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Testing a Merc 200 EFI Saltwater

Klink

Regular Contributor
My brother wants me to test a 2004 Mercury 200 EFI Saltwater Series engine that he is thinking of buying. The engines I've owned and worked on are all spark plug and carb engines, 1 to 4 cylinders. I've never tested a modern engine like this, and it's a 6 cylinder. I normally check compression, test spark strength, and infrared thermometer the water passages for clogs and check other visible problem areas. In a quick Google check, I read that this EFI has electronics that can be analyzed with scan tools at the dealers. Should I just give the engine a quick look and if it looks and sounds OK, tell my brother to take it to the local dealer for a complete check?
 
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The Mercury 2.5's are a very strong motor, looked after they will last a long time.
Compression, leak down test and general visuals is about all you can really check, apart from a test run.

A mercury dealer can connect a DDT to the motor which will give you a complete history, such as running hours, rpm range and hours at each rpm and any fault codes that have occurred over the life of the motor, overheats etc.........this information can be printed out by the dealer if you request a copy.

Hope this helps and good luck with the motor if he decides to buy it.
 
the motor is 10 years old...do your thing with the checks you mentioned...i would still take it to a dealer
and have a scan run...i would also have him check the fuel pressure...the fuel pumps on these motors are expensive...welcome to the new world of computer efi motors..i own one and they are different animals..a lot of what we know about the old ones is wasted...having to rely on a dealer and his computer and his support service from mercury is annoying and expensive...even the merc techs at the dealers are hooking up remotely to a merc support center on most problems..
 
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