home but it was rough running for the last few feet and on the trailer... I had just made a 15 minute long blast at redline. Up the river to the East Pass and back to the West pass. Only a few mullet and a couple houseboats. Sunrise on the Suwannee 58 MPH for miles and miles, it did my soul some good. Took it off plane to put it on the trailer and rattle rattle.. No energy to look further at this time. Best case, the lower is gone because it has a really smooh idle. Worst case? Do I really want to know?

Sorry for your loss. That does sound like a good one. I like the 4-stroke Mercs. They are getting better.

priced one locally @ $11,760.00 out the door w/ smart gauge, control box, cables, prop, & J-box kit.
internet "super stores" had cheaper engine prices, but when you add the goodies, got it within $400 of local guy.

decisions, decisions

Go with the local guy, $400 aint nuthin when it comes to having a local contact that knows you've spent serious dough with him.

Yep, and then have the local guy price match the internet price....

i'm going local, no doubt. decision is, when to do it. i have to pull the old motor and do a good inspection on the transom.

was talking to my wife, told her what the options were, rebuild, used, new.

she said which gets us the best motor the quickest, i said new

she said what are we waiting for.

she misses the boat more than i do


smoke, if you interested in that 200, pm me & i'll fill you in on the details

pm sent