rejesterd

Yeah, that's pretty obvious. I bet you don't even let your computer fan blow hard before you shut it off and rip it apart to investigate..

See.. you saying "they want big money" is exactly why marinas don't bother serving this market. These are old engines that are very simple, and very cheap to fix. That's the main reason people hold onto them. So they don't want to pay lots of money to fix them.. even though that's what it costs to make it profitable enough for someone to do the work and make a living.

The other side to this is how pollutive older motors are. Eventually, most waterways won't allow them, no matter how well-cared for they've been. So for a marina to take the time and train their staff to repair them isn't really practical for the business. And I wouldn't say newer EFI engines are plug-and-play. I hook my engine up to the laptop, but it's like a car.. it just gives you codes. Some of those are helpful, but they usually don't give you a smoking gun. You still have to troubleshoot.

The exit stream only tells you that water is being pumped by the impeller. It doesn’t tell you if water is actually going through the tstats and cooling the engine block. That’s what the cooling water temperature sensor and the overheat alarm are for. Some newer engines also have a water pressure gauge, which is nice. You can also point a temp gun at the block to check the temperature. But at the end of the day, you’re relying on sensors (whether it’s a sensor installed in the engine or a tool like a temp gun). If one of those sensors goes bad, you might not know it before it overheats and blows the head gasket. So as always, it comes down to simply doing the maintenance. If you flush the engine, test the tstats and sensors, and replace the impeller regularly (and the tstats as well if you’re in saltwater), you should be fine.

If you have the means to get a boat and a vehicle that can tow it, I would get a bass boat. I've had a canoe, a kayak, and now a boat. I do not miss carrying my hull on my back (then separately lugging my equipment back and forth to the car), nor do I miss paddling against the wind. I only miss the lower cost-of-ownership. Just make sure you go into this with a good understanding of all the costs associated with owning a bass boat. Maintenance on the engine every year, maintenance on the hull, maintenance on the trailer, insurance, registration fees, etc.

Yep, look on Merc's parts site. I would assume there is a restrictor plate on the lower models that isn't on the 60, for example. But most replacement parts would be the same for all. I've looked at this for my Yamaha, and I think the only difference between mine (50) and a 60 is the ECM and that restrictor plate.

You changed the pump and plugs, but how about the filter?

I've driven both, primarily in a 3000 acre lake that can get quite rough. My father has a mod V and I have a deep V. I would say the deep V will do a little better when it's rough out, but it's not a relaxing ride on the water. It's still bumpy and you can't go full throttle (or you'll get splashed). But it will get you across the lake faster and dryer than a mod V imo. But otherwise, a mod V feels more stable, and it's easier to reach down into the water when landing bass. I guess the only other advantage to a deep V would be that it's fall-off-a-wagon easy to drive the boat up onto the trailer (since there are only 2 base bunks you have to line up with, not 4).

Yeah, I would say you had some water in there. You definitely want to trace that leak, but I doubt your gears are damaged. To really confirm that the lower unit is sealed, you can connect a bike pump to the lower unit fill port. If it holds a small amount of pressure (10-15 psi) for a whole minute, then any leaks would have to be coming from that fill port. But it's possible one of the seals needs to be replaced. I do that test whenever I see any cloudiness in the drained oil.

Just wanted to update this, as I figured out the problem: it was a bad rear brake light bulb. As soon as I replaced it, my test light started showing 12V only on the brown wire with the headlights on and the vehicle in park.

I'm checking at the hitch plug. I'm going to do the rewiring today with new LED lights, and see what I get.

Hi All - My trailer is about 10 years old, and I've been having intermittent issues with the lights. When I started inspecting things last week, it was clear that the ground connection to the frame wasn't solid and the wires going to each light are pretty corroded. So I decided to rewire the whole thing and get some new submersible LED fixtures. Right now, I'm testing the 4-wire coupler on the vehicle side, just to make sure everything's ok there. However I'm getting some unexpected results on my test light, and I want to confirm if what I'm seeing is right or wrong. When I turn on my headlights with the vehicle in park, I'm getting 12V not only to the brown wire, but also to the yellow and green wires. I've tested with my test light and a multimeter, and I get the same results. My understanding is that only the brown should be getting 12V when the headlights are on and the brakes are not applied. Is that correct? Note that when I put the blinkers on, I see that my test light blinks as expected for each side (yellow and green). Nothing has changed with the wiring on the vehicle side since I had my hitch installed, and the lights did generally work correctly most of the time. But I thought green and yellow are only for the brakes and turn signals, so I didn't expect all 3 wires to get 12V. Is what I'm seeing expected, or do I have a problem with the wiring on the vehicle side? Thanks so much.

The rules for gear oil are different than engine oil. The primary reasons synthetic oil is superior are 1) it flows better in freezing cold temps (which most of us don't deal with in boating) and 2) it has additives which help extend the life of oil seals and hold in soot/other solid bits better (which don't typically occur in a gear housing). Unless you're seeing metal bits come out when you drain it, I would just keep using what you've been using. And if you are seeing metal bits come out, I wouldn't expect a synthetic oil to solve that problem.. it would help suspend those bits better (and not allow them to cause as much damage), but you'd still have a problem to fix.

If you inspect the bearings regularly, you don't have to worry.

In general, you have to focus your attention to the engine. You have to narrow down what "beat up" means. The engine's service manual will help you do that. Then you'll have a general idea of how much it will cost to fix.