Merc 110 general questions

[bztguy]

I have a Merc 100 that was given to me, the previous owner claims it gave him trouble before he put it away 10 yrs. ago. He didn't bother with it, had a chrysler as a backup and just put the merc away. I basically don't know much about boat motors but I am very mechanically inclined and have a fair amount of tools and understanding of motors in general. Enough said. I did the basics you would do with any motor, pulled/cleaned the plugs, good spark on both cylinders. Checked and have good compression on both cylinders. Checked fuel filter - OK. I rigged a mount to an old picnic table to hang motor on, put a trash container under it filled with water, mixed some fuel, primed and choked, 3 pulls and she started.<br />Here's what I noted. Runs like it's missing for the first minute when cold then smooths out and runs fine. Starts with 1 pull and no misses when warm. Telltale stream very strong, blows hot water out of a tube at back of motor when throttled up(appears normal). Forward and reverse work fine, throttled her up and emptied the trash can twice of water. I since picked up a Solec book on mercs and found the points were gapped way to high, I re-gapped them, surfaces are fine. Put new plugs in it,(one of them was gapped way to high also). Drained/replaced lower unit lube (no water or foaming in it). The serial# is 1787223 which I believe makes it a 65'. Now after all of my ramblings here comes some questions. I did notice a very, very small amount of fuel seeping out from between the crankcase cover and the crankcase where they mate. I see by the solec book there is no gasket there. Is a small seepage normal or should I pull it apart and seal. Is the missing when it's cold normal? (the choke was not closed, used it to prime engine then opened it before it started) Other than that I'm scratching my figuring out why this guy put it away as having problems? Also, what is proper fuel/oil mix. Not knowing, I mixed it a little heavier than 32:1, I'd rather foul a plug than score a cylinder. I was dumbfounded the solec book didn't say.

 

[alcan]

Re: Merc 110 general questions

Hi Scott<br />The missimg/sneezing upon start-up could be due to a lean condition. When starting squeeze the primer bulb until firm/hard. Set speed control to start, close choke and leave closed until the motor pops or starts. This sneezing makes me think you didn't get quite enough prime. You probably need to clean the carb, this would surely help. Now about the fuel at the crankcase seam. Two strokes need to have a completely sealed crankcase. If you indeed have a leak here this would cause problems. Most of the time you can't get a motor to run good, if at all with this condition. Do some tests with soapy water to verify the leak. Lets hope this is just run off from some where else. If you do find it leaking at least you have a manual and have an idea of how to make the repairs.