1984 Mercury 50hp Question, need help..

[KCLOST]

Alright I hope you guys can help me out a little. I have a 50hp merc that runs great and starts up pretty well. The problem I'm having is that I have a water leak on the left side of the engine (looking from the rear). It looks like it is coming from (pardon my terminology) from a bad gasket not from the manifold around the spark plugs, but from another cover on the side of the moter (left). There are approx 12-14 bolts hoding this cover on and I'm pretty sure it is leaking on the bottom side. However the main motor cover, the part that the electrical, throttle and steering cables run through, covers up the bolts on the lower side near the leaking area. <br />Anyway this cover is the not the top (flywheel) cover, not the middle tin wrap-around side cover, those are easy, but the next one down. The pee hole exits through it. Is this thing easy to get off or out of the way without tearing everything apart. It looks pretty tricky. <br />Thanks for your help in advance.... I'd like to save some money if possible.

 

[KCLOST]

Re: 1984 Mercury 50hp Question, need help..

BTW, I'm getting a good water stream out of the pee hole. But I'm sure there is a bad gasket on the other side of the motor that needs attention... If there is an easy fix I'd like to know about it.<br />Thanks again...

 

[alcan]

Re: 1984 Mercury 50hp Question, need help..

Hello Kclost<br />You have a bad exhaust cover gasket. This cover has two parts an inner and outer cover. The inner cover (plate)is where the fire is. The outer cover is a water jacket for cooling the area. Sometimes corrosion will eat a hole in one of the plates and sometimes it just a bad gasket. Some guys will try to repair this with out removing the powerhead from the exhaust (lower leg) housing. As you note this is a major pain if possable at all. Due to the lower cowling. I would suggest first obtain a manual. then remove the powerhead. Not that big of deal. Then when you have clear access to all the cap screws procede. These cap screws have been known to be challenging at times. They like to snap off. Even with extreme care odds are you will snap at least one. I hope not. Any way take your time don't try and cut corners and the job won't take long at all. Try to cheet and you'll pay.

 

[KCLOST]

Re: 1984 Mercury 50hp Question, need help..

Thanks alcan,<br /><br />So just so I'm on the same page with you I need to ask. I will get a manual...<br /><br />So to get the cowling (cover) off I need to remove the Powerhead... Here is where I need help (I'm new at this) What and where is the Powerhead? Stop laughing....<br />Also do I need to remove the accelerator, shifting and electrical cables to be able to get the cowling off or out of the way enough for cap screw access?