Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

[coolguy147]

well so far i just love the mercury!

started up great. idled ok. top end was awsome! bogged a little when accelerating. should syncing the motor help fix this?

i printed out the sync page and next time i go over i will do it

can i assume the timing is correct since it goes wide open starts and idles good? i havent touched it and it also looks like it has never been touched.

omg so far my best running motor!

 

[arimatation]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

Dang that motor is the same age as me. Just shy of 2 years = half a century...

I am at the point of learning to do all the adjustments on my 1994 60HP Merc.

I would not want to assume the timing is OK. It probably is, but if its too far advanced you can melt your pistons.

Good luck

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

but i dont have a timing light nor the tool to stick in the spark plug

i mean what are the symptoms of off timing? poor starting? no idle? no high speed? all of those are no problem for me. by the way i think i might need a bigger prop for this motor lol. the tach said max was 8400 rpm. i did not put the throttle that high later. but that might have been when it just plained and it back down after. i dont know but ill check later what the reall rpm is.

 

[crem1]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

Definitely you would need a timing light, just to find out whether your timing is off

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

you need an induction timing light, was the tach set for 4 cylinder 2 stroke. remember you have been using it on 2 cylinders.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

You don't use a timing light on a 1961 motor it don't even have timing marks on it, you use timing stops or a dial indicator down the cyl. to set timing and pickup

 

[crem1]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

Is that the KIEKHAEFER ignition Laddie?

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

this motor has a magneto ignition. points and such in a box.

yeah that is what i though. i have to use that special tool i read about. only thing i did was check the timing belt which was 90 degrees off. i put it back on and evrything lined up perfectly!

again. it runs great!

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

by the way i set the tach on 90 degrees. so every 90 degrees it sparks? sound right?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

If you have reset the timing belt then know that there is a arrow under the plate on the magneto drive wheel, so with the bonnet off and if it lines up properly put the plate back on most plates have another line that when you turn the flywheel will line up with a second line on the flywheel with a 0 on it. With the second line on the plate lined up with the straight line on the flywheel the engine will be at .235 BTDC or about 35 degrees. With the mag against the advance stop and a OHM meter attached to the ground out stud the points should just break by moving the mag back and forth against the stop. That sets you max spark. once the stop is set. with the mag at max advance you should have about .015 between the tower lever and the carb pick up, if it's within .020 and runs go don't worry about it. REMEMBER more MERCURYS are screwed up with people adjusting on them than any other thing.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

yeah i remember the the "o" and the line on the flywheel and the arrow under the plate. i am still not sure why it was off?

so i do not need the timing guage unless i am resetting the flywheel key right? i can assume that it is torqued properly since it has been ran at high rpms and that i matches up with the belt and such.

all i need to do is check the max advance stop screw is correct right? so i do not need any adjustment on timing since i set the points at .008-.010.

what do you mean by tower and carb pick up? is that the carb pick ups right? adjusting the link and sync?

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

oh yeah and i forgot to ask if todays fuel will be ok with the motor. without readjusting the timing and such.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

what about the bogging issue when accelerating? would the carb adjusting fix this?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

The most common reason the older 4 cyls get 90 degrees off is the plug wires aren't in the cap right because the cast flywheels can't be disassembled and put back together out of index, if you have a advance line in the flywheel you shouldn't need a gauge correct. Yes, you should check the timing. On the top of the mag tower the is a cam that opens the carbs by pushing on a lever on top of the carbs. As far a today's fuel who know as each tank the alcohol varies. I can tell you we run our 4 cyl. 44cu.in racing engines beyond .320 and it has not hurt them but don't try it with a fishing engine as they are loaded heavier. As far as mid range bod it can be caused by a lean idle setting of the carbs opening to quickly.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

man am i really lost lol

i need to review the copy of the serivce manuel and have the engine in front of me while i am reading this.

when setting the max advance what setting do you put the ohm meter at? so positive at the ground out then negative grounded on the engine?

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

bump

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

Yes

 

[lindy46]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

I thought I'd check this on my 1961 Merc 400, 45hp. On mine, the straight line on the flywheel coincides with top dead center - I pulled the top plug and confirmed that. When I line up the line on the magneto plate with the flywheel line with the "O" through it, the piston has dropped down a bit. There is no way to line up the line on the mag plate with the straight line on the flywheel. When I did align the mag line with the flywheel line with the "o" through it, and advanced the throttle so the mag was against the advance stop, I loosened the nut and backed the phillips bolt out so I could rock the magneto against the stop (marked the original position). The ohmmeter read 0 ohms no matter what I did. I know my points are breaking as the motor runs fine. Maybe I had the ohmmeter probes on the wrong connectors? I tried just about every combination, and even disconnected the magneto wires to see if that would make a difference. Just trying to learn more about this motor.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

I stand corrected the TDC line on the flywheel is a straight liner and the line with a 0 on it is .235. My fluke Meter or Merc-o-tronic both read point flux from the mag. terminal, was the ign. switch disconnected or in the on position

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Mercurys are fast! 1961 mercury 500

yes to the ohm meter?