My Losing Battle to Bring Mercury Outboard Back to Life!

Embark on an unforgettable adventure as I take on the seemingly insurmountable task of fixing a malfunctioning Mercury Outboard motor. Witness the frustrations, setbacks, and triumphs as I strive to breathe life back into this machine. Stay tuned for valuable tips and tricks that might help you in your own motor repair endeavors!
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#Marvin R Schwartz #Can it be Fixed #repair shop #Mercury Repair

[@haroldjuntunen7010]

I love older 2 stroke Mercury's

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Yep it’s a good old motor and very reliable in its day. Thanks for watching and sharing

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

@@haroldjuntunen7010 but they sure can be a pain in the butt. It was replaced with a 4 cycle mercury

[@peerless-d6r600]

Looks like you may have oil in the test tank. Check your crankshaft seals with a little bit of ether or carb cleaner, if the RPM Changes at all they are bad and need to be replaced. Having bad crank seals will make the engine run poorly because the air fuel mixture will be diluted. If you pull the powerhead it would be a good idea to change the reeds out also. My 82 mercury 40 was running very similar to this and I chased my tail for a week trying to fix it with a rebuilt carb and diagnosing the cdi system, turns out it was lower crank seal. Hope this helps and good luck

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

If I were to guess that is what is going on here. I took your advice and yes there is a little difference in my RPMs. I did get this motor running and for the most part it's running pretty good, but not perfect. I need to test it under a load and see what happens. Timing seems to be okay the carb is working fine and understanding how a 2 cycle works I'd have to say your on to something. With this I have two questions: Where did you purchase your parts? I am using Boats.net. Also, when I do tear this down that far I will take your suggestion and replace the reeds. Who do you use for that? Boats.net says they are no longer available. Hey I really appreciate the help, you didn't have to take the time to respond, but you did. Thank you. I have a playlist on my channel where I've place my videos working on this.

[@knightcustombuilds6988]

Check your primer, had the same issue on my 84 Evinrude. You should feel the primer pumping as you push it in.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Thanks I’ll test it to see if it’s working properly

[@rocket99dan]

You are most likely losing spark from a failing ignition system. Either shoot some fuel into the motor to verify enough fuel is getting in the engine to fire the next time it dies or place a spark tester on each cylinder. If you don't have a nice hot spark or none, then you've identified the problem. Remember, it's easy to manually prime the engine with a squirt bottle, but it won't matter if you're losing spark.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Okay then I will make sure I have a nice hot spark. Thanks for the input and for watching.

[@OttoTheWeim]

What is the serial for the motor? Would help with chasing down parts and specifics to the motor.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

It’s a 1986 20 Mercury outboard Serial # 0B203515. I appreciate the comments and help

[@mypie3301]

Check plug wires. when they crack they short ignition and feels like its running out of gas. If you start and touch the wire, they will give you a little shock if they are cracked.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

I definitely will check that. I really appreciate the input that you have given and others. Thank you so much. Continue the comment and give me pointers and what you know it helps me greatly.

[@WeekendJigger-eh1bq]

What did you mix in the gas?

[@WeekendJigger-eh1bq]

Did you mix 2t?

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

@@WeekendJigger-eh1bq I used recreational gasoline, which is ethanol free so and then mix the regular mercury to cycle oil with it 50 to one

[@pastp3805]

You need a plastic welding kit! Metal staples would hold that part together.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Tanks for the tip. I did find a new one then. I have a playlist with all the videos of this outboard linked below if you are interested kzbin.info/aero/PLixR3FUmp19Qjpkm43iLH6BsrsUv_vWzI&si=I6BjYL0-VDVV_2sd

[@davefish9296]

I had the same engine. It would never start. It turns out that it was missing a part that WAS NEVER INSTALLED FROM THE FACTORY ! Mercury manufactured a lot of junk motors back then. My solution was to switch to a different manufacturer.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Wow, a missing part from the fact right now that would’ve been frustrating and I don’t blame you for switching brands! I did finally get this one going and as old as it is, I’m pretty satisfied with it. If you want to see some of the process and struggles that I went through, here’s a link to the playlist where I show the videos of working on this old motor. Thanks for commenting. I really appreciate it. kzbin.info/aero/PLixR3FUmp19Qjpkm43iLH6BsrsUv_vWzI&si=o3zTOmqQzSqM5Bv5

[@markcraytor2334]

Try running the same as you just did but take off the gas cap. I'm thinking that the vent on the cap is plugged.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Thanks I’ll give that a try. 👍

[@mypie3301]

if it was vent, the bulb would suck down.

[@yzmoto80]

What year and HP is that outboard ?

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

1986 20 HP it’s a good engine and I haven’t given up I will get this running! And I will document my progress. It’s just been really frustrating. Thanks for commenting

[@yzmoto80]

@@marvinrschwartz7402 I think that you need to replace the broken choke button/spark advance linkage assembly. Trying to repair critical parts like that, and possibly not getting the complete range of motion to the engine intake could be troublesome. Just my opinion is all. When I work on any of my engines, if I have a broken part, I replace it and then continue the diagnostics after that if necessary. It’s kind of hard to eliminate a possible issue when it’s broken my friend. I wish you the best of luck Sir !

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

@@yzmoto80 thanks I will I have the new parts and will get it installed first. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it

[@cesar30023]

Tenho um igual ao seu motor é muito bom o meu também estava com uma falha. fis a limpeza do carburador e ficou muito bom

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

@@cesar30023 sorry I’m not sure what you’re saying I’ll try to find a translator

[@ShawnAbela]

Remove carb. Clean it well. Electrics are good. Its the carburettor.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

Thank you all these tip are really helpful 👍

[@vipfoam3240]

Those grey fuel line hate ethanol fuel and the inner liner fails

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

What should I use? Thanks for the help.

[@MartyB-y4h]

I agree replace it with black line which has no liner if it doesn't solve the problem at least it will prevent future one.

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

@user-jj2hm3dt2z thanks

[@robertthompson9455]

The solution, install an Evinrude outboard !...

[@marvinrschwartz7402]

I could but what fun would that be thanks for commenting