Mecury 60 hp TM60 tapping sound from engine

[jlh088s]

1994 Mercury 60 hp TM60; I was on the lake everything seemed to be running fine and then the engine died, I tried to restart it and it would not turn over, I then jumped from the trolling batteries and it started, drove the boat approx 1 mile to the ramp to load and at idle I heard a tapping noise coming from the engine. I suspect it’s a rod, but I really have no idea. Any suggestion would be appreciated as well as an idea of difficultly level of do it yourself repair (I have some experience with auto and small gasoline engines). Thank You

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Mecury 60 hp TM60 tapping sound from engine

Welcome to iboats.<br /><br />To check for a bad rod bearing, pull the sparkplugs and place an unsharpened pencil in one cylinder and turn the flywheel by hand until the piston is somewhere around mid-stroke. Rock the flywheel back and forth enough to get the pencil to move. Then repeat the procedure with the rest. If there's a bad one, the slop should be fairly obvious. Listen at the same time. You can usually hear it knock back and forth.<br /><br />If there's something seriously wrong, get a remanufactured powerhead. If you're good with wrenches, you can probably do it. I wouldn't advise an overhaul. It would be a real good idea to have a shop confirm the linkages and timing before you run it. If you go that far, replace the water pump automatically.<br /><br />It is extremely important to determine the cause if it's major. You don't want a repeat performance.