I just purchased a 1999 Egret 189 flats boat with 1999 Mercury EFI 175 2 stroke on it. I bought the boat and motor from the mechanic who has been working on my 1995 mercury for 10 years. He was selling it from his shop for somebody. He has done all the maintenance on it for the last 5 years at least; never had a problem since he has been working on it and the motor looks almost new. They did say it had been sitting a while and suggested a lower unit maintenance, which I did. Took it for a test run and it ran beautifully. The shop guy took it out with me and said it was running at a low RPM (5200 wide open). They said it should be closer to 6000 RPM. It had an aftermarket 4 blade prop on it and they thought that was the reason. Also the low oil alarm went off while we were on the test run. He took off the cowling and took the cap off the onboard oil tank and then put it back on. Said when they have been sitting for awhile, they sometimes do that. The alarm did not come back on.
First time I took it out it started beautifully and ran like a champ in 3000-4000 RPM range. I opened it up and ran I guess a couple of miles when all of a sudden it made a rattle noise and lost power. I came off the throttle and it died. At first it would not start. I let it sit for a little bit and it started up again. Idled good and ran in that 3000-4000 RPM range again with no problem. When I opened it up again, it would only get to 4600-4800 RPM. Short run and it died again. Went back to the ramp and called it a day.
Took it back to the shop. Number 1 and 2 pistons were damaged. Mechanic felt bad and only charged me for parts to rebuild. Also he put a 3 blade prop with a 23 pitch. The motor ran good during the 10 hour break in period. Only issue was that low oil alarm went off twice. The first trip we put 4 hours on it and the alarm went off after 2 hours. I took cowling off and then, took off the onboard oil tank cap. Put it back on. The alarm stopped and never came back on during that trip. The second trip was an hour and a half. The alarm never came on. The third trip was 3.5 hours. Again, the alarm went off after 2 hours. Repeated taking the cap off. Alarm never came back on.
After break-in period, I ran it at idle speed and at 4000 RPMs to warm it up a while. Then I opened it up twice for a short distance with the motor barely trimmed up and it ran at about 5200 RPM. Third time I trimmed it up higher and ran a short distance; got it up to 5600 RPM. Was not going any higher so I came off the throttle. When I did, there was a rattle and then it died. Took it back and now the number 6 piston is damaged more severely than before. Also, minor scoring on 3,4,5 pistons.
The mechanic is not charging me to fix it this time but he is not sure what it wrong with it. Does anyone have any clue what is going on? Side note: the mechanic is a Mercury only shop and has been working on them for 30 plus years. Thanks in advance.
First time I took it out it started beautifully and ran like a champ in 3000-4000 RPM range. I opened it up and ran I guess a couple of miles when all of a sudden it made a rattle noise and lost power. I came off the throttle and it died. At first it would not start. I let it sit for a little bit and it started up again. Idled good and ran in that 3000-4000 RPM range again with no problem. When I opened it up again, it would only get to 4600-4800 RPM. Short run and it died again. Went back to the ramp and called it a day.
Took it back to the shop. Number 1 and 2 pistons were damaged. Mechanic felt bad and only charged me for parts to rebuild. Also he put a 3 blade prop with a 23 pitch. The motor ran good during the 10 hour break in period. Only issue was that low oil alarm went off twice. The first trip we put 4 hours on it and the alarm went off after 2 hours. I took cowling off and then, took off the onboard oil tank cap. Put it back on. The alarm stopped and never came back on during that trip. The second trip was an hour and a half. The alarm never came on. The third trip was 3.5 hours. Again, the alarm went off after 2 hours. Repeated taking the cap off. Alarm never came back on.
After break-in period, I ran it at idle speed and at 4000 RPMs to warm it up a while. Then I opened it up twice for a short distance with the motor barely trimmed up and it ran at about 5200 RPM. Third time I trimmed it up higher and ran a short distance; got it up to 5600 RPM. Was not going any higher so I came off the throttle. When I did, there was a rattle and then it died. Took it back and now the number 6 piston is damaged more severely than before. Also, minor scoring on 3,4,5 pistons.
The mechanic is not charging me to fix it this time but he is not sure what it wrong with it. Does anyone have any clue what is going on? Side note: the mechanic is a Mercury only shop and has been working on them for 30 plus years. Thanks in advance.