125 Merc Questions

[Grey Wolf]

I've got a couple of questions for anyone who might know about Mercs. Not looking for motor bashing here either.

I've got a 125 Merc 2+2, it is relatively new. Bought it last I fall, got it broke in and had the break in maintenace done just prior to being stored for the winter.

Was out on the river yesterday, and I know it was darn cold, but even last fall I noticed that the motor was very cold blooded to get started. Is there anything I can do, or do differently to get it started and stay running initially. Once it warms up 5-10 minutes, it is fine.

Another question. Yesterday I pretty much kept my motor running all day. Every so often at idle the motor would seem to miss or cough and then spit out some extra smoke. It was almost like the top two cylenders were loading up with oil or something. It didn't do this last fall when I was breaking the motor in. Could it be because of the cold weather. Yesterday was the coldest weather I have ever run the motor in.

Any ideas would be most helpful. Thanks.

[fisher]

grey wolf: i have a 1997 mariner 125. same thing as a merc. i start mine by opening throttle about 1/4 to 1/2 way and choking. as soon as motor fires throttle it back and bump choke on and off for 5 seconds or so. this works best for me when cold or hot. merc/mariners tend to load up a bit when idling for a long period of time. you will notice when it spits and sputters when you crack the throttle wide open it takes a little bit to clear the motor out. this is the nature of the beast in my experiance. all in all,its a good motor. they dont blow up like alot of the others i hear about. good fishing

[Tommy Mac]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-26-01 AT 09:09PM (CST)[p]Grey Wolf, I have a 2001 115 and it starts and runs great, even when it's cold. What I do is hold the key switch in for 5 seconds before attempting to start it. After 5 seconds, may up to 7, fire 'er up. Once it starts be ready to push the key in some more, its going to want to die. As it dies a little push the key back in untill it is running smooth. Keep doing this untill it evens out. Should only take from 30 seconds to a minute.

If your not already, start buying premium fuel for 'er. She really likes the good stuff. Mine is a great idler. It will idle for hours with no spitting or coughing. I am also going to give Amsoil a try this year. Have heard a lot of good things about it.

For the prices of these motors compared to a Optimax or four stroke they deserve a premium oil and gas. They will run a lot better. Run a can of Sea Foam through it once a month too. Good Luck. TM

[Grey Wolf]

Thanks guys. I am already buying premium gas & oil. I'll try the choke trick this weekend.

[Banker]

What kind of product is Amsoil? Is it an oil or gas additive?

Also, I was told that adding a can of SeaFoam to EVERY tank of gas would help keep the 2+2 from loading up. Is this true?

[MR.Pike]

Amsoil is a Synthetic oil( Very good IMHO). A whole can of "Sea foam" per tank might be a bit overkill but,,, what the heck! Should have one "Clean" motor. Good luck!




<;{{{{{<<( Mr.Pike

[Scott]

One thing I've found with the mercs and Yammy I had in the past is that when idling for a long time, if you trim the motor up just a bit past level, it doesn't seem to load up as bad. I had an 87 200 Merc that would pur like a kitten with it trimmed up just a bit. Tucked under, it would smoke and miss and really carry on. Ditto on the premium fuel and oil. I like to run Engine Tune through it once per season also. It really gets the carbon out of the cylinders.Well worth the effort.