Need help identifiying part for 1977 Mercury 500 50 HP

gonelong · #1 March 9th, 2007, 11:52 PM

1977 Mercury 500 EL / 50 HP

I have a cracked hose behind the Coils and switchbox that is about 8" long that needs replaced. It runs up from the bottom cowl assembly to the side of the motor casing. The casing/housing is all black expect for this little golden metal insert the width of a dime or so. The hose is connected to this little insert which has a ridged nipple on it. Unfortunately for me, this little nipple broke off. Doh!

1. I have no idea what part this little insert is.
2. I have no idea if this insert is threaded or connected to something on the other side. Thus I have no idea how to extract it safely.

To say I am a novice would not be going far enough. As far as engines go, I couldn't find my butt with both hands and a flasthlight. Of course, this is why I have purchased an old boat/motor ... to learn a bit about them and the maintenance of them so that someday when I can afford something nicer I'll have a bit of experience in keeping them maintained.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I picked up "Mercury Outboard Shop Manual" written by Lahue from the library but its no help in this regard.

Regards,

gonelong

DHPMARINE · #2 March 10th, 2007, 09:09 AM

You should be able to go to the dougrussell.com site and find exploded views and part numbers for your engine,using your serial #.

DHP

Smig · #3 March 10th, 2007, 11:02 AM

gonelong,
If it goes to the cowl it sounds like the tell tale hose connector. Take at look at #16 in this image - is that the part? It connects to #15 in this picture

If not, post a picture...

Ralphy · #4 March 10th, 2007, 02:55 PM

Or could it be the hose from the lower crankcase bearing to the upper bearing? It's purpose is pull some oil/gas as it collects in the lower bearing and kind of mist it into the upper bearing to provide lubrication for it. Pretty sure the only way to replace the nipple is to open up the crank halves and remove/replace from the inside.

jddenham · #5 March 10th, 2007, 03:43 PM

I have a 1976 500E (short shaft). I will check it out tomorrow.

gonelong · #6 March 10th, 2007, 05:33 PM

DHPMarine and Smig - thanks, I had located those two sites but I can't tell from those photos which piece is the one I am looking for.

From reading the manual I found at the library I thought it might be the tell tale hose connector as well.

jddenham if you could check it out that'd be great. My boat is stored in a garage over the winter. I'll be running up to get it in a week or so and will be able to post a picture of it if the part is still a mystery at that point.

Thanks for the replies so far!

gonelong

gonelong · #7 March 11th, 2007, 08:31 PM

I had a chance to run up and get my boat today. Here are the picture of the mystery part.

Ok, my info was a bit off. The piece is about the size of a pencil, as is the tube that connected them. The tube is connected at the bottom with a hex-nut.

In this photo, the piece I am talking about is the little golden circle in the middle of the photo.

Here is the little nipple that broke off. It has two little ridges that hold the threaded tube on.

gonelong · #8 March 13th, 2007, 04:02 PM

Ok, what I still need to figure out is ...

1) What is this little golden insert part?
2) How do I extract it and install a new one?

The tube connected to it is about the size of a pencil. The tube itself is thick-walled, there is not much of an opening for something to travel through it. The bottom of the tube is connected with a hex-nut at the bottom of the cowl.

Any help would be appreciated.

GL

gonelong · #9 March 15th, 2007, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralphy

Or could it be the hose from the lower crankcase bearing to the upper bearing? It's purpose is pull some oil/gas as it collects in the lower bearing and kind of mist it into the upper bearing to provide lubrication for it. Pretty sure the only way to replace the nipple is to open up the crank halves and remove/replace from the inside.

I think you might be right. After looking at several manuals and inspecting the parts diagrams I think I need
#25

The hose I had connected to this part is about the same size as a pencil, but the opening in the tube is only about the size of the lead in pencil. This seems to be too small to be a tell-tale hose, it would clog much too easily if run in mucky water I'd think. (though this might not be the original hose.)

Thoughts?

