• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

Merc 150 XR4 Preventative Maintenance Questions

V

VLP

Member
I have a Merc 150 XR4 on the back of my Spectra 171. On muffs the motor fires right up, seems to pump oil fine, I haven't checked the function of all of my gauges yet so I have only let it run for 20 seconds or so at a time. Haven't seen water come out of the pisser yet, but was told that it may not until 45-min after start up if the motor is dry.

My questions are, the boat has been sitting since 05. What preventative maintenance should I perform if any to be sure that I don't run into any large problems once on the lake and working it hard? Plugs all look new, compression checks out great, all hard rubber lines replaced as of last week.

Standard practice for buying a car that has been sitting is change all fluids, filters, plugs, wires, etc. so just wondering what you outboard guys consider standard practice for an old 2 stroke.
Thanks!
 
I would for sure change out the water pump impeller in the lower unit if it has been sitting for a long time.
 
Change the thermostats and popit valve also. I usually see water out the pisser within 10-20 sec after start up.
 
These guys are right, I recently breathed life into a merc 135 that hadnt been run since 98 or so. Replace the water pump for sure, not a bad job, same with thermostats. I would replace all the oil injection lines, mine were really brittle and one broke, not worth not getting oil to it for a few new lines.

Should see water pretty quick, but your telltale might be clogged, run a stiff wire up the hose, mine was all jammed up with bugs and crud.

Additionally, i would run some carb cleaner through the system for a while and seriously consider rebuilding the carbs, about 6 bucks for a gasket kit per carb, I just did mine, and it wasnt too bad of a job.

oh, and make sure its new gas :bigthumb:
 
Like others have said, water pump for sure, inspect everything else. Mine needed a few new lines, but fairly certain they were all original from '87.

I would also look over the wiring for anything disconnected/frey'd/brittle, just to be safe.

Then change the lower unit oil, refill with some fresh.

If the boat doesn't have a water pressure gauge, I'd consider adding one. Especially if your going to add a jackplate. My temp gauge is kindof flaky, so I added a water pressure gauge, and its nice to know whats going on inside the system. They aren't that expensive, and they are super easy to install.
 
Sounds great guys, I will likely change everything that was suggested. I have some local boat places, but is there a cheaper, easy to navigate online site to purchase all of the parts necessary to change these things? I want to be sure I get all of the associated gaskets and what not as well.
Thanks for the replies so far!
 
for some stuff, local boat stores (support local, wish I had some), but also put your serial number in online at the mercury parts express, and get all the part numbers, worth an online search with the part number, I got my gasket kits for my carbs from an amazon store pretty cheap.
 
Well, placed an order the other day from a couple online sources. Bought a complete water pump and housing rebuild kit, poppet valve complete kit, 2x thermostats, and 2x thermostat gaskets along with a repair manual for reference. Let the fun begin :banana: lol
 
Merc engines don't piss until the thermostats open up. I've waited a full minute + running on cold hose water before the pisser started spitting water. Sure makes one nervous!
REAL basic way to tell if you're OK or in trouble: Put your hand on the heads. Engine too hot is when you can't hold your hand on the head for a second. IF you can hold your hand on the head for a while, it's not too hot yet.
 
okay, that's what I had heard, there is no way that I have run it long enough for it to get warm enough for the tstats to open then. I will change all the parts, then let her run for a while in the driveway till I see it start pissin. I just filled the tank up half way with premium and poured a full bottle of sea foam in there. Should do a decent job of freeing up the crap and flushing it. Visual inspection suggests the carbs look good, but can't know for sure without pulling it apart I suppose.
 
Make sure your poppet valve is the same (exactly) as the one you're replacing. I had an issue with mine. I ordered online and the part number was correct for my engine (XR2) and it appeared to work, but didn't allow it to open enough. Do you have a water pressure guage?
 
Yah replace all the items you purchased and run some Sea Foam through for a couple tanks. It should help clean out any garbage in the carbs.

Make sure you do not over tighten the pump housing. You can warp it without even knowing.

That poppet can be tricky. Make sure its seated properly.

Have fun. :thumb:
 
Thank you, and yes I do have a water pressure gauge. I will check on the poppet valve and be sure that its the same exact thing. And I will be sure I don't over tighten the pump housing. Thank you guys for all of these comments I really appreciate it! I also need to replace the hard fuel line. I have heard bad things about them separating inside, are there any ones that don't do this?
 
Yah that old stock line is garbage by now. You can buy a roll of it at Napa. The new stuff holds up better to ethenol.
 
oh okay, hadn't thought of just buying the line and reusing the bulb and fittings. Good idea. Also, does 2 stroke oil go bad like gasoline? I have a full reservoir of it (probably a couple gallons) that's been in there a long time. The stuff isn't cheap, do I dare run it though?
 
VLP said:
oh okay, hadn't thought of just buying the line and reusing the bulb and fittings. Good idea. Also, does 2 stroke oil go bad like gasoline? I have a full reservoir of it (probably a couple gallons) that's been in there a long time. The stuff isn't cheap, do I dare run it though?
Click to expand...

I replaced all of my gas lines with Ethanol rated lines and installed a Racor filter. New fill line, new vent line and new supply line with primer bulb.

Remember, when you can, install a double clamp on all gas lines.
 
VLP said:
oh okay, hadn't thought of just buying the line and reusing the bulb and fittings. Good idea. Also, does 2 stroke oil go bad like gasoline? I have a full reservoir of it (probably a couple gallons) that's been in there a long time. The stuff isn't cheap, do I dare run it though?
Click to expand...

Whoops. Yah replace the line with bulb from the tank. The bulb usually brake down first.

I was also refering to all the line under the cowl. The old line from the 80's will not hold up to the ethenol.

Check all the oil lines too under the cowl. If its that old clear stuff it needs to go. We just had one crack on the river and spill 3 gallons of merc oil. Not fun.

If it were me I would just top off the oil res with fresh quicksilver oil.
 
okay will do, already replaced many of the rubber and clear oil lines under the cowl, will go through and take care of the rest of the old lines here this week also. Spilling gallons of oil, not fun indeed!
 
Installed my new Poppet valve yesterday. Waiting on the water pump, tstats, and gaskets to arrive. The Tstat gaskets are on backorder so iboats.com is holding my entire order till august when they can ship the whole thing out :pissed: I dont understand why they would do this, Im going to give them a call, cancel the gaskets, ship the rest and buy the gaskets from another location.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top