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Mercury 60 HP four stroke any common faults

piscator

New member
I'm thinking of upgrading

I'm thinking of upgrading to a new outboard and have found a good deal on the above engine. Is it a good motor? Any common faults? Have always had Yamahas in past but this Mercury saves a couple of thousand dollars and I recon most new fourstrokes nowadays are going to be pretty good.
 
"The 60 is now a common engine

"The 60 is now a common engine on "package deals" which formerly had a 50 2 stroke, so you will see many on the back of Trackers, Legends, Starcraft, Lund's etc.

It's difficult to say if they have any chronic problems because they just haven't been around long enough (in suffient quantities) to be able to give you an opinion as to how they will last.

However, intially, they appear to be no worse or better than everything else out there.

Having said that, and being a "Merc" guy, I personally still would not buy a Merc 4 stroke (except maybe a Verado if looking for a higher horsepower).

In the mid-range to lower horsepowers you really get what you pay for.

So if you are looking for something that will most likely still be running well 10 years from now I would consider nothing but a Honda. All they have ever made is 4 strokes and they do it better than all the rest.

Yes, they cost a little more, but if they last twice as long you save in the long run.

You have to decide what works for you. I kinda look at most 4 strokes today in the same light as Force engines of the past - a "half decent" engine as long as it works but often deemed "not worth fixing", due to cost, when it breaks - so best to buy the one "least likely" to break...."
 
"Thanks Graham, I had also con

"Thanks Graham, I had also considered the Etec, though as a convert to fourstroke for 12 years now, I have not had a single problem with my Yamaha in 11 years and it still runs as it did from day 1. It's quite hard to find bad reports on the midrange Etecs, (only dealers not selling them have anything detrimental to say) and being 2 stroke should, in theory, be less complex and cheaper to fix later in life. Your thoughts on that one please."
 
"Absolutely, the DFI 2 strokes

"Absolutely, the DFI 2 strokes are my "new" motor of choice.

Unfortunately only Evinrude (BRP) and Tohatsu have produced motors in the lower/mid horsepowers which restricts your choices - with Merc available in the 75 horse and up and Yami producing only 2 models in the 150+ horse range.

There are two basic DFI technologies out there.

Ev and Yami use the Ficht style which is a high pressure system (fuel is injected into the cylinder at upwards of 1000 psi).

Merc and Tohatsu use the orbit (or orbital) technology which uses a low pressure injector (about 40 psi average but definately below 100 psi).

Back when OMC was first fiddling with the prototypes (prior to marketing their earlier Ficht models) they discarded the orbit style - couldn't get it to work the way they liked and found that it was extremely hard on sparkplugs (which is true - Merc Opti's are notorious for eating plugs in about 50 hours).

Again however, the DFI market is still kinda small and they have only been in the marketplace for a "short while", so there longevity is as big a question mark as that of the 4 strokes.

I do however agree with your theory - they have significantly less moving parts in the powerhead compared to a 4 stroke and "it can't break if it's not there" - so do agree there is less to go wrong with them mechanically.

There was some early "bugs" (OMC's catching fire, Opti's with chronic cooling problems) but those were ironed out by the time the 2003 models hit the dealers.

On the electrical/electronic side however, they are just as complex and subject to the incredibly high cost for computer and electronic sensors should something go "flooey".

But, at least initially, these electronic components appear to be durable.

My one concern with the ETEC (and Yami's HPDI models) is the high pressure system. It just makes sense to me that if you are pressurizing a fuel rail or an injector with 1000 psi something is going to give a little sooner than if it's only dealing with somewhat less than 100 psi.

However, that single concern wouldn't stop me from owning an ETEC.

I had the opportunity to partake in some "real life" tests (OMC/BRP dealer on the Canadian side of Lake Erie was given a 40 ETEC to run for a season on the "workboat") a couple years back so was privy to the raw findings and must say the motor was fairly impressive.

There was a minor issue when running the motor in cold weather (the ECU put the motor in protect mode because the operating temp was out of spec) but a simple reflash by the rep cured that problem.

So, if you are open to owning a DFI 2 stroke I wouldn't even consider a 4 stroke.

If you absolutely want/need a 60 horse, then the ETEC is your only choice.

At 70 horses, Tohatsu's TLDI comes into the picture and at 75, the Merc Opti.

Any of them would be (in my opinion) a far superior choice to any 4 stroke in their horse class..."
 
"My Humble opinion based on 34

"My Humble opinion based on 34 years in the marine industry, factory trained OMC master tech, Mercury trained and Opti max trained.

