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  1. hotrod53

    Is the sun hard on Merc paint? Looks like I wasted a lot of time!

    A year ago this spring I pulled the top off of my 1977 Merc 500, the paint has started to flake after 37 years in the sun. I stripped it in some places, feathered other spots, and primed it with green rustoleum self etching aluminum primer. I then coated it with Merc black and Merc clear...
  2. hotrod53

    What fluid is used in a Mercruiser power tilt?

    This is a little odd.. but I have 2 Mercruiser cylinders on my hotrod for tilting the front end. I have a hydraulic pump that provides pressure to the cylinders and it currently has hydrauilic jack oil in it. The seals leak a tiny bit around the shaft and I have to top it off about once a year...
  3. hotrod53

    Properly tieing a 16' boat to a dock for a week of dockage

    I know its a stupid question for most.... but I've been a boat owner for only 4 years and I have never left my boat in the water overnight. Each time I use my boat I trailer it in and trailer it out. I'm going on a week's long vacation this summer and I'm taking the boat. The owner of the cabin...
  4. hotrod53

    Any tip on removing 36 year old registration numbers from the side of the hull?

    My registration numbers are 36 years old, as you can imagine, they are in need of replacement. I have 16 to do, the first 2 took me an hour, my thumbs can't take it anymore! I resorted to a hair drier and a wooden shim that used as a scraper but there has to be a better way.
  5. hotrod53

    Can I replace my tongue on the trailer without lifting the boat?

    I may be getting a replacement tongue since I have always felt mine was suspect (rust). My thought was to put jack stands under the back of the trailer in 2 places, then a jack stand under the keel up front. Has anyone done this and will it work, or will the structural integrity be so...
  6. hotrod53

    looking for 1978 Sylvan SeaMaster original specs, brochure, ect

    The Seamaster seems to be a bastard model, only a few years produced. There is downloadable info on just about every model but this one. Just for kicks, I'd love to find original specs, sales brochures, ect on this model as well as the 1977 Mercury 500 Thunderbolt.
  7. hotrod53

    1977 Merc 500 Thunderbolt minor water jacket leak, should I fix it?

    After the season concluded I noticed that I had a sign of a trickle of water coming out of the #1 spark plug area. I know that this 4 cylinder has no head, but a water jacket. I was wondering if I should pull the power head and fix this or not. I talked to a marine mechanic who suggested that I...
  8. hotrod53

    Should I be concerned about my trailer tongue and should I replace it?

    When I restored my boat and trailer 3 years ago, this will be season 4, I noticed that the tongue had some decent rust where the tongue was bolted to the piece that the winch mounts on. The trailer hadn't moved in 13 years and water/snow had gotten on there and caused rust. I sanded it, painted...
  9. hotrod53

    '77 Merc 500 water jacket leak question

    During my winterization, I noticed that there were water marks from #1 plug down onto #2 plug. I'm guessing the water jacket gasket is going bad and water is seeping out around the plug. Question #1, is my assumption correct? Question #2, can the water jacket cover gasket be removed without...
  10. hotrod53

    replacing my thru-hull fitting, does yours have a gasket?

    35 years old and my thru-hull overflow fitting is bad already ... LOL. This thing is so thin that you can actually see thru it, the sun has taken its toll after all these years. I bought a new one but it did not come with a gasket, I think the original has one. Do you just lather it up with 3M...
  11. hotrod53

    Merc 500 water pee question, is my impeller shot already?

    My '77 Merc 500 4 cylinder was peeing fine when I moth balled last year. Yesterday I hooked up the muffs and fired it up ... no pee. I pulled the block plug by the spark plugs and it was dry, I also snaked the pee hole. Today I blew compressed air thru the drain plug and I could hear air in the...
  12. hotrod53

    Newbie question, do you ever recharge your starting battery?

    This is my second year after the total renovation, my starting battery was new at the start of last year. I kept the battery on float charge all winter, once I installed it this year I never charged it and it has never let me down .... UNTIL TODAY! I took the boat out for a nice solo fishing...
  13. hotrod53

    For you guys who want to service your starters, here is the tool you need to make ...

    Starter troubles? Don't be afraid to rip into it, there is nothing to it! The only issue that you will have is reassembling the starter and keeping the brushes in place. The attached documents shows a breakout of a 50HP Merc starter and the tool that you can make in 5 minutes with a pair of tin...
  14. hotrod53

    Can I mix Quicksilver Premium and Quicksilver Premium Plus oils and premix?

    I bought a big jug of Premium plus and I have a little bit of Premium oil and premix left over. Do I need to run completely out of one and not contaminate the mix with the other? I'm thinking it doesn't matter, its not like going from Dino to Synthetic. In reading the container, they are almost...
  15. hotrod53

    '77 Merc Thunderbolt 500 kinda missing at high RPM

    Overall my 500 runs great. I noticed that at full throttle it kinda feels like it slows slightly for a second every once in a while. It almost feels like a mild version of dropping a cylinder but I don't think its that, it would definately lag more if that is what it was. I have new plugs...
  16. hotrod53

    Trouble with carb needles sticking, wondering why?

    Three times now I had a carb needle stick in the UP (closed) position, and not all on the same carb. These are the rubber coated needles. Each time I took the carb off and the bowl as dry, I remove the float and have to grab the needle/spring with needle nose pliers to free it. I have cleaned...
  17. hotrod53

    Is there a proceedure for adjusting the throttle control?

    I had my cables disconnected, it seems as though there is a dead zone between 1/2 throttle and full throttle and I have to go beyond 90 degrees for full throttle. Is there a proceedure for properly adjusting a Merc controller? Who knows, it may never have been right, this boat came with a 9.9...
  18. hotrod53

    Merc 500 carb/ignition bugs.. questions

    For those of you who have not been helping me with this already... '78 Sylvan Sea Master with a '77 Merc 500 50hp 4 cylinder, just launched after 13 years and the boat was recently rebuilt. I had a little bit of a rough idle in the driveway, but when I launched it, it cleared up after about 3...
  19. hotrod53

    Tillotson carb, what does a man have to do to get the fuel pump inlet from leaking?

    I had no leaks, I pulled the carbs to clean them and I had a hard time getting the plastic inlet piece off of the carb, it was stuck. Once I reassembled them, I literally had to reassemble the inlet piece 15 times to get it to stop leaking. I bought a rebuild kit with all new gaskets after that...
  20. hotrod53

    Repairing a Merc starter, what's all to it?

    My '77 Merc 500 starter gear has seen better days, it also occasionally sounds like the bearings could stand a little grease. From time to time it seems not to stay engaged as long as it should, I cleaned and lubed the shaft which helped somewhat. I'm usually not afraid of starters, I have...
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