motors age

[beradtke]

ok merc gods out there i have a question how do you tell the age of a mercury motor? I was told the motor is a 85. The starter says it is a 79 and the cowling on the motor is different colors for other 1985s i have seen. any help?

[Fr. Frank]

You find the year by the serial number using This Chart

[Bigshrimpin]

Here's a few non-serial number tips that might help you date the motor.

1983 and later have the top hat style heads.

If it's 1982 and earlier . . . the heads have a diamond shaped pattern.

(These cannot be swapped b/c the bolt pattern is different) 82 and earlier had bolts on the outside of the cylinder walls . . . and 83 and later the head bolts were moved to the outside of the water jacket.

84 and earlier had no oil injection . . . There won't be a hole on the front half of the block for the oiler and shaft.

1980 - 1983 had the earlier style enrichener with the manual override

79 and earlier have the flapper style choke setup.

Lower Unit on the pre-load style lowers (82 and earlier) have plastic louvered pickup and after 83 the pickup was cast into the housing.

[Bigshrimpin]

You won't find the serial number on the block of the 82 and earlier motors. Later on there was a freeze plug with the serial stamped into it. After 92 the serial was also stamped into the side of the block and the front half of the motor.

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Lots of parts are interchangeable. I run a 1979 mercury V200 powerhead with the updated enrichener, on a 1986 150 XR2 mid section (3 ram trim and tilt) with a 1991 Lower Unit, and a 1992 175 XRI cowling.

The heads are the dead give away that powerhead is a pre - 83 motor.

[strick]

I run a 1979 mercury V200 powerhead with the updated enrichener, on a 1986 150 XR2 mid section (3 ram trim and tilt) with a 1991 Lower Unit, and a 1992 175 XRI cowling.

Are you sure you are not related to spidercrab? or Johnny cash?..

strick

[Bigshrimpin]

85 would already have the 3 wire - 3 ram integrated trim and tilt. If it has external trim and tilt pump with one giant hydraulic ram or two smaller hydraulic rams (v200 - 1978, 1979, 1980) . . . then it's an 1984 or older.

Racing motors and even the 300 pro xs still have the external trim and tilt with one giant hydraulic ram.

[beradtke]

Ok the s/n is 5489350 which makes it between a 80-81 according to that chart.

The trim and tilt is the one big cylinder with remote pump. the polt pattern on the heads looks like yours bigshrimpin.

Cthe motor possibally be a late 79 since the date on the starter is 4 12 1979?

Are there any pros or cons to these age motors? Any lil tricks i can do to make them better. make it last longer? I have found the article about removing the idle spark module. will be doing that directly

[Bigshrimpin]

The older 2.4L vertical reed non-oiler motors aren't very desireable on the open market, but they will run a long time if care for . . . and they are a great match for the 20 seacraft's in terms of weight and power.



A few things to do before putting the motor into service.

Change Thermostats, Poppet, water pump impeller, clean carbs, inspect all wiring (trigger, stator (especially the yellow ones to the rectifier), harness), check compression, plugs (for any sign of water intrusion, fowling, or lean condition). Check coils and plug wires too.

Does you motor have the flapper style choke? if so you can swap the carbs and airbox with a newer 2.4L motor with wh-XX carbs . . . or just swap the bowls (with the floats) and tap the tops with a drill press for the enrichener fittings. This mod makes that motor 100X's easier to start.

The single style ram is great and super strong, but I wanted the pump out of the back out my boat.

[beradtke]

Put new thermostats,water pump,spark plugs, popet valve. Checked the comression before i bought the boat between 130 and 125 psi. I have the enricher style carbs on the motor (looks like factory) maybe good swap.I didnt clean the carbs cause the boat seemed to run well when i bought it. Wiring looks good on it ,i dont see anything that looks burnt of spliced. When running the boat i can get it to about 5900 rpms. I am looking for a merc mirage prop to help lift the stern(bow right now will stand up on a dime if i take off to hard).I think it has a stock style on it now.

[Bigshrimpin]

Are there any pros or cons to these age motors? Any lil tricks i can do to make them better. make it last longer? I have found the article about removing the idle spark module. will be doing that directly

Pros:
motor is as simple as they come.
Weight for a 1980 v200 is 355 lbs
Parts are dirt cheap.
V6 Lower Units are interchangeable from 1978 - 2005?
2.4L were chrome bore

Cons:
Head bolts on the cylinder walls.
Motor doesn't have fingerports like the 83 and later.
Steering arm, Bottom yoke, lower motor mounts, Tilt Tube.

Tips - Remove that spark advance/idle stabilizer module, Keep the fuel clean, Watch your plugs for signs of leaking head gasket, change the zincs, watch the wiring (stator, trigger, harness) . . . remove all the nasty insulation foam.