Okay, my mighty 1984 Merc 115 inline 6 went down hard two weekends ago. I ran through some shallow channels at idle (same as I always do), kept an eye on the telltale, good water flow, then once the lake opened up I went up to 2/3 throttle for about 45 seconds, then the rpm dropped all the way down...silence. The motor cranked but did not fire, and I saw no water out of the tell tale, so I used the kicker to get back to the dock (about an hour). <br /><br />Took it home, hoping for water pump impeller failure, and last week changed out the water pump (which looked fine) and found just a little sand in the exhaust port area of the lower unit (suck some sand through?). Put it all together; she started up and pee'd water, but sounded sick, as if one or two cylinders were not firing. <br /><br />So, today I pulled the plugs, and #2 (second from the top) looks gray/silver--whether it's water in the cylinder or aluminum on the plug, I can't yet tell. So I pulled all the head bolts, breaking three 
and cannot get the head off. Tapping with a plastic mallet does no good, and I don't want to mess it up any farther. What else awaits me, and any suggestions on disassembly? Any ideas on where to go next?<br />Thanks again, you guys are always the best!<br />Regards, Rich
and cannot get the head off. Tapping with a plastic mallet does no good, and I don't want to mess it up any farther. What else awaits me, and any suggestions on disassembly? Any ideas on where to go next?<br />Thanks again, you guys are always the best!<br />Regards, Rich