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    Lower Unit woes 1998 175hp

    In trying to help a friend ID the pinion gear on the bottom of his drive shaft. The four links provided in the link stickied at the top of the Mercury page didn't help to clear the block in my brain. Several of the charts stopped at 1996 and the others didn't really help either. I'm not...
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    81 Sea-horse 2hp only has low rpm

    Thought I'd start here and see if someone can give me some fresh ideas because I'm tapped out. I tried to fix this motor about 3 years ago and quit because it stumped me and a buddy of mine that's actually pretty good with fixing old outboards. I got this motor from my brother, who is a damn...
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    59 Evinrude 18hp steers too easily.

    It seems too stiff is the common problem on these but mine pivots too easily. The motor even twists from the torque of the starting motor. I've got the simple steering arm system. I can't find a nut or anything to tighten. I've got the exploded parts list and I can't figure it out from...
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    Any freshwater striper fishermen out there?

    It's still good around here (NW Arkansas) and I'm having a fun year with my new/old 16' Ouachita. I'm predominately a lazy troller with 2 downriggers but I love to catch stripers. Nothing too big yet this year, 13lb max, but I've caught at least one everytime I've fished. That's a record...
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    Thanks to Tasha, Rickster & Laddies

    Hope this is not frowned upon but I just wanted to express thanks to those 3 in particular. Yesterday I finally got my 16' Ouachita with a 71 Merc 500 out for it maiden voyage of freshwater Striper fishing. There were others that helped but those 3 really had the patience to help even with...
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    Bunks extending back past frame?

    I read on another thread where TD said when replacing bunks he usually runs them around 6" past the back edge of the trailer frame. I believe another individual mentioned a trailer with bunks 18" past/behind the trailer frame. I have a 16', probably 400 to 500 pound fiberglass boat with a...
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    Saftey Chains, coupler boats?

    Would somebody maybe supply a picture of their saftey chain attachment if you're confident it's a good set up? My last boat was a light 14' aluminum with a small trailer. I just got a saftey chain kit from WalMart that hooked the saftey chain to my trailer tongue with a 3/8" diameter square...
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    Bunk positioning.

    I have a 16' fiberglass, 71 Ouachita boat and I'm changing trailers. The new one has adjustable bunk positioning. I'm using 2ea 8' long 2x6s with the boat sitting on the flat 6". There are also 3 center rollers plus the roller on the stop bar at the front. On fiberglass boats should the...
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    Approximate boat & motor weight

    Could someone give me an approximate weight, maybe within a couple of hundred pounds, of a 1972 16' fiberglass Ouachita boat with a 71 Merc500 on the back. I'm considering buying an old trailor that has a max limit of 1485 lbs. Is the boat and motor too heavy for this trailor that is in good...
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    71 Merc500 ran smoother than ever?

    I've had this 50horse for about 9 months now. It has ALWAYS ran well, 5300 WOT, idles perfectly, starts easy. About 4 months ago I put a half can of Sea Foam in the 6 gallon tank on back to back tanks and only noticed very slight improvment in the performance so I just assumed the motor was in...
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    13 spines on a Merc prop?

    My 71 Merc 500 has 13 spines and a 10-3/4" x 12 pitch prop. I've noticed lots 13 spline Merc props on ebay that are much newer. Would the hub of most any 13 spline Merc prop fit my 13 spline prop shaft? Or are there varying diameters of Merc shafts with 13 splines? In other words can I get...
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    How do you add in a voltage regulator?

    I'd like to try adding one into my 71 Merc500 because I've got the common high voltage problem at WOT. From under the flywheel comes the two yellow wires carrying AC current that connect to the rectifier. From the otherside of the rectifier flows one red wire with DC current. First question...
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    Old stator effect on tach?

    After reading this forum a while it seems the high voltage caused by either a bad voltage regulator or from the normal degrading of an old stator is quite common. To reduce the voltage to your system it's usually recommended one get a new voltage regulator. This got me to wondering about the...
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    What types of wood are in transom base?

    I recently purchased a 1972 16' Ouachita fiberglass bassboat. The boat had a 1" diameter hole on the keel, about 6' to 7' from the front of the boat, where it had been shaved from beaching the boat. I don't know how long the hole had been there as it was unknown to the previous owner. I know...
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    Jetski motor in a jon boat.

    I have a friend that's looking for feedback from others that have put a jetski motor in an aluminum jon boat. He's successfully made three of them now, one for himself and two for his sons. Each time he's worked with a larger motor and is up to 1200cc motors now. Has this topic been...
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    Gear case drain plug washers

    Can a pack of oil drain washer/gaskets be purchased from iboats? I'm going to buy a couple of the drain plugs and I'd like to buy a pack of washers to have extras but I don't know for sure that I see them listed. This would be for a 1971 Merc500...
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    Sierra vs Mercury water pump kits

    Are the Sierra water pump repair kits sold at NAPA as good or at least good enough to use? Seems like quite a difference in price. For my 1971 Merc 500 the kit has quite a few parts for just $22. (1) 18-3007 Impeller - replaces O.E.# 47-89983 (2) 18-2945 Drain Gasket - replaces...
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    Oring size in female gas line fitting?

    Does anybody have a schematic or listing of the oring size or sizes (I suspect they are viton orings) in the female gas line (tank to motor) fitting that hooks on to the early 70s motors? The outer one appears to be a 204 or a 205 size oring but the one I have measures just about right smack...
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    Starting battery minimum requirements?

    I've got a 71 Merc500 and I'd like to get a starting battery and use my deep cycle for only trolling and assessories. I have a tendancy to sometimes almost deplete my deep cycle by trolling. Unless it's a foolish idea I'd like to keep my starting battery small. Would a garden tractor variety...
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    Need advice on repairing shaved keel (fiberglass)

    I've got an 72, 16' Ouachita fiberglass boat and I just saw that my front keel rib is shaved off to where the fiberglass keel rib is nearly paper thin with a couple of holes. The thin area is about 3 inchs long and about 1.5" wide. The base of the keel rib is about 2.5" wide. Here's my plan...
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