Info Merc Opti 150

[THEFERMANATOR]

I've been researching these lately as well WILLY. From what I have found the worst ones are late 2000-2001. The 2.5L(135/150/175) engines are said to be pretty good, but the 200/225's from 2000-2003 are the worst. My BIG question would be why did the 03 get rebuilt? I refer back to my recent post under the repair section about outboard rebuilding, why? A 2003 shouldn't really be needing rebuilt unless there was a failure or if it was an ex commercial use engine. Then there is the issue of what was done in the rebuild. Definately consult with a surveyor, espescially one that knows OPTI's as they do have some issues to watch for. the 2000-2001 injectors are known to cause engine failure. Also make sure and familiarize the surveyor with the history of the engine. A DFI out of warranty could get expensive REAL quick as an air pump will set you back over a $1K.

[willy]

I am still waiting for clarification of the engine sit rep. The fellow who took the boat in last fall and had the engine work done was not around to talk with.
I tried to see on the block what the numbers were and will do more with the surveyor next week.
There is no warranty which I don't understand and asked for specifics on that.Unless they got it from him for cheap w/o warranty.
I could of sworn he said it was a 2001 motor with an 2003 head on it but he was not sure and I am awaiting paperwork receipts on that. Does that sound right?
The surveyor told me that C&C, the people who reportedly did this engine have a very good rep as engine specialists and a lot of people have used them for many years in the area for Mercs.
He also told me that if he had to choose between a black engine and a grey engine he would go grey every time. Just his opinion. Mine too.
I also do not understand why a 2001 or 2003 engine would blow a power head but the surveyor say's that Mercs are a high compression engines and that they are very sensitive to anything that even slightly restricts water flow and are more prone to overheating due to those tolerances.
My even having this discussion causes me concern, concerns I don't like to be honest with you guys

[willy]

If the motor on that V21 had a JohnnyRude or Yammi or even a Zuki I would have taken it home today

[cterrebonne]

willy there was an update kit that included all new injectors and new thermostats. the inj should be blue and the t stats should be 160's if i remember correctly. like ferm said if the air motor goes out it can cost but when they go out it is pretty obvious and you can replace it your self. the key is keeping the air pump cool and lubed.

[willy]

CT if you are talking about a color you can see on the outside from what i can remember they were all basically black I believe.
Do you guys run Optis, have they been good for you?

[cterrebonne]

Originally Posted by willy

CT if you are talking about a color you can see on the outside from what i can remember they were all basically black I believe.
Do you guys run Optis, have they been good for you?

yeah it probably did get the update kit, because i think both the 2.5's and 3.0's used the same update kit. i never owned one but ran several as a tech. they really are easy engines to work on and diagnose. you only need a mercury DDT to help with dropping cylinders and testing tps voltage but major stuff like air pump locking up and belts snapping are easy fixes. the worst part on those engines are changing the plugs. they are like all of the older DI engines either they run forever or you have to rebuild them at least once. when i worked on them i really didnt see a whole lot of burn ups but i saw many comps go down mostly due to overheating the pump, which the ddt will tell. plus side on them are they sip fuel and will spank any 4 stroke on economy and the lower units are very solid. just make sure you use a oil which is a clean oil, fully syn because plugs are around 15-18 a piece and cleaning the carbon off the injectors is rather a pain.

[THEFERMANATOR]

MERCURY recently released a bulletin to run ONLY MERCURY DFI oil in the OPTI's. they felt alot of the early failures were due to standard TCW-3 oil not lubricating properly. So rmember that your looking at about $30 a gallon for oil. Spark plugs from MERCURY are $21 EACH, but they say you can order them from an auto parts store for $7. The OPTI's are the BEST for fuel economy right now outing the ETECs and the 4 strokers. The older FICHTS were actually on par with the OPTI's for fuel usage. The injectors in 01 were the cause of the OPTIMAX's getting the OPTIPOP name, or the OPTICRAP. There was an update, and I want to say the injectors should be blue as well, the black and red ones were the bad ones IIRC. I don't think a DFI is for me, I like being able to fix them myself with a timing light and a PRV. Not a laptop and RINDA or a DDT.