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    Merc Outboard - 2 Year Old Engine Failure, 5 Year Extended Warranty Denied

    The bearings in the crankcase of a two-stroke are already coated with two-stroke oil. The gas evaporates and leaves the oil, which doesn't evaporate. I've torn engines down that have been sitting for 5 years because they holed a piston or seized up and even the rod big end and wrist pin rollers...
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    Merc Outboard - 2 Year Old Engine Failure, 5 Year Extended Warranty Denied

    Actually, no, it's not a design consideration. Sure, you can suck water up the exhaust on a four-stroke by shifting into reverse when moving forward due to the thru-hub exhaust and the pressure pulses in the exhaust system going negative when the throttle suddenly closes. But you did not get...
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    91 40hp 4cy 2-stroke Power loss

    Oh, to diagnose your engine problem; first of all it's only running on two cylinders in that video. It's not even close to reaching full power. It's pretty easy to verify you have ignition on all four cylinders. If you have ignition, you have a fuel problem. So start it and just let it idle...
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    91 40hp 4cy 2-stroke Power loss

    Oh To
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    91 40hp 4cy 2-stroke Power loss

    Not the reeds themselves, the reed block. I've replaced so many of 'em in those engines I've lost count over the years. The first thing you do is put your hand (or three fingers) over the carbs when it's running. If one will suck your fingers in, but the other won't, you got a busted reed block...
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    91 40hp 4cy 2-stroke Power loss

    That thing is not even running on all four cylinders. What you think is a misfire is actually one pair of cylinders firing now and then. Do the old hand over the carb test with it running and see which one has no vacuum. That will be the pair of cylinders that has the broken reed block.
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    gas prices

    Fuel is now the most expensive part of getting the boat to the lake. We live on the lake and have a lake home, it is not a big deal for us. But most do not have that luxury. When it now costs a $100 dollar bill to fill up the pickup to tow the boat to the lake to enjoy a Saturday afternoon on...
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    gas prices

    We have a lake home on a large lake in northern Wisconsin. We noticed the price of gas resulted in only about half the normal amount of boats we see on the lake for the 2022 fishing opener. We would normally get a big influx of boaters from the Twin Cities area who drive 150 miles to come here...
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    Transom Corrosion & Alumacraft not honoring warranties

    Ron, as far as I know only Alumacraft can perform a transom replacement at the factory. I don't know of any dealers that do that. It's a little drive from Winnipeg but I would suggest taking it to the factory in St. Peter, MN and have them look at it. You're not in-season yet and now would be...
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    Is 17ft long enough for a tournament bass boat?

    For B.A.S.S. sanctioned events, opens, regional and national, the minimum hull length is 16 ft. Horsepower limit is 250. There is no minimum horsepower requirement. The boat just has to have a functioning livewell and aerator, and all the Coast Guard equipment on it. And they got other...
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    Transom Corrosion & Alumacraft not honoring warranties

    It could be the dealer's fault. What aftermarket accessories were dealer-installed? Again, finding the actual source is just about impossible. If you use an ohm meter between the hull and a battery ground, do you get a continuity reading? The battery ground on your outboard likely makes the...
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    Transom Corrosion & Alumacraft not honoring warranties

    Right around 2015 or 2016 was the switchover at Alumacraft to all-aluminum transom. They used laminated marine plywood transom cores for 50 years before that. Aluminum, including the grades used for boats, is a self-healing metal. That is, if you scratch it an expose raw aluminum it "heals" by...
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    Transom Corrosion & Alumacraft not honoring warranties

    Have not heard of such a thing. You've talked directly with Alumacraft in St. Peter, MN or just a dealer? If the boat is under warranty Alumacraft will honor it. If it's out of warranty then it's your responsibility to fix it. I've re-cored transoms in both Lund and Alumacraft boats and both...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    Yes, Kiekhaefer chose to put the reeds on the crank instead of an external reed plate like other designs use. And it's a very good design, especially when you want to build D Mod hydroplane engines that turn 10,000 rpm. But they have a few quirks. Again, if the OP can't get it running properly...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    You are correct, reed valves don't weaken with temp, they weaken with age. Thermal cycling and fatigue causes a reed petal to warp. Diagnosing whether this is the case is very simple. I sent the OP a message and he can call me if he wants - I'll be happy to walk him thru diagnosing it without...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    For the OP trying to figure out how these engines work, this is your crankcase cover. The oval holes is where the air/fuel charge is admitted to the reed block. There is no seal between the cover (lower crankcase half) and the reed block - it is a precision machined fit. You can consider the...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    Doesn't take much to eliminate reeds. Simple hand over the carbs check when it acts up. If it's not spitting back thru one carb and has decent vacuum then it's likely not a reed. It does not require a complete teardown to do reeds - pistons don't even have to come out of the bores. Just set the...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    The reed valves allow the air/fuel charge to be pulled into the crankcase with vacuum when the displacement of the crankcase changes because the pistons are going upwards on their compression stroke. Then, when the cylinder fires and the piston comes back down the reed valves close, so it...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    Your engine does not have a thermostat. And there is no limp mode other than having a broken reed block on a four-cylinder, in which case it will "limp" back into the dock on two cylinders. The reed blocks are on the crankshaft in a Merc. There is two of them, one between cyl's 1&2 and the other...
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    1985 Mercury 85hp (4 cyl) runs great for 20 minutes then boggs down

    On the older four-cylinder mercs, if it has had a stator conversion from 9A black stator to 16A red stator with an inline voltage converter for the ignition pack, I've seen some tech's just lay that voltage converter and connections in the bottom of the cowling because there's no place to really...
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