Prob with early 90's 15hp merc with a whole lot of not-normal wobble while slow trolling and especially in neutral. Started last late season and got scary worse to the end when I thought I might drop the motor off it was so crazy. I look but see everything is inside everything and beyond my ability to use tools to make things worse.
So natch I wait all winter to take it in to the shop.
But it's in the shop now and they call and it is real bad news. $600 But, they called in the early morning and woke me up and after hearing the news I told them they were a nightmare so I was gonna hang up and they could call back later with a number closer to $200. They agreed to try. After an hour of tossing and turning I called back. And it was real, not a bad dream. six bills. Bummer.
Here's my layman's understanding…A number of parts critical to maintaing placemenet of the head over the lower unit are shot to, um, shot. They also laughed about "de-carbing yer whole dang motor" and asked where I had been trolling for the last 500 hours. Funny guys.
Would you spend over a grand in 3 years to maintain an early 90's 15hp merc motor??
Ha, trick question. How would we know what repairs lurk in any new used motor?
I'm no whining, everybody maintains our stuff. But, ouch!
Mounts are shot, sure. I could do that job, myself (maybe). But its way more than that.
I wish I could post a pic of how the lower unit was dropping from the head. Bad bad. After I get the motor back I'll post exactly what was done. I'm not getting ripped.
Recall this motor gets used a whole lot. 2 years ago I had to have it bored out due to loss of compresion due to hours on the water. Cost some bucks but now I can get up to 25mph (top speed used to be 22) with my gear and a big dog and the wind at my back.
Thanks for the offer of repair. But I live a rule-guided life. That means
I might let you mess with my…
* air inflation on my tires
* my guitars
* my girlfriend
* my drums
I will never let you mess with…
* my guns
* my rods/reeels
* me when I'm shooting traffic signs while driving fast and drunk
* my chainsaw
Nuff said
Duke, thanks but more than half of what I post is a waste of the reader's time. The greatest value is using my silly writing to reduce my anxiety. A tool for me. The moderators get stuck with deciding what gets passed on. And this site seems to manage me pretty well.
Will, tell him that I'm mostly full of the stuff, will you? I suspect you were the first to figure that one out, and around here your word is final (except with some of us!).
Thanks again, though. That was nice.
"Ranger" said:
Will, tell him that I'm mostly full of the stuff, will you? I suspect you were the first to figure that one out, and around here your word is final (except with some of us!).
Nah, it should be up to the individual to determine if any of us are full of stuff.
Based on your PM's I've been posting less frequently.
Well, I picked up the motor and you would not believe the ordeal. I was physically assaulted.
As I was paying for the $600 bill I asked if I might be able to reduce the cost if my new girlfriend were to offer sexual favors to the marina staff. Hey, we're suppose to barter whenevr possible, right?
Wrong.
The lady behind the counter hit me with a clipboard on the top of my head at the exact same moment my new X-girlfriend punched me in my right ear.
Yep, can't wait to try it out!
I now have the repair details and the old parts, it was a must-do repair. In a nutshell, critical parts wore out, either by falling apart themselves or getting loose and wearing whatever those parts were in contact with. (Yes, bad grammer.)
The main deal was the swivel head, or at least that was the worst (and by far most expensive) result of a number of systemic problems. A huge root problem was the total failure of the upper thrust bearing. Once that failed it didn't take many hours on the water to result in a number of bolts, especially those related to motor mounts, to shake so much they elongated the holes in which they were placed. Then with the extra play the end of the bolts began to wear grooves into the upper and lower portions of the swivel head shaft. So, aside from scoring a critical shaft, the parts of the motor, those grooved bolt holes, no longer hold any of the bolts that are supposed to hold the motor in place.
Parts $315 and labor $285.
So you can see why I offered up my girlfriend. If it were less than $500 I could cover it myself with bad checks.
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