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  1. M

    Merc 850 lower unit oil - how black? and stating quirks

    Hi everyone, A while back I posted about my Mercury 850. I blew cyl 2 in my old one and bought a new powerhead from a guy who had his lower unit stolen in the marina yard. I water tested it on his boat before I bought it, and after a compression check. Compression was good all around and the...
  2. M

    How do you flare a brass, through hull, bilge fitting?

    Have a new transom and floor in my boat. I epoxied in the brass tube that sticks through the transom to drain the bilge. The end which was flared is inboard and the straight end is outboard. It sticks out about 1 1/4". I expect that I need to cut it so that there's about 1/4" sticking out...
  3. M

    Floataion foam legally required in Canada?

    Does anyone know if floatation foam is legally required in Canada? I just redid my floor and transom and the boad had zero foam in it. Additionally, there's really no place to put it. It's a small boat, so maybe it's under the size were foam is required? Anyone know about this? I don't mind...
  4. M

    Re-Fastening shoebox deck/hull joint

    I'm about to refasten my deck/hull and I have rivets and washers. I have the largest rivets I can get without a special riveting tool. The boat has been taken apart before and the lip of the deck and hull are full of holes. I'd like to use the same holes that I drilled the rivets out of, but...
  5. M

    Riveting deck back on

    I did a search for rivtes, rivet, reattach, rivet deck... I found a few interesting posts but none specific enough.<br /><br />You'll see my project in my signature.<br /><br />The deck has been removed before. There are a lot of rivet holes. I expect that what was done, the first time the...
  6. M

    woven roving too heavy?

    I've been looking to buy supplies to do transom and stringers in my boat.<br /><br />It's a 15 thundercraft wildcat (looks like a small checkmate) with a Mercury 850, straight four cylinder 85hp outboard on the back.<br />It's a small boat used for pleasure touring at speed, and water skiing on...
  7. M

    West System - Gel state, how soon for laminating

    West system says that the epoxy will reach a "green state" or Gel state after pot life but before final cure. It says that you can reapply once it's in this state and it will chemically bond with the first coat. The longer into the gel state the less effective the chemical bond will be. <br...
  8. M

    Transom and Stringers in a week, full time? *edit-not possible photos added*

    I have a 15' thundercraft wildcat. The transom is roten and so I expect that the stringers are rotten as well. I saw ants on it when I untarped it this spring as well, so that worries me.<br /><br />I have a week of vacation to do the work. I have one bay of a two car garage to work in if it...
  9. M

    15' thundercraft wildcat - more transom questions

    I finally found a powerhead for my motor and that's just about put to bed. I now have to address the spongy spots in my transom around the bolt holes. I've been reading all the transom/stringer questions I can search out here and still have questions of course.<br /><br />1. I plan on...
  10. M

    merc 850 trim tilt diagnosis?

    1973 merc 850 with tilt and trim.<br /><br />The tilt currently works entirely and will hold the motor up. The trim leaks down under power.<br /><br />I was wondering if this is any indication that the problem is in the cylinders or check valves in the pump.<br /><br />Most of what I read in...
  11. M

    Help pricing Merc 850 powerhead

    I've been wrapped up in rebuilding my 850. I found a powerhead in working condition which is a better option than boring.<br /><br />Can anyone suggest pricing?<br /><br />it's a 1973 merc 850 thunderbolt. No lower unit (just mounts and the drive shaft housing)<br /><br />I'm Canadian, so it...
  12. M

    Replace just one connecting rod?

    I have a mercury 850 7033755 I think it's a 1974.<br /><br />I'm in the middle of a rebuild and my connecting rods don't look so good. They're CAN$180 each so I don't want to replace all four. I think I nicked one pushing out the wrist pin.<br /><br />The manual says nothing about replacing...
  13. M

    Measuring Rod Journals - 1974 850 4cyl

    I'm just about to buy pistons to have my block bored after damage to cyl. 2.<br /><br />I'm told that I need to check the journals on the crankshaft for round. I'm also told if it's out by more than half a thousandth that I should consider the scrapping the project. I'm a little concerned...
  14. M

    merc 850 - how bad is the damage? worth the new parts?

    I've posted various questions before about rebuilding my mercury 850 serial no 7033755. I am currently at the crux of the rebuild, just before spending a great deal of money and would like some popular opinions about my options.<br /><br />The initial symptom was no compression in cylinder no...
  15. M

    cylinder taper

    I'm going to be honing the cylinders of my Merc 850 with a deglazing tool designed to be used with a hand drill.<br /><br />Is there an alternative I can use to honing oil? It is rather difficult to find and the machine shops I've called don't sell it and aren't intersted in giving or selling...
  16. M

    Should I use a Ball Hone?

    I've been trying to find a machine shop who will agree to hone a blind cylinder in my merc 850.<br /><br />I looked ball hone up on internet and what I saw looked like something you would put into an hand drill or drill press and use yourself.<br /><br />Can anyone offer any advice on this...
  17. M

    OMC guys check out the merc forum... I don't want to miss out on half the exper

    I'm concerned that I'm missing out on half(or more) of the excellent knowledge out there.<br /><br />I need to know if I need to buy new pistons<br />but I should only really direct you to my topic in the merc forum.<br /> http://www.geocities.com/mercfix <br /><br />if you click on the...
  18. M

    Do I need to buy new pistons?

    What should the top of a used but still servicable piston look like.<br /><br />Mine have this lava rock look to them. I'm not sure if they're worn or if it's just carbon buildup that's uneven.<br /><br />If you click on the thumbnails, the images are quite large. Dial up users beware.<br />...
  19. M

    How do I fix pits in the inside head of the cylinder

    Mercury 850 mid seventies serial numver 7033755<br /><br />Some images<br /> http://www.geocities.com/mercfix <br /><br />I guess the ring in cylinder number 2 broke apart and left bits of iteslf imbedded in the piston and the head. <br /><br />Remarkably the cylinder walls are relatively free...
  20. M

    Mercury 850 thunderbolt rebuild project

    I figured I would stop coming up with new topics everytime I encounter something that I'm not sure of. Since this is my first rebuild since AutoShop in High School, I'm sure I will have more questions along the way.<br /><br />For everyone who has seen my previous topics, I actually got the...
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