GL

Smig · #10 March 15th, 2007, 09:19 AM

GL,
I have a feeling you are right. I should be able to take a look at my 500 this evening and I will try to take a picture if possible.

Smig

gonelong · #11 March 15th, 2007, 02:21 PM

I took the leap today and ordered the insert and the tube from a local dealer. It'll be coming in a couple of days. I'll let you guys know if I was correct when I get them in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralphy

Pretty sure the only way to replace the nipple is to open up the crank halves and remove/replace from the inside.

Gulp! I guess I better start studying those repair manuals.

GL

Smig · #12 March 15th, 2007, 07:10 PM

Those should be the right parts that you ordered. Here is the Upper Bleed Hose on my 500.

Keep us posted on how it goes...

Smig

gonelong · #13 March 16th, 2007, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smig

Those should be the right parts that you ordered. Here is the Upper Bleed Hose on my 500.

Keep us posted on how it goes...

Smig

Thanks for the picture, that confirms to me that I am on the right track here. I think my parts will be in Mon/Tue so it'll be next weekend before I'll get a chance to do anything with them. I'll take some pictures as I go and post 'em, maybe they'll help someone else out someday.

GL

gonelong · #14 March 27th, 2007, 04:32 PM

Ok, I picked up the parts today. I'll take a picture of the old part and the new part tonight and post them.

Unfortunately, my boat is up at my buddies place. I checked out all the switches, lights, etc. and we now have them all hooked up and working save 1 switch and 1 lgiht which I also picked up today.

GL

gonelong · #15 March 29th, 2007, 02:15 PM

Good news and bad news ...

First the Good news ...
WooHoo! Got the parts in, took some pictures, will post them later in the week. We were able to extract the piece that broke off and insert the new part. Attached the new hose to it and wrapped up a few wires that were showing a bit of wear. Hooked everything back together, hooked up the battery, and it fired right up!! Sounded good too! Thanks for the input to get me this far!

Now the bad news ...
Put muffs on fired up the motor, wanted to let it run for 10-15 mins at idle to see if it would keep running. Absolutely no tell-tale water flow. Shut the motor down right away. Put the lower unit in a trash can filled with water, tried again ... nothing. Took an air hose and blew from the tell-tale exit. It blew bubbles in the trash can, which means no real seriious obstructions.

I'll be off reading about implellers and water pumps. If anyone has any suggestions or can point me to any pertinent threads, please do. I have a buddy that is at home today and can give any suggestions a try. Have a fishing trip planned in 13 days!! Need to get on the job!

EDIT: Is there any way to check the water pump seperately? If I could elimnate that I'd just go get an impleller and replace that to see if it would work.

Thanks in advance!

GL

Smig · #16 March 29th, 2007, 02:41 PM

Water pumps are easy...

This raises the question, how long has it been since this motor was run? If it's been a while, take a look at "Awakening a sleeping outboard" in the Engine FAQ's

gonelong · #17 March 29th, 2007, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smig

Water pumps are easy...

This raises the question, how long has it been since this motor was run? If it's been a while, take a look at "Awakening a sleeping outboard" in the Engine FAQ's

Easy? I didn't even know that a marine motor had a water pump! Ha Ha. Well, I wanted to learn so I guess I need to suck it up. I can get the parts locally.

The boat was last run in the summer of 2006. It was my neighbor's baot that his son used pretty extensively that summer. I bought it after they didn't winterize it and busted the lower unit up. I had the lower unit fixed after he practically gave me the boat.

I have a service manual at home, I'll see what it says about installing a water pump, but if it entails taking apart the lower unit I'm going to be a bit nervous about it.

GL

tmcalavy · #18 March 29th, 2007, 06:13 PM

Not too hard a job, takes a hour or more the first time after that less than an hour. Follow the manual instructions and make sure the impeller gets keyed to the driveshaft with the little pin when you put it back together. With my 73 Merc 500 the manual recommended dropping the LU with it in Neutral...I found it easier to have it in Forward. Patience is the key so take your time and have an adequate supply of tasty beverages on hand. Let us know how it goes.

