New to me Mercury 650 - couple ?'s

[rsamsel]

Hey guy!

Got a new to me Mercury 650 to replace a 65hp Johnson HydroElectric shift on my boat now.

Couple issues.

1. Took me a bit to get it running right. Seems to start fairly hard. Normal for this motor? I ended up putting a fuel pump kit in it and adjusting the idle screws. That seems to have made things a bit better

2. The exhaust is coming through the 2 square holes ABOVE the waterline. When i was running it in a tank it seems like exhaust was coming through the hub but when i was idling down at the lake I walked to the back and there was only exhaust coming out the upper holes. What gives?

3. Lastly, the starter seems to take a ton of juice to spin full speed. Is there a way to refresh these starters to make them more efficient? I know a full rebuild would be pricey.

Thank you for the info guys. I appreciate the help and would never take on these projects without your support.

Rob

 

[Chinewalker]

1 - make sure the chokes are closing completely. Wear to the linkage may leave them partially open. Mercs like lots of choke on cold start.
2 - sounds completely normal. The above water outlets are merely exhaust reliefs.
3 - take the starter apart and clean it up. Check the brush wear. A brush kit is relatively inexpensive. Lightly oil the upper and lower bearings.

 

[rsamsel]

1. will do
2. Its normal that no exhaust comes out the hub when the boat is in the water? Its surprisingly quiet given the fact that the exhaust is not going below the waterline but the amount of steam from exhaust and hot water coming from those squares seems abnormal.
3. is there anything to watch out for? I know an internal starter wire was broken and i had to solder it back on. thats when i noticed there is alot of buildup from the "dust" and alot of rust. Wirebrush?

 

[Chinewalker]

When you're underway, the exhaust will go out the prop.

Check for abnormal wear on the starter bendix and the bearing/bushing areas. Check the brushes for excessive wear - they're fairly large when new. If they're worn down to nubs, replace them.

 

[rsamsel]

One more question that came up last night. I have fuel that spills out the carbs when i tilt the engine for transport. This is the 2 carb 3 cylinder model with the carbs on the front of the engine. It seems inherent that the fuel in the float bowls will spill when the motor is tilted up but I just want to make sure this is normal although kinda irritating?

Thank you,
Rob

 

[GA_Boater]

One more question that came up last night. I have fuel that spills out the carbs when i tilt the engine for transport. This is the 2 carb 3 cylinder model with the carbs on the front of the engine. It seems inherent that the fuel in the float bowls will spill when the motor is tilted up but I just want to make sure this is normal although kinda irritating?

Thank you,
Rob

My older model does that too. What I started doing was disconnect the fuel line twist connector and let it idle after I get her on the trailer. By the time I'm off the boat and finish winching, the motor runs out of gas and stops. I was getting tired of wiping up spilled gas in the splashwell.

 

[rsamsel]

My older model does that too. What I started doing was disconnect the fuel line twist connector and let it idle after I get her on the trailer. By the time I'm off the boat and finish winching, the motor runs out of gas and stops. I was getting tired of wiping up spilled gas in the splashwell.

Funny...a buddy and I had the same idea to "fix" this problem....oh the quirks of owning an old boat.

 

[GA_Boater]

I used to pump the bulb after filling the tank on the way to the lake and the motor was tilted up. By the time I got to the lake a lot of gas dripped into the splashwell, not to mention the mess under the cowl. I figured there had to be a better way and I don't hook up the gas line and squeeze until just before launch now.