1995 Mercury 115 HP hasn't been started in 5-years

wagnerD

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I have a 1995 Tracker Nitro with a 115hp Mercury 2-stroke engine that due to (work and Illness) has been sitting in my garage for 5-years. I'm concerned about starting it for the first time in a long while. It was "winterized" before putting away. Fuel was ran dry, fuel was topped off and stabilized with Sea Foam. What should I be concerned about after the engine has been sitting this long? Impeller? Seals or gaskets? Suggestions on what to do prior to cranking it over would be very helpful - I don't want to mess the engine up. Any guidance would be much appreciated.
 

wagnerD

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Thank you for the suggestion, and replace the fuel (30 gals of premium - ouch!). Other than that everything should be okay? As mentioned - I don't want to mess up the engine by not doing something I should.
 

DeepCMark58A

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Well once it runs I would drop the lower unit and replace the water pump impeller and check the lube in the lower unit. I am not certain on the 5 year old gas, stabilizer can only do so much, I would do a smell test on the gas, if it smells funky get rid of it.
 

DeepCMark58A

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You could try adding Star Tron to the gas. Many here call gasoline additives snake oil but I add Star Tron to any gas I put in a can or boat. I know from experience it makes a difference.
 

flyingscott

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Start and run the motor on a pre-mix tank of 50-1 until you verify the oil injection is working.
 

DeepCMark58A

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That is all well and good for those of us with multiple motors, multiple boats. If you have 1 boat with a built in tank the likelihood of have a spare gas tank laying around is pretty slim.
 

wagnerD

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That would be me. I'm no boat mechanic so even dropping the LU and checking the impeller / water pump is probably out of my wheelhouse.
 

flyingscott

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$50 for a tank off of craigslist or borrow one from a friend, or take your take your chances and hope the oil injection works. Cheap insurance against a $3-4000 powerhead repair
 

Texasmark

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That would be me. I'm no boat mechanic so even dropping the LU and checking the impeller / water pump is probably out of my wheelhouse.

The impeller in the water pump will have taken a "set" whereby the blades will be permanently bent back and rigid, not flexible which is necessary with a centrifugal pump...a pump that compresses fluid by reducing the chamber size in which the blade is rotating, to compress the medium and increase the pressure. At low rpms you will have gaps between the blade tips and the pump wall thus reducing cooling efficiency. At high speed you will usually be ok.

The lower unit oil may have had water in it and that may have provided corrosion which can lead to breakdown. If nothing else, remove the lower plug (under the gear case bulge in the lower unit) and pay particular attention to what comes out. If no water and oil is blue black, then you made it on the corrosion but still should drain and fill with fresh. You can purchase a repair manual on here by subscription or purchase a hard copy.

Your fuel lines are due to be replaced since the engine is now 22 years old and has (probably) been used with ethanol. Lines crack and degrade inside the engine and the fuel line from the tank to the engine including the squeeze bulb. My gray OEM fuel line started degrading internally at 10 years producing scale which, over time, clogged my fuel system and shut down the engine.
 

ondarvr

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If it was winterized, just connect it to a tank with a 50:1, hook it up to the garden hose and see if it starts, you don't need to do the other stuff until you know that it runs. You can use about any gas can, just stick the fuel line in the can (without the fitting on the end) and squeeze the bulb.

​Once you know it runs you can do the normal maintenance, get the old gas out of the fuel tank and get it cleaned up.
 
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