Smig · #19 March 30th, 2007, 09:08 AM

A water pump was the very first thing I ever did on an outboard. As tmcalavy said, a good manual, patience, beverages and I would also add, someone to share the beverages with - a second set of hands makes life easier!

gonelong · #20 March 30th, 2007, 11:56 AM

I'll post some picutes/explanations of how I went about replacing the bleeder hose and connector and pump/impeller once I get the pump & impleller installed. Hopefully that'll help the next guy who has that problem.

Since I am diving into the DIY realm here, what documentation would you suggest I purchase? I'd like to find a repair manual that is specific for the engine that I own, but I am not sure these even exist. When I search, I only see SELOC and Mercury manuals that cover a range of engines.

I am assuming that at a minimum I want the repair manul and that a service manual and parts list might be nice, but not completely neccessary.

Do either of you know where I might find a repair manual that is **specific** to my Model? I figure the cost of the manual will easily be offset by the first DIY repair I undertake.

Thanks,

GL

Smig · #21 March 30th, 2007, 02:23 PM

I recommend having two, the factory service manual and one of the aftermarket ones - take a look here on iboats for aftermarket and at oldmercs.com for factory. I actually found both of mine on ebay.

I also have parts lists, but only because I found them for a good deal. Most of the parts can be found on the web sites mentioned earlier in the thread.

You can also look on themarinedoctor.com, there are a few videos there. I am sure there are some others out there also, so search around and you will find a lot.

Smig

tmcalavy · #22 March 30th, 2007, 08:54 PM

Smig's right...check the auction site for a Merc factory service manual, or the www.oldmercs.com site. I still have the factory manual for my 73...why? I don't know...guess I'm hoping to come across another one someday. Invaluable reference for stuff the Seloc manuals don't cover too well.

gonelong · #23 April 4th, 2007, 01:18 PM

OK, got the impeller repair kit and managed to get everything pulled apart and the new impeller/gaskets installed. I have some pics I'll post with a write-up next week (along with pics/write-up of bleeder hose/connector). It turned into a 3 hour job or so, but much of that was cleaning out the upper housing. We could have had it done in 2 hours easy. I could do it again by myself in less than an hour if I had to do it again today.

The old impellers was in pretty bad shape. It had melted a bit and I had to clean out the upper housing as it had melted onto the metal. The upper and lower housing seemed fine, so I think I am good to go. This took about an hour as I had to soak it a bit, chip a bit away, soak it some more. I'd have put a new one in, but no one has one in stock at the moment. I'll probably get a new one and install it in a few weeks.

The only thing left to do is put back the lower unit oil. Of course, I have no idea how to do that either! Ha Ha. I am assuming I don't need anything outside of a funnel to do so. I am also assuming I can put it in either the draing plug or vent screw hole depending on how I have the motor situated. I'll do some seaching here and refer to my manual.

If I would need any kind of special tool or hose, please let me know and I'll be able to stop by the place on my way home tonight and pick somethign up. I might anyway as I am thinking of putting in new oil anyway.

Thanks for all your help so far!

GL

pepinfish · #24 April 4th, 2007, 01:49 PM

hey..u want to take all three plugs out to fill your lower unit at least my 850 merc has three plugs..anyways after you get plugs out you want to fill from the bottom plug hole i use quart jugs with a palstic nipple that you screw onto top of quart jug..most hardware stores will have the nipple for a dime..you fill it from the bottom till the fluid comes out the second plug hole showing no air pockets coming out of second hole then quickly put your finger over second hole and then remove quart container on bottom hole and install bottom screw..make sure you keep filling till all air pockets are clearly gone coming out of hole #2..
good luck..

pepinfish · #25 April 4th, 2007, 01:56 PM

hey.. i should have said that you want the motor level in vertical position when you fill the lower unit..and the reason for making sure all the air pockets are out is to make sure that unit is full..also when air pockets stop keep squezzing jug till u get your finger over second hole then pull jug out..you dont want vacume to suck fluid back out..
good luck