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andrewschouten

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Does anyone know anything abou

Does anyone know anything about the 1983-1985(rough years - i don't know for sure the corret year) Mercury 115 outboards? I love boating and wanted to get started trying to repair outboards for a hobby. I have found a couple 115hp mercs for sale (needing repair) for 1000 Canadian and was wondering if that is a good price and if they are worth repairing / too hard to repair for someone just getting into outboard repair.
Any help would be fantastic! Thanks!
 
"Andrew, those were Merc's

"Andrew, those were Merc's inline 6 models. If you are looking just to start out, perhaps you want to drop down to a twin cylinder, single carb model.

The big ones are essentially the same, just more cylinders, extra carb(s) and second switch box (or distributor, depending on model).

The price you note is high. For 1000 bucks, I would expect this model to be running fine with a recent tune-up, new impeller etc.

If the motor needs work, that hp/vintage should be selling for about 1/4 of that price you quoted..."
 
"Graham,
Thanks for your comm

"Graham,
Thanks for your comments mate! I truely apprecaite them!
What is the largest size engine you can get with the twin cylinder, single carb?
I recently bought a couple manuals and am now browsing through them and (in general) it looks quite daunting. Are Mrecury outboards easy to work with (for the person who has never worked with them before)?
Thanks for the comment on the price. I followed up with the seller and i can get 2 x 115 merc outboards for 1000$. Is that still a little high?
Are the parts interchangable from different years (ie a 1983 for a 1985 part switch)?
Cheers"
 
"Andrew, the price still sound

"Andrew, the price still sounds a little high. From both you may be able to get one running motor - so in essence you are paying 1000 bucks for an "old" motor.

The largest twins were the 40 horse (older version). I find Merc's fairly easy to work on - but believe that would be true for most mfg's - just that I have been working on Merc's for a good number of years.

In the smaller (portables) 6/8/9.9/15 horse, all the parts (except the powerhead on the 15 and the carbs/exhaust plate) are interchangable for all models built between 1986-2005..."
 
"You may have picked the wrong

"You may have picked the wrong motor to learn on. The inline six is a great motor when running, but expensive to repair.Lots of parts like reed blocks at $300 each and two extra pistons at near $200 each to do a proper rebuild. So start with a 9.8hp mercury and see if your vocabulary changes while working / learning on a 2 cylinder motor."
 
"My first experience with an o

"My first experience with an old merc taught me one valuable lesson. Check all wiring thoroughly because wiring in old mercs is often brittle and corroded which will ruin very expensive ignition parts and wishing you had waited on the new wiring harness before you tried to start the motor. My motor is a 1970 115, much older than the ones you are asking about but I seem to remember seeing somewhere that Mercury still uses non tinned wire which is why they corrode. If this is incorrect will someone let me know? I am very new at this and trying to share my mistakes with others any time I can. I read multiple discussion forums and learn something everyday. Thanks to all of you who help us newcomers to this world of outboards."
 
"John, The wiring on my '

"John, The wiring on my '77 Merc 1500 was all marine wire (more strands than standard wire and tinned). The wiring on my '93 Merc is standard copper wire (non-marine).

The problem we had on the old inline motors was that the insulation would break down and fall off. The conductor was usually OK."
 
"Brian, no matter whether you

"Brian, no matter whether you look in an aftermarket manual or the Merc service manual in most cases you won't find a compression "value" for most Merc engines.

In general you should be looking for about 100 psi, with no more than a 10 psi difference between the cylinders.

Most gauges are not calibrated well enough to give you a definative reading anyhow. So if your readings are something like 95, 102 etc, your compression is fine..."
 
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