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  1. hotrod53

    1977 Merc 500 water in oil

    This old Merc has been bulletproof for 13 years. This year my impeller went bad after just 2 years and I replaced it. Now yesterday I noticed that I got some oil leaking out of the water intake when I tilted it up. Today as I winterized, I drained the lower unit and my oil has water in it...
  2. hotrod53

    Need not peeing on first season fire up

    1977, Merc 500 Thunderbolt….I put a new impeller in at the beginning of last season. Today I fired it for the first time of the season in the river. I typically like to test fire in the river because this Merc doesn’t pee as well on muffs. The Merc started right up and for the first little bit...
  3. hotrod53

    77 Merc 500 thunderbolt started/solenoid issue

    When I try and start my Merc 500, I turn the key and nothing happens for about 3 seconds, then the starter begins to crank. It doesn't do it once ive started it a few times. First time out it took a really long time before it cranked. A few seasons ago I disassembled the starter checked the...
  4. hotrod53

    Can a new impeller be bad?

    Working on a '77 Merc 500 4 cylinder Thunderbolt. I pulled my LU and replaced the impeller, it was 5 years old and it didn't pee on the test fire. I dropped the LU and the original was cracked on each leg but no broken arms. After installing the new impeller, I still couldn't get flow. The pee...
  5. hotrod53

    My trusty 500 Thunderbolt let me down today, looking for suggestions

    1977 Mercury 500, thunderbolt ignition, 4 cylinder, no distributor, new plugs, new fuel line from the tank to the fitting but not inside the power head, full tank of fuel, StarTron treatment in the mix. The last 4 years it ran flawless, this year its been in the water for 4 hours and today it...
  6. hotrod53

    1977 Thunderbolt 500 throttle cable slipping off, have questions

    Last year I replaced my throttle and shift cable, since that time my throttle cable slipped off twice while on the water! The pin that has the roll pin in it that goes through the adjusting cable is where it comes off. Am I missing a keeper or something? I never had this problem before the cable...
  7. hotrod53

    Looking for a read on my plugs, picture included

    I have a '77 Merc 500 Thunderbolt. I put new plugs in this motor when I built the boat 4 years ago, I've had them out to winterize, but apparently didn't pay much attention. I'm running NGK center fires BUHW-2 and the motor has been running trouble free. Last winter I bought new plugs and today...
  8. hotrod53

    Bearings and tire durability on a long tow, your opinion and experience wanted

    I'm planning a trip this summer with my 16' Sylvan. My trailer has 5.30 X 12 tires that are in pretty good shape, I also replaced all bearings and outer races last year and I keep my bearing buddy's full. I always disassemble everything, clean, and repackaged before a long trip. Last year I did...
  9. hotrod53

    Wheel question, what if my center hole is larger than my hub?

    I replaced my wheels a while ago , but I've wondered about this. My hubs have bolts, not studs. My center hole is larger than the hub therefore they are a bear to put on, but I developed a technique. Does it matter if the hub is smaller than the center home of the rim other then making it hard...
  10. hotrod53

    To sandblast aluminum power head cover or not to sandblast the cover?

    My '77 Merc 500 top power head cover was peeling and looked like heck. Last year I sanded and feathered all bare metal and bad edges. I used aluminum primer followed by Mercury phantom black and Mercury clear, after buffing it up, it shined like a new penny! Before the year was over, I started...
  11. hotrod53

    Merc 500, can't get the prop off

    I see some fishing line wrapped around my prop shaft so I decided to pull the prop. I was able to remove the keeper and the nut, but the prop doesn't want to slide off of the shaft. I squirted a little PB Blaster on it, but no help so far. Any suggestions for getting it off? It's been on there...
  12. hotrod53

    How often do you change your center fire plugs?

    I'm going on year 4 on these plugs. They look good and the Merc 500 runs pretty well but five been noticing it stalling a bit more from idle to gear. I'm sure that I could use a few more RPMs too, I just had the throttle and shifter cable replaced. How often do you replace these?
  13. hotrod53

    Painting or sealing the top part of my transom, what should I use?

    4 years ago when I replaced my transom, I glued the 2 layers with marine epoxy and then coated thevwhole package. The wood looked real nice and kinda like as if it was covered with urethane. After the first or second winter the coating started to crack or check. I think it's because snow can get...
  14. hotrod53

    Mercontrol wires falling apart inside the control box, now what?

    I had the Mercontrol apart to replace the cables and discovered that a previous owner had made a wiring nightmare inside. All of the solder joints on the ignition switch were cold solder joints, wires were fraying, and it was just a whole lot of ugly. Long story short, my wires are all cracked...
  15. hotrod53

    Anything scary about disassembling a Mercontrol?

    I have a feeling that my cam may be bad in my Mercontrol. The F-N-R all works great and the enriched works normally, but I have to go to 50% on the throttle before it comes up off of of idle. From what I have read, I'm thinking that the cam that pulls the cable may be shot. The problem with this...
  16. hotrod53

    Onboard charger questions

    I have two batteries, starter battery way in the back, trolling in front of the console. The 2 bank chargers all seem to come with a 5 or 6 foot charging cable. If I centrally locate the charger up under the console, I can easily reach the trolling battery but the cable will not be long enough...
  17. hotrod53

    Winterizing my Merc 500, did I do OK?

    Obviously lower unit oil change, that's a given. Over the last 3 seasons I have done this the same way, I just wanted to see what the general opinion of my method is. I did not run the motor and fog it, that was tough to do by myself. I opened the throttle 100% and stuck the fog oil straw in...
  18. hotrod53

    how often do you change your plugs?

    When I got my 1977 500 Thunderbolt 4 cylinder, the original owner said "never go out in the water without spare plugs". Having worked on 2 stroke dirtbike engines for many years, I know that when they run right, the plugs will last a while. Install the wrong plugs or mix your fuel wrong...
  19. hotrod53

    Basic livewell operation questions from a nube

    I've had my boat on the water for 3 years now. Because we are basically catch and release fishermen, we rarely fill the livewell, actually I typically store my anchor in it. My livewell is a tank under the captain's seat, it holds probably 10-15 gallons if full. When I rebuilt the boat, I...
  20. hotrod53

    Expectations of a starting battery, would like you experience and opinion.

    I installed a new starting battery 3 years ago in my 16' Sylvan to turn over its 50 hp Merc. Typically I charge the battery over the winter and leave it on float, I install it in the boat, then I never have to touch it again. This is year 3 after the rebuild, both years 1 and 2 I got a dead...
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