Yes there are more moving parts in a four stk.
Yamaha do use high pressure injection on there 2 stk, however it is a totally different system than the Evinrude one.

Yamaha make 6 models of high power 4stks including a 150hp.

Yamaha built there outboards as marine engines and didnt convert a car engine into a marine outboard like Honda did (civic engine 90hp and accord engine.

Large 4stks have been running for over ten years and have proven to be very durable.

If you are after holeshot performance etc go for a ETec."
 
"Thanks guys, had been moving

"Thanks guys, had been moving away from the etec, in favour of the four strokes, now being swayed back towards the etec. I do a fair bit of trolling on the high country lakes here in New Zealand, so a fourstroke would troll better than the etec, but a 2HP Honda should take care of that? Thanks for sharing your thoughts and expertise. Colin"
 

I tried to reply to this post but it was put on the wrong one sorry for that.
This is not a slam I am giving any one that is thinking about getting into the O/B market a fair heads up.

* I am a cross-country qualified Marine Mechanic fully trained for Merc OMC and Yamaha and have owned a marina for 22 years.

* I can’t tell you how many hundreds of Mondays I have looked over the yard and thanked God for OMC, because if they didn’t exist I would have a very slow week pretty well every week of the year.
* I am sure there will be many posters that will tell me that I am wrong, and apparently managing to survive for 22 years in the marine industry I have no idea what I am talking about, and that is great if we didn't have differences of opinions this would be a boring site indeed.
Merc and Yamaha are the way to go, Yamaha being the first choice by far.
* There is no better deal anymore and E-tec well it has made me a lot of money replacing fuel pumps $$$$$ and the pistons that go with them, and dealing with OMC for severe warranty issues!!! Let’s just say not conducive to the buyer or me the seller trying to keep the buyer as a customer.*
J
*Spend the little extra now and save big in the long run, 2strokes are no longer the way to go. A 4 stroke will save you $$ in fuel*worth the price of a 2 stroke over the life of the engine.

*As for the 4 stroke hole shot issues look up Hydrofoil-GT, what it says on there site it does. The first time you hit that throttle after installing one you will be looking to see if you’re in the right boat. I have sold well over a thousand of these and have yet to hear anything but praise.

 
fish_man is spamming the site in my opinion and trying to sell something....i for on try to ignore him....
 
back to the 60 hp merc question.....i just bought a new one and so far am happy with it......i bought the motor for two reasons.....the commercial fishermen down here in the louisiana swamps are running either a merc or yammy...and they take a beating every day...they run 60hp or higher....nothing smaller....lots of 60.s....the 2nd reason was the dealer....i liked the merc dealer and have dealt with both him and his father over the years.....both spend time in the shop and are still hands on guys....the 2nd reason was just the opposite....got turned off the yammy dealer years ago...to me the big difference was the sound and power feel that a 2 stroke gives....still not used to it.....but i come out of the hole good and do not have to keep adjusting trim to do so....when i get the trim set to where i want it to run then i can still come out of the hole good...it took a trip or two to get that down pat tho....but i was downsizing from a 90 2 stroke ....
 
i would have considered the honda but i dont have a dealer here in town or within 50 miles of my camp which is where the boat stays....
 
No not trying to sell anything. The Merc is still a good motor and should give you years of great fishing, a bunch of us have been going to Louisiana (Grand Isle) for many years awsome people and incredible fishing. Not sure if you leave the motor in the water or not but be sure to take the lid off every trip and wash well, the salt is very hard on injectors and electronics. not sure what oil they told you to use, here it is 20-50, for your climate 10-30 or 10 -40 will be fine. If you are away from the boat for long it is a great idea to put a bit of fuel stablizer in the tank keep things fresh for the next outing.
 
you are right guyjg....my mistake.....i think fishmans post moved it to the top and i just picked up the technical without looking at dates...
 
Not bad...good info. I'm starting to look at a newer boat and the 2 vs 4 stroke is a big question at this time. A lot of packages have 60HP on them. Think I'm starting to lean toward 4 stroke. This thread was 60 HP, but I notice in the new brochure the 75/90/115 have the same specs. What's the difference? Inquiring minds want to know!
 
I have been running a 2005 60HP 4-stroke EFI for over 6 years. The motor has never been in the shop and just this week, I myself, replaced the water pump for the first time. It starts every time, starts quickly, idles like a car, is very quite, and has plenty of power for my 17.5' Bass Tracker. I try to go fishing at least every two weeks. It still has the original spark plugs. I would recommend this engine to anyone.
 
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