115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

[popknot]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Doing it myself is probably not going to be an option as I have no garage or shop to do it in (I don't even have a shade tree) I have very limited tools and virtually no experience measuring pistons cranks and cylinders for tolerances. I would really need someone with knowledge and experience there with me to help me through it and I don't have anyone. A rebuilder in Florida gave me a price of $1600.00 to rebuild mine which seems pretty reasonable but I have to get the powerhead off and ship it to him(roughly $200.00-$250.00) and he wants carbs and all as he says he runs and tests them before returning them. But then I risk damage or lost in shipment. I worked for several trucking companies believe me I know. And I'm not sure what he planning on doing for $1600.00 what all that includes need to call him back and ask. Otherwise he quoted a rebuilt powerhead for $1800.00 I could get someone to swap out clean carbs time,tune adjust and get it up and running.

 

[reynold460]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Doing it myself is probably not going to be an option as I have no garage or shop to do it in (I don't even have a shade tree) I have very limited tools and virtually no experience measuring pistons cranks and cylinders for tolerances. I would really need someone with knowledge and experience there with me to help me through it and I don't have anyone. A rebuilder in Florida gave me a price of $1600.00 to rebuild mine which seems pretty reasonable but I have to get the powerhead off and ship it to him(roughly $200.00-$250.00) and he wants carbs and all as he says he runs and tests them before returning them. But then I risk damage or lost in shipment. I worked for several trucking companies believe me I know. And I'm not sure what he planning on doing for $1600.00 what all that includes need to call him back and ask. Otherwise he quoted a rebuilt powerhead for $1800.00 I could get someone to swap out clean carbs time,tune adjust and get it up and running.

i had a 1984 tower that i got fed up with lets face it these are old motors that no matter what you fix the other thing will break , i know the feeling tho i wanted to rebuild mine also , had a bad piston and water gettin into motor but after looking on craigslist and seeing that i could move up to a used 90's motor for the same money as rebuilding my tower, got a 89 115 mercury for less than cost of rebuild, i had to go that route so look around for a good used outboard before commiting on rebuilding that 26 year old motor

 

[BonairII]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

I'm not a fan of spending big bucks to rebuild an old motor. In the OP's case, he doesn't know what caused the burnt piston so he could possibly rebuild the motor only to have it blow up again.

For the crazy prices, he has been quoted....it would be cheaper/easier just to buy another used motor(or two).

If it were me, I'd part out the Merc and use the money toward another motor. JMO

 

[canoemang]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

I'm not a fan of spending big bucks to rebuild an old motor. In the OP's case, he doesn't know what caused the burnt piston so he could possibly rebuild the motor only to have it blow up again.

For the crazy prices, he has been quoted....it would be cheaper/easier just to buy another used motor(or two).

If it were me, I'd part out the Merc and use the money toward another motor. JMO

For me.. I cant give up on the TOP.. I just bought a 88 merc 115 with a bad 3rd cyl ($200.00)..

I love the nostalgia aspect. They get horrible mpg but nothing sounds like a mid 80's L6 wound tight..

As you were bitten by the "starcraft bug".. ive been bitten by the L6 BUG

 

[bunker108]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

I was on the hunt for a replacement for my 1150. After looking at some outboards at a shop and on Craigslist I decided to keep mine based on outrageous money folks wanted for not that much "newer" outboards. Granted I am not doing a total rebuild, just replacing all the water/ exhaust gaskets. But my carbs are rebuilt, Mercontrol totally rewired, and new trim hoses and pump were iadded. So in my case I was better off cracking open the current power head because of all the new parts on the other systems. The OP is in a tough spot not being able to do the work himself. A more modern repower might be an option depending on the condition of the rest of engine.

