Hi. As I'm sure you're already aware, I know next to nothing about repairing boat engines and I am a first time owner of a boat. Just want to start off by thanking everyone for any assistance they can provide.
Ok, so at the end of last season, I bought a 24' pontoon boat with a 4 stroke 100 hp sea ray motor. It ran fine (as far as I could tell), we used it probably about 20 times in the month we had left before the docks came out of the water. The previous owner let us know that there was a problem with the trim pump, so I know I have that to repair. So I have a few questions related to the motor:
1. How can I identify the motor? From some limited google searches, I believe it is a '88-'89 mercury 100 hp. I tried pulling off the casing and I do not see any model numbers of any kind. Id like to get a manual so I have some idea of what I am doing.
2. How difficult is replacing a trim pump?
3. How much can I expect parts to be?
4. Are the parts difficult to find? Any go-to places that people tend to recommend?
5. Could I expect this model motor to have an alternator?
6. How fast should I expect a battery to drain when all that is being used are a few lights for nighttime boating?
7. We ended up charging a battery each time we went out after the first problem with the motor, but it seems like the battery would die after a few trips, is that normal?
8. When we went to winterize the engine, I found out that the air box was missing. It seems some people do this intentionally, should I look into buying one?
I'm sure I have other questions but I can't think of any others right now. I'm mostly concerned about getting the manual and starting to look for the replacement parts. If I can't do it myself, I'd like to know early so that I can either bug my cousin or bring it to the shop early before the docks go in.
Thanks again.
Ok, so at the end of last season, I bought a 24' pontoon boat with a 4 stroke 100 hp sea ray motor. It ran fine (as far as I could tell), we used it probably about 20 times in the month we had left before the docks came out of the water. The previous owner let us know that there was a problem with the trim pump, so I know I have that to repair. So I have a few questions related to the motor:
1. How can I identify the motor? From some limited google searches, I believe it is a '88-'89 mercury 100 hp. I tried pulling off the casing and I do not see any model numbers of any kind. Id like to get a manual so I have some idea of what I am doing.
2. How difficult is replacing a trim pump?
3. How much can I expect parts to be?
4. Are the parts difficult to find? Any go-to places that people tend to recommend?
5. Could I expect this model motor to have an alternator?
6. How fast should I expect a battery to drain when all that is being used are a few lights for nighttime boating?
7. We ended up charging a battery each time we went out after the first problem with the motor, but it seems like the battery would die after a few trips, is that normal?
8. When we went to winterize the engine, I found out that the air box was missing. It seems some people do this intentionally, should I look into buying one?
I'm sure I have other questions but I can't think of any others right now. I'm mostly concerned about getting the manual and starting to look for the replacement parts. If I can't do it myself, I'd like to know early so that I can either bug my cousin or bring it to the shop early before the docks go in.
Thanks again.
