2003 mercury 150
 

any good feedback on this engine? I have on on the seacraft( still dont HAVE it), and he started it for me and it took lik a minute for the water to start coming out. He says the temp sensor needs to heat up. Once that happens shes spits strong. It sounds great tho. Also I jus want to know if it's reliable, i had a 2001 90 on my seafox and i nevr had a problem. :D

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Is it it a efi opti, dfi, or carb? 2 stroke or 4 stroke? I had a 2001 150 efi on my 20 sf and performed well.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

That's normal for 2 stroke motors with the poppet valve. The motor builds up h20 pressure and then the poppet will open.



http://www.biggerhammer.net/mercury/...5_blizzard.jpg

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Good to know that,(wher'd ya find theh diagram?) and yes it is a 2-stroke carb, saltwater edition.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

The Carb motors are really tough, all of them.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Yes, but never, never, never take out the poppet valve and run your engine like that. The poppet valve raises the water pressure in the water jacket of the engine. Without it, portions of the block & water jacket can run "dry" and overheat and warp.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

http://www.biggerhammer.net/mercury/
It's like cliff notes for two stroke merc engines

I got the diagram off that site, but it's right out of a service manual.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Also, if you look at the diagram, the teltale is downstream of the thermostats, so it won't pee until the heads heat up to operating temp and at least one of the stats opens. Both my V6 Mercs take two to three minutes to warm up and start to pee.
Dave

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Just to reaffirm what Fr. Frank is saying about the importance maintaining your cooling system - impeller, thermostats, and poppet valve . . . just look at the warranty statement from OCC on their rebuilds.

http://occcranks.com/warranty_info.html

*NOTE: The number one (1) journal on V-6 Mercury crankshafts is not included in the one year breakage warranty.



#1 is the cylinder that goes on the 2.5L motors . . . usually b/c of a stuck thermostat, worn impeller, or bad poppet valve.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

#1 is the cylinder that went on my '91 150 XR4. Ate a ring six months after I bought it. Had low compression only in #1 cylinder when I bought it but I took a chance 'cause the price on the boat was so good. Had the powerhead rebuilt and no problems in three years. I change the impeller every two years. Some do it every year, but my water pressure gauge still shows very good pressure after one year.

A note on the poppet valve; if it's installed incorrectly, as mine was during the powerhead rebuild, it can result in excess cooling water pressure and air in the cooling system. The poppet is basically a pressure regulator. If you look at the cooling system diagram posted by bigshrimpin, you'll see that the hose to the poppet is attached at the high point of the water jacket. When your impeller is nice and fresh, it produces about 25-30psi of pressure at speeds above idle. Because the water pickup on the lower unit sometimes picks up air, there has to be a mechanism to purge the air from the cooling system. The poppet purges the air and bleeds off excess pressure at the same time.

As it was explained to me, if the poppet diaphram is installed incorrectly, it don't bleed off pressure or air. The result is high cooling water pressure and the engine still gets hot because there's air pockets in the cooling system. Mine's fixed now, but it was a learning experience.

Disclaimer: I'm no mechanic. There are plenty of folks on this site who know more than me about this stuff. But I like to tinker and learn about how things work. If anyone sees something I've got wrong, please feel free to step in and make corrections.

Dave

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

:D

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

ak - They are very reliable strong lightweight motors!! Also many of the parts are interchangeable (with other 2.5L, 2.4L and 2.0L motors) . . . which means if you need parts . . . you can get them for pennies on the dollar for what you'd have to pay for new ones. You can also modify the motor with bolt ons and turn it into a 200hp pretty easily.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

is their a website where i can order bolt ons to make it faster(more hp)?

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Blue Heron, you are correct on your description, except, all of the engines do not produce 23-25 # pressure. My 2.4L Merc 89 200 HP produces 12 PSI at full throttle as per the OEM Manual. I think it depends on which engine you have. If it does not have a water pressure guage installed you should do one right away. Then you know for sure water is circulating.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

I looked at my earlier post and I probably could have been more clear about what I was trying to say. What I meant was; The water pump produces about 25-30psi and the poppet valve regulates that to the 10-12psi you see on your water pressure gauge. When my poppet was stuck, pressure would go from 5psi at idle up to 25+psi at WOT. Now that it's working, it tops out at 10-12psi. I definitely agree about having a water pressure gauge.

I Didn't intend to hijack the thread. In regards to the original question, I have two Merc V6 engines, a '91 150XR4 and a '96 200. They've been very reliable. As long as you maintain the fuel delivery system (because it also delivers the lubricant), and the cooling system, it should provide many years of reliable service.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

All good replies thats what I want, people talk *&^* About merc, but I say mercury all the way. :)

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Who talks $^%#@ about merc? I love the older 2 stroke motors. I got my hands on an optimax this past weekend and they seem pretty straight forward too. I still think those verado's are just WAY too big and heavy for outboards.

the best links I know of for mercs are:

www.biggerhammer.net/mercury/
www.screamandfly.com
www.byuboyz.com

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Chris,
What prop are you running on that 150? What are your cruise and WOT speeds? I have the same Seacraft Industries (SIC) hull as yours (mine's an '83), but I'm running a 200. I'd like to get an idea of how our hulls perform compared to Potters. I think the SIC hulls are a little heavier. I know the SIC SFs are 8" longer than the Potter SFs.
Dave

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Ummm, well, I havent really got the feel of it yet(only on the sea trail) i bought the boat...but im STILL waiting to get it in my possession.

What I do know is that it has a mercury SS Prop, tops out at about 39 knots, and cruises around 30 knots. Pretty sure on this info.

Are those the only diff. in the potter hulls and ours? How fast is urs?

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Mine cruises at 35mph @ 4200rpm and goes about 47mph gps WOT @ 5200rpm. Some of the guys with Potter 20s report speeds in the mid 50s with a 200.

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

hmm not bad, do you know where i can get the spec sheet on our boats>

Re: 2003 mercury 150
 

Look here:

http://www.classicseacraft.com/broch...ure/index.html

Info on the SF 20 is on pages 3 and 4.