 

[popknot]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Thanks for all the response , much appreciated. Unfortunately for me I too, as Canoemang said, have been bittin by the L6 bug. I really like this old motor. In fact that was one of the reasons I bought this particular boat. I am only the second owner of this complete rig since 1986 and I have all the original factory manuals and all. The old gentleman I bought it from had taken very good care of it. The day after I brought it home it had rained and I noticed the water all beaded up on top of the motor when I went out later and looked the boat over I could see the remants of paste wax around the edges of the cowling where he had waxed the motor. I just don't think that a bad piston should be the death of this motor. The motor failed because of my own lack of knowledge of 2 stroke outboards. The boat had set and not been run in over a year with gas in the tank because the old man had injured his ankle and could no longer use the boat. I should have never raced out to the lake and run that motor until a good mechanic had checked everything out and given it the go ahead. The mechanic told me from his observation it had run lean and didn't get lubrication to the piston. And as I think of the events of the day I believe he is correct from the way the boat acted that day. It was giving me signs and signals I didn't recognize. Sooo I was looking the motor over the other day and it really doesn't look that difficult to remove the powerhead. I think I'll check around and see if I can find a garage or shed some where I can rent for cheap for a while and see if I can remove the powerhead and go from there. One thing I have learned in my 54 years in this life "Often times where theres a will there really may just be a way" So we'll take it a step at a time and see how it goes. And from the looks of this forum all these motors are prone to problems and they're all expensive to fix. Please do keep the info coming its much appreciated and needed.

 

[canoemang]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Good to hear man.. keep it alive!

Power head removal is 8 nuts, 3 on each side and 2 up front. Remove the caging and electronics,flywheel n carbs and it pops off, also make sure to drop the LU prior, makes it way easier..

It really isn't that hard to do, pay attention to details.

 

[BonairII]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

If you're hell bent on fixing your motor. You can buy one of the portable car garages for around $149

Didn't have a pic of the $149 model, but this is what I'm talking about
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-15-ft-portable-garage-68217.html

 

[palmrose2]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

I'm going to pipe in here as a newby with very little experience with outboards. I do have experience with 2 stroke chainsaws, snowmobiles, and bikes. To my way of thinking, boring out one cyl .030 over and leaving the rest alone is not that bad of a deal. I really don't think the power difference between the cyls would be that great. i personally know of a snowmobile engine that ran a long time with one 400cc cyl and one 440cc cyl. In fact the sled itself was eventually junked with the engine still running strong. Seems to me that it would be a lot less than "rebuilding" the entire power head. All new gaskets of course.

 

[redjmp]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Do it yourself and save a ton of money and a pita of shipping and dealing with an out of state mechanic..

I just starter tearing down my 84 115 merc tower and it really isnt as intimidating as you think. Get a good service manual, take pictures and keep track of parts etc..

My 86 rebuild was my first and was a bit intimidating... Running strong after 34 gallons of gas.. The feeling you get when you slap it back together and it fires up the first time is a great feeling of accomplishment!!

I agree 100%!
Rebuild it yourself for under $1k and be proud!
Or just fix the one bad cylinder for much less.
These motors have the best power to weight ratio of any other engine on the water and will last virtually forever if you maintain and treat them right.

 

[popknot]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Is it just the 3 bolts that hold the lower unit on? Just drain the oil take the 3 bolts/nuts loose and drop the lower unit?

 

[popknot]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Good to hear man.. keep it alive!

Power head removal is 8 nuts, 3 on each side and 2 up front. Remove the caging and electronics,flywheel n carbs and it pops off, also make sure to drop the LU prior, makes it way easier..

It really isn't that hard to do, pay attention to details.

What's the advantage to removing the L/U prior to power head removal? And what's the proper procedure for removal of L/U?

 

[kvjimbo]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

What's the advantage to removing the L/U prior to power head removal? And what's the proper procedure for removal of L/U?

You probably need to pick up a shop manual on the Internet. I'm not sure where you can find one. Also take pictures every step of the way.

 

[bunker108]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

I just removed the power head or the first time myself and recommend removing he lower unit. It will be easier to free the power head without the driveshaft splines trying to keep everything in line and holding on from below. You only need to free the head from the lower gasket with the lower unit dropped...Make sense? I actually didn't have any problems removing the power head with the lower unit installed, but ran into problems during reassembly. If I ever do the job again I will drop the lower unit.

 

[popknot]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Update

The Tower of Power lives! Got her back from the shop thursday. Had it out on the lake twice now. All 6 cylinders bored and new pistons, new stator, new impellar, all carbs rebuilt, new fuel lines and filter and bulb. So back out and having fun. So far so good seems to run good, still trying to run through break in fuel. Got about a third of a tank left then will go to normal mix. Thanks for all the help and info I'm sure I'll need more. John

 

[aussieflash]

Re: 115 Tower 4 th piston burnt

Oh.....ok......so thats it??........I should of read the last post first,it was building to a good story.