Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

does anyone knows of any place that offers free on line service manuals for the 2003 Mercury 60hp Outboard oil injected.

Thank you in advance

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

NO.

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

I will save you the hassle of waiting for this "Free" Manual....

It will NOT EVER be available as a free offering....ever ever ever ever ever ever....etc, etc, etc...

Beg, Borrow, or Steal one....and in the event you still can't get your hands on one then simply buy one of the Clymer or Seloc manuals and you should be fine for general repairs and reference...

You might luck out and find someone who will scan and PDF the manual for you but not only is it illegal to do so....it is also just a BAD idea. Physically posessing a repair manual auomatically makes you a better person...at least as far as knowing more about your motor than someone else who does not own one....and you will gain a deeper understanding of the operation and relationships of many of the components that make up outboards and their systems.

And what procedures and questions those books do NOT cover the fine folks here in this forum will gladly help you with.

I promise you that buying the book is easily the most cost-effective thing you can do as an owner of a motor of any size, make, and model...

It is your decision, of course...and I trust you will notice that I am NOT calling you "cheap", "lazy", or "insane"..as some people might feel obliged to do so...rather, I encourage you to consider that there are times when being frugal is just not worth it....

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

consider me the minority, and im gonna take some slack, but i think information should be free. I have downloaded manuals for my ice fishing auger, and my 3 wheeler and it has been conveient, and helpfull. Isn't that what it's all about? There are a thousand ways to make a buck, but i believe information aint one of them.libraries don't charge, why should we? Let the flaming begin!!

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

floatingwoody2006 said:

consider me the minority, and im gonna take some slack, but i think information should be free. I have downloaded manuals for my ice fishing auger, and my 3 wheeler and it has been conveient, and helpfull. Isn't that what it's all about? There are a thousand ways to make a buck, but i believe information aint one of them.libraries don't charge, why should we? Let the flaming begin!!

Click to expand...

Totally agree...

And please tell me why Toyota won't even give up there part numbers! I like to order parts by the number, not a vague description of a part that the ID-10-T behind the counter has to interpret.. But their part numbers are 'confidential'... Why?????

Chris.........

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

you need the magic toyota key my friend.. Someone has it.. Why they won't share it is still a mystery to me.

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

Hee Hee...OK...I'll bite...

While you guys make a valid argument, and one that I agree with in certain circumstances, you also are missing the point behind published print media.

The "Library" offers you the opportunity to read something that has remained intact since the original author penned his words to the masses and you can be fairly certain that in 10 years' time that book will still be just as it was when you first went through it..right?
Online media is a completely different animal...the content is never fixed...it can be removed...it can be altered, censored, and yes...it can still cost you to view it.
But let's talk about this particular application (as I am sure this discussion can quickly become that which we all dread...a circular sermon) and discuss TECHNICAL references.

In order for a repair manual to be made available, it is absolutely in the best interests of both the original equipment manufacturer and the final publisher to ensure that the information provided within it is as accurate and logical as possible so as to encourage customer loyalty and prolonged market popularity.
Mercury allows publishers to mirror many of the factory-approved descriptions and procedures listed in their shop manuals in order to allow the end-user to be somewhat guided and, go figure, informed as to the workings of their products. This information could otherwise be restricted in a ridiculous attempt to hold the customer hostage and force them to have their equipment serviced by "approved" facilities (read-Toyota, and any other company that practices that kind of thing)...but no...Mercury, like many other companies, allows us to become our own mechanics and this is where the sticky part comes in...
In order for these companies to justify the loss of all those dollars of service and repair revenue they ultimately need to find some way of at least profiting from the initial purchase of the commercially available manual. They strike a deal with Clymer, Seloc, Haynes, or whomever and that chunk of money goes to pay off the large reserves of parts that now must be stocked in order to meet the demand over the next 20 years that the motor will be "repairable" by us now-enlightened owner/mechanics. It's usually a one-time purchase by us owners and hardly equates to recovery of the lost shop revenue, but it's something.
Now, in comes the free-for-everyone online solution and now there is NO value to the manufacturer to do a good enough job in the preparation of the manual as people who could not be bothered to spend 20 bucks on one are probably NOT going to spend the time or the money to keep this equipment in good enough condition that it would reflect positively on the durability, longevity of design, and user-friendliness of their products. I know that's a bit of a stretch, guys...but think about it from a purely corporate perspective and it makes sense...the product remains in use, and in good shape longer if it is kept in good working order and therefore the manufacturer gains the invaluable reputation as a maker of solid, well built, long-lasting equipment...(even if it is not the case, the ability to fix it properly makes it appear so).

OK..here is where the medication takes my mind..

