Mercury vs Johnosn

[murrayfish]

I've had several Mercury motors in the last 10 years or so. From 7 to 150 hp. This week I'm working on a 72ish 6hp Johnson. It's the same for the most part but I feel better. Seems like it would outlast the Mercury. One thing that caught my eye this morning was the impeller on the Johnson. No doubt it would outlast any of my Merc's. Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[gm280]

WOW I see you like living on the edge... I have to admit I once was an avid Mercury owner for decades. However, since I rebuilt a'76 Johnson 40HP engine, I think Johnson was/is built better... I know I will get chastised for that, but that is MY honest opinion... :smile:

 

[Frank Acampora]

Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge!

Any impeller will get torn up quickly if run dry. When running, water pressure forces the vanes away from the pump wall and the impeller has no friction, it acts like a centrifugal pump. The only real difference in impellers is how much water they will move.

 

[racerone]

Agreed the original impeller on a 1972 Johnson is a very good design.---Outlasts the impeller on a similar year 9.8 Mercury.-----The 72 6 HP Johnson is one elegantly simple and well designed machine and will outlast several owners with normal use.-----Make sure you keep water out of the lower unit.----One of the best fishing motors you can own and no expensive , hard to get parts on it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Uh OH!

 

[ttankmoran]

These days all of the outboard engine manufacturers make good reliable units. Back in those days OMC had a clear advantage in my opinion, when it came to design, longevity, and ease of repairs mercury didn't come close.

OMC's were never really the fastest on the lake but they are definite work horses.

I have a 1966 Evinrude 6 HP, pretty much the same engine as that 1972. When dialed in you will be hard pressed to find a sweeter running engine.

Of course this is just my opinion.....

 

[JimS123]

One of my daily runners is a '53 OMC. I have quite a few beautiful Mercs, but they adorn the walls in my boathouse. Don't need to have an opinion in the matter - just go out on the lake on a sunny Sunday afternoon in July and count the old Mercs vs. Johnys vs. Rudes. The data will tell the story.

(if you see a Chrysler you can say Ahhh)

 

[murrayfish]

With the new impeller, that looks just the same as the old i get lots of water. Now if i can just keep it running! More to learn, more work to do.

 

[bonz_d]

I have a 1969 9.5hp Johnson that I've owned since about 1980. Bring it out every year, change lower oil and it fires right up. Can't remember the last time I put spark plugs in it. Am temporarily using it on a new used 14' boat.

 

[murrayfish]

Amazing what happened when I replaced the fuel lines and added an O ring to the fuel connector! I now have a running 72ish 6hp.
Life is good.

 

[alanfox55]

No Title

Agreed the original impeller on a 1972 Johnson is a very good design.---Outlasts the impeller on a similar year 9.8 Mercury.-----The 72 6 HP Johnson is one elegantly simple and well designed machine and will outlast several owners with normal use.-----Make sure you keep water out of the lower unit.----One of the best fishing motors you can own and no expensive , hard to get parts on it.

I owned and used a 72 6 hp for three years and sold it 3 years ago still running strong. When I bought it I knew nothing about outboards and probably did a lot of things wrong before I started to learn a few things. I knew nothing about impellers or water pumps so I never changed, or even inspected it. As long as I saw some water coming out I figured the motor was working OK. I knew nothing about treating gas or draining gas before storing so never did. In spite of all my ignorance that motor started first time every time and never let me down. Pretty darn good for a motor that old I would say.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Has no one heard the old maxim taken from a Mercury advertisement: "Take a Mercury if you want to get there. Take a Johnson if you want to get back" LOL

 

[steelespike]

I had my own boat when I was 6. A 10' "sharpy" with a 1.5 Evinrude.
Always had on a racing style life jacket.I soon learned about the different approaches to outboard motor production.
We often used a pair of pliers and a screw driver for basic OMC motor maintenance.
My little Evinrude was always outside regardless of the weather So usually need to have water removed from the fuel system.
Mr Merrick ever patient would help me service my motor about every other Saturday.Allways would suggest to keep the motor out of the weather
but it never happened.
It always seemed that OMC figured the easy logical way of doing things No finicky machining of parts no sophistication just
easy operation.In the early 50s OMC had a 2 cylinder 25 hp under stressed motor Merc was running a 4 cylinder
25 with a magneto distributor.If memory serves I think you had to remove the flywheel to service the mag.
This did serve them well up to and including the 6 cylinder "top"

 

[Guest]

The 6 hp Johnson and Evinrudes are pretty much unchanged from 1965 on. They are the best fishing motor you can get your hands on and YES! parts are still easy to come by. OMC fiddled with the ignition over the years (improved them). But like most of the 6 hp owners here attest, they are solid little engines and are very forgiving, even when abused. I bought a 1965 model in 1991 and fished with it for 10 years before selling it to buddy of mine who still has it and still fishes with it. As long as you keep a water pump impeller in them and clean plugs, you're good to go.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

I have a 3hp 6 hp and 9.9hp old evinrudes from the 60's and early 70's. They don't get run often but they never fail to start. Evinrudes and Mercs are like the beatles and the rolling stones fans. It is either one or the other. I will say this the Mercs from the 50's and 60's are way more pretty to look at than the Evinrudes.

 

[JoLin]

Has no one heard the old maxim taken from a Mercury advertisement: "Take a Mercury if you want to get there. Take a Johnson if you want to get back" LOL

Was just about to post something like that myself :joyous:. I remember it (1960's) as, 'You buy Merc to get there fast. You buy (Johnson/Evinrude) to get back.'