Re: Ticking sound on a 25 hp merc outboard
I'm thinking possibly a problem with the neutral lockout mechanism, or the recoil mechanism. If not that, another possibility would be a worn wrist pin. Does the clicking increase or decrease with throttle? If you were really worried that it's a wrist pin going out, you could carefully take a screwdriver and stick it in the spark plug hole one at a time, while moving the flywheel until the piston is just after top dead center. If you can use the screwdriver to push down on the piston and feel a lot of slop in the piston, that's likely it. You should be able to push down on the piston anywhere in it's travel (I'd check it in various places near top dead center) and not move the flywheel or you may have a problem. You may feel a tiny bit of slack, but more than a tiny amount is not good..
I wouldn't expect a bad wrist pin on a 2001 unless someone has run the motor with no oil or too little oil--or an overheat.
It's probably something small.
BTW, I had an old johnson with a bad wristpin that made a ticking sound and although it would run without full power, it had about 1/4 inch or so of slack that you could feel with the screwdriver.
JBJ
