Mercury 950SS Motor, 10 years in storage!

[FishHunter007]

My friend and I recently bought a bought with a mercury 950ss motor. It had been sitting in a barn for about 10 years without being used. The previous owner said the motor worked when he parked it.

We got it all cleaned out, and are going to be testing the motor.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do to prepare the motor before we try to start it?

Also, how do you change the oil on this type of motor???

One last question. The previous owner said the motor would not go into reverse when he last used it. Does anyone know what the problem with that could be???

Thanks for all the help and input in advance.

 

[turtles11756]

Re: Mercury 950SS Motor, 10 years in storage!

the motor has a water pump that needs a new impeller installed.if you run the engine there is a tell tale hose that streams out water to let you know it's pumping water to cool the engine if it's not working the motor will overheat and there goes a real good old merc. you need fresh gas mixed at 50-1 with outboard motor oil. the only oil change is the lower gearcase. grease the grease fittings on the distributor cap and mid section (steering) get a service manual and learn . you probably have a really strong motor that needs some maintenance. i have the same motor (950SS) it's a 1967' paid $76.00 on ebay it's on a stand and fires right up after sitting for who knows how long

 

[daveswaves]

Re: Mercury 950SS Motor, 10 years in storage!

Also check the wiring harness inside the engine cover. The insulation on these old girls tends to crumble. I would also replace all the fuel lines , the original lines were rubber and will not stand up to fuel with ethanol in it. The carbs, will likely be cruddy. You can try and start it after you change the water pump but if it does not go don,t be surprised. If there was fuel in the carbs when it was put away 10 years ago the carbs will be gummy. They are a very simple carb and easy to clean. Since you will be changing the fuel lines anyway you have to take the carbs off so you may as well put the carb kits in and have no worries. On an engine that has sat that long I would remove the spark plugs and fill the cyl with wd40 or similar and turn the flywheel by hand to free it up. Do this when you have the lower end off to change the water pump. It should turn freely with no plugs and no lower end.