Online freedom of the press is gradually killing the authenticity of information (hello wikipedia) and the MSN, Facebook, Text Messaging generation is quickly killing grammer and accountability for our communications. I am no encyclopedia or dictionary myself...of course...but having a trusted method of recording references and specifications and all the things critical to repair equipment effectively is something we all take for granted. A book is the solution...and books that get scanned and circulated for free will quickly translate into no books at all.(meanwhile..I am looking for a scan of a hose routing for my own motor...)

...OK....that was a bit of a journey...heh hee...sorry about that...
If you actually read this entire speech then I apologize for wasting your time...as I only wrote this for myself, as I have two kids (19 and 20) that have huge collections of books, songs, and movies...of which NONE are paid for (on the 8th Day God invented BitTorrent, Limewire, Kazaa, etc...)

PEACE and LOVE...and I will STILL sign Autographs...Thank You...

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

As the internet and computer usage expands; it seems to me that by far most product manufacturers are choosing to put their service and parts information online.

Some people will always buy the "hard copy". Others (the younger "computer generation" ) prefer to access things on-line and view on screen.

It seems to me that by not offering such information on-line that boat and engine manufacturers are placing themselves in the minority.

Chuck

As for the loss of service revenue; consider this:

(1) The engine owner who after reading the manual and realizing the complexity of the procedure that he was considering doing "under the shade tree"....decides to have the dealer do it.

(2) Or; the opposite scenario...where the job gets botched under the shade tree and the dealer gets even more revenue to fix the new stuff that gets broken.

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

If you have a library card check your local or state library system online. I found a manual online once at an online library(Ohio I think it was). It was the Clymer Mariner 94-97 2.5-60hp. They others as well but I didn't need them so I didn't note what they had. It used to let me in without a being a member but now I can't get back in.

Re: Any "FREE" Online Service Manual for 2003 Merc 60hp

Ahem...SeaKaye12...

You are right about the "Shade Tree factor" contributing to some of the visits to repair shops...but it is usually the last time that motor gets work done on it by that owner because the standard procedure for the shop that has to deal with a botched home-brew repair job is to HOSE the poor guy...trust me on that one...I know...

On another note...your mention about the "younger Gen"...

"Some people will always buy the "hard copy". Others (the younger "computer generation" ) prefer to access things on-line and view on screen."

Umm...just so you know I am rather up on this stuff...I have been a Mechanic for 30 years, owned my own shop, and worked for others.
As well...I have been building, selling, and networking Computer hardware and Software since the early nineties, owned my own store (when it was ridiculously profitable), and currently work for a Software company in Sales...I am about as "plugged-in" as it gets...

But...when it come to working on motors, or engines, when the specs or procedures are not firmly locked in my cranium I still find the shop manual to be the good ol' pal that sits there on the shelf, waiting patiently until called upon, and then proving it's value by supplying me with the torque spec...or the wiring diagram...or the whatever...I have a PC with a large LCD in my workshop and I tried a couple of times to use it as my reference tool...but it became a pain in the butt because sometimes you are just kicked back...after busting your knuckles on something that should have been a lot easier to get at...and all you want to do is grab that manual and look for that stooopid clevis pin, or c-clip, or whatever the hell it is that's giving you so much grief, and you want to do it right there...plunked down on the floor beside the freaking thing. I have seen a lot of apprentices at dealerships come up with clever ways of trying to go "bleeding-edge" with the ways in which they inform themselves about a particular job...but they eventually end up nose-deep in the book...looking at the nice pictures...and reading the procedures, and sometimes referring to notes that have been scribbled by another tech who found a better way to do it.

I can always Google my way to a Forum that probably has what I need and print out a copy of the info...but it then makes its way to the garbage can and I lose whatever scribbled notes, or highlighted passage that I thought would be good to have for the next time. So you see...your method is fine for the Shade Tree segment..and I concede the argument for not wanting to purchase a hard copy in cases where you do not perform elaborate and forensic repairs to your equipment is valid to a point...but once again, I would just be worried that when the time came for you to need a diagram, for example, you would spend how long on the net? then you would print it...or fire it off to your BBerry or I-diot-Phone(sorry..had to get that in to all you "I-Folks" ) but you know as well as I that things get a tad messy in the garage, right?...and that is why an old beat-up manual is still going to pay for itself long after the single sheet you printed out...or the stack of duplexed pages from a manual ripped from The Net gets stepped on, used as a shop rag, or gets tossed by your loving wife who was "just trying to tidy up that yucky mess you have in there". Heh heh...(god I love her) heh heh..

Bottom line...The Book you bought saves you $75/hour...and lasts as long as you want it to.
It's too easy nowadays to instantly jump to the "why should I, when I have the NET?" excuse as it really boils down to the choice of whether you want to "Do it right" or just brag to your pals about how you managed to once again "Stick it to The Man" (not directed to you, by the way).