79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

davidwjacob

davidwjacob

Cadet
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
28
Hello All,

newbie here.

I have a pontoon boat , and my father in law has a 1979 mercury 90 HP outbourd that was last run in 2001. there was nothing wrong with it , but the boat just got put on the trailer and then was put in his yard in 2001 and never used again. he said i could have the engine , but what would you recommend to get it back up and running again.

Thanks
Dave
 
BatDaddy1887

BatDaddy1887

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
463
Re: 79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

First thing is to get a manual for that engine, go to the sticky notes for some resources. Here is a link with a good start:

http://www.ehow.com/info_8417759_outboard-motor-checklist.html

Check compression, replace plugs, etc. This site has a wealth of information if you do proper searches on each subject you want to tackle. Of course, your local outboard mechanic could give it a once-over as well. I hope all works well and you are out boating soon!
 
M

MacDaddy21

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
280
Re: 79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

I would recommend getting a manual, and replacing plugs and checking compression, like Batdaddy said.

A motor that has set up for that long will need carb rebuilds, and fuel pump rebuilds, new fuel lines, new Lower unit oil, new plugs, check wiring under the cowling, look for frayed wires, especially coming from under the flywheel. hook it up to a battery and see if you have anything when you turn the key just for a second. The wiring on the old mercs is bad already, and will be worse if it has spent a lot of time outside, but manuals contain complete wiring diagrams and they are really very simple to rewire completely, following the diagram.
 
D

dlplost

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
117
Re: 79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

#1 replace the waterpump
 
M

MacDaddy21

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
280
Re: 79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

not much sense in doing that if there is no compression, or if it needs to be rewired....
 
P

Pokeye

Recruit
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
1
Re: 79 mercury 90 hp been sitting 10 years

Hi

Any joy in getting it going. I would love to salvage yours to get mine up and running....
 
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