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1974 85 hp Merc. 850 Ignition Woe's

gearhead143

New member
I have a 1974 850 that before I put it to sleep 10 years ago ran great. Before I put it down for its long nap I ran the carb's out of fuel and fogged it just before it shut down. It has been stored in a heated shop all these years.
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I brought it out this year, replaced all the fuel lines, filter, spark plugs, lower unit oil,water pump,*filled one of the tanks with merc mix and clear fuel. primed it and it fired right up and sounded great with no load.
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Took it up to the lake and when after it was warmed up under a load it started to misfire. This got worse as the day went on.*Changed plugs again with no luck.*Got it home and checked the dist cap and could see carbon tracks, must have been a lightning storm in there.
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Heres the big problem. The cap has been discontinued, and I found the rotor (shaft) here at the cost of over $400.00. Don't get me wrong, I'm not cheap Ill spend the money if I have to, but I think this is three times the amount I paid for the last one when I put a new power head in. The cap is the big problem. Does anyone know where I can get one???
 
Re: 1974 Merc. 850 Ignition Woe's

E-bay is your best hope. You can buy a complete distributor for under 100 bucks.

Jeff
 
Re: 1974 Merc. 850 Ignition Woe's

Clean the distributor cap ( have it tested by someone with a MERC-O-TRONIC tester.if you like )-------------Likely it can be used again.------------------------They were well made and therefor no call for them, and hence no more manufacturing of them.
 
Re: 1974 Merc. 850 Ignition Woe's

I have a couple of them.I have yet to see one not function unless like me break them because lack of patience.The ones I do have are not new and are missing the carbon thingy and spring other than that good shape.You can PM me if interested.
 
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