1994 Mercury Outboard; Help please.

[ArmyAviator]

First time poster. Great site. My 1994 Bass Tracker is equipped with a 25hp Mercury outboard. When at idle, the cooling water is not really a stream....fair amount of water is being pumped, but not a steady stream. But, upon application of throttle, the stream becomes solid & steady. Water is quite hot, but solid and steady. It has been this way since I bought it used in 1996. Is this normal? Or is (has) the water pump been bad and it takes high rpm to get a full suction? I dunno.

One more.....here in coastal AL, we can find water that is quite brackish, nearly seawater. Is a flush with fresh water all that's needed? Or can I flush something thru it to make sure all salt is out?

Best regards,

--Bryant

 

[achris]

Re: 1994 Mercury Outboard; Help please.

Bryant,

That sounds reasonable normal for those engines to me. In that era the cooling system telltale was the outlet for the thermostat housing and at low engine speed would show only a low flow. Later models had a differnet arrangement so a solid stream was present all the time.

If you haven't changed the water pump impeller since you bought the engine, I'd be doing it yesterday!!! The impeller should be check at least every two years... leave it any longer than that and you do run the risk....

Flushing with fresh water after use in salt is fine... Let it run about 5 minutes on the flushers and your done. It's best to store the engine in the upright position after use too. Lets all the water run out.

Cheers,

Chris..............

 

[ArmyAviator]

Re: 1994 Mercury Outboard; Help please.

Thank you, Chris...for the prompt and helpful reply. I truly have not changed that impeller since then....but I will now. I am comfortable with most repairs....but never pulled the foot off of an outboard. Leave to professionals....or is it fairly easy to stab it back in?

 

[achris]

Re: 1994 Mercury Outboard; Help please.

Bryant,

Go down to your friendly local Merc dealer and buy a service manual (take your engine serial number with you). All the information you're after is in it. It's not a difficult job, you should be able to handle it, and there is this forum if you need help.

My main recommendation is buy the manufacturers manual, the Seloc and Clymer ones are only useful as bin-liners!

I always tend to give more attention to people who have the right manual and are trying rather than those who are just winging it.

Cheers and good luck,

Chris...........