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Which Mercury to Keep

T

thebubba

Regular Contributor
I am not sure which motor I like better. I currently have a 2006 Mercury 9.9 Four Stroke as a kicker for slow trolling. It is tiller handle and has a simple steering link to my larger Mercury engine. I steer it from the wheel. My boat is a 17' Lund Tyee. My boat has a second set of controls for a remote controlled Mercury engine that I cannot hook to this current motor without spending more than I want to convert it. I saw a really clean 1992 Mercury 9.9 2 stroke that is set up for remote control. I can't decide if giving up the newer motor for and older engine to be able to control the throttle and shifting as well as charging the batteries is worth it or not. What is your opinion of 1992 9.9 2 strokes? I like the 4 stroke alright because it is quiet and doesn't smoke, but it has a lot of hours on it already, probably more than the 1992 has.
 
You can get an electric powered remote control for the 4 stroke. It is hardwired/tethered w/a 15'-20' cord. My brother uses one on his 9.9 4 stroke...works quite well.
 
If you are talking about electric steering, I am not so worried about that. I was thinking of being able to control the throttle and shifting up by the steering wheel. It is not a deal breaker, just already set up for it. I was hoping for some feedback on the 1992 2 stroke 9.9. Is this a good model of engine?
 
check the compression on it...above 100 psi for my taste. Run it under a load...if it's good then use it. May need a separate fuel tank for it...not sure.
 
The 1992 2 stroke is probably the best 9.9 built by any mfg anytime.

The 9.9 Merc first came into production in late 1985 (as the new 1986 model) and stayed in production until 2012 (outside of the US).

Between 1986 and 1994 1/2 it shared a powerhead with the 6 and 8 horse models (at 12.6 cubic inch). In late 1994 they changed the platform so that it shared the 16 cube powerhead that was being used by the 15 horse - pretty much everything else stayed the same.

It has Merc's Thunderbolt 4 ignition - probably the best ignition for a portable outboard ever developed. The carb is a Walbro and while the model has changed over the years one from a 2012 model will bolt right up to an 85 model.

They have lots of guts, are otherwise well built (the powerhead and gears were built by Yamaha exclusively for Merc) and over the years they were assembled in the US, Canada, Australia and Belgium so there is a ton of them out there and just about every part on them is still in production (save the few modifications they made along the line, but those can be retrofit).

If you had "neither" motor, for me there would be no choice to make, the 2 stroke wins hands down.

But since you already have the 4 stroke (had it from new?) and you are looking at a used motor - and even with a bullet-proof 9.9 2S Merc - it may have been mistreated, so it's still a bit of a roll of the dice.

What is the asking price on the 9.9.

A 1992, in good shape, running, with some indication of recent maintenance is usually worth about 1000 bucks (in the spring) if it's been run exclusively in fresh water - knock off 25% if run in salt water or it's been "sitting" for a few years. Knock off another 25% if there is evidence of salt corrosion or it won't start but the compression is good...
 
Graham,

I was actually waiting to hear from you as you are the small mercury expert. I just acquired the 4 stroke in a trade. It runs good, but has a lot of hours on it. The 1992 2 stroke has low hours and is in immaculate condition and fits my application better. I can get it for $600. With that information I think I will purchase the 2 stroke and sell my 4 stroke. The 4 stroke is great, but I am not a big Tohatsu fan. I had a smaller version and it gave me all kinds of problems. THank you everyone for your responses.
 
I wouldn't hesitate for 600 bucks, that is a fine deal.

Some things to check/consider/plan for.

It's now 20'ish years old. At that point the upper/lower main seals may be on their last legs - they are cheap and easy to change.

The coils may already have spider cracks in the cases. If original they are more Bakelite than plastic and develop very very thin cracks that are almost impossible to see - if you get it give the coils a really good wipe down and look for cracks. If you find any at all it's well worth swapping them out.

Sierra makes a coil that will fit a whole whack of Mercs (including the portables). They are higher power than the OEM versions since they are also used on the higher horse models - plus they are less than half the OEM price (last ones I bought were about 25 bucks) - they vastly improve the cold start and idle on these motors (compared with the Merc coils).

Aside from those two issues I'm not seeing many legacy issues yet with 80/90 something portables - the odd base gasket and a couple of intake gaskets (on the transfer port cover), but otherwise they tend to run as well as the day they left the production line...
 
Just bought the 1992 engine. I am excited to go try it out. It is actually I think quieter than my 4 stroke. It is much smoother at and idle for sure.
 
They are not that loud - but when you open them up you get that 2 stroke "whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and the smell of burning TCW3 - smells like "victory" :)
 
I actually love the sound of a strong engine when you give it some gas. I did a test in October and put a 1985 2 stroke 8 hp yamaha and 2007 Mercury Fourstroke on my aluminum boat at the same time to see which I liked better. I thought the Fourstroke would be an easy winner. There was no comparison, after an hour of use I shut the 4 stroke off. It rattle the whole boat and was actually louder at idle than the yamaha. I ran the yamaha for 8 hours of exceptional fishing. The yamaha was far more quiet and idled much better. It also kicked the Mercury's butt in power. The biggest difference was I had far more minute throttle control to speed up or slow down while trolling with the yamaha than the 4 stroke. The four stroke was either a complete idle or fast with a very difficult time finding any in between. By the way the mercury 4 stroke has 10 hours on it and a recent tune up. the Yamaha had who knows how many hours and was running on year old gas. This is a pretty extreme example, but the reason i was trying to decide between the 9.9 four stroke or 9.9 two stroke. Thanks for helping me make the choice.
 
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