25hp 2stroke merc questions?

[scoobeb]

That makes 2 of us fuzzygrub,I would also like to hear how to modify the 25 to go that high of rpms with no failing in the motor.What king of stuff had to be done to it to acomplish that kind of speed or high rpms.I got my full tank of gas today and i'm running 14 oz of oil to 6 gallons which is like 60:1.It is a hair smaller then a 16 oz dose of oil it needs to run at 50:1.I am also running full synthetic oil if that makes any difference at all.I only put in 2 oz less just to see how much different it performs.I went to my marina which sells all the major brands and just asked the same curious question.

Why can yamaha run on a 100:1 and no others can.He said you could if you wanted to without any problems,he also suggested to run the xd100 in my merc motor if i ever planned on doing that.I have heard some awesome feedback from a bunch of people who run that xd100 full synthetic oil in a pre mix outboard with awesome results.Like crazymanme said to each their own.I guess there is no right or wrong way to do it.Alot of people say follow the manufacture specs,then in another line you will see i would never run a 100:1 only 50:1 no matter what the book says.I went with a good ratio of both worlds at near 60:1.Not to much and not to little so i'm protected.

Taking her out tom or i will say today soon on weds.I will post how she did.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I remember doing 16:1 and 25:1 mixes. I have no problem staying at 50:1.

 

[scoobeb]

Well took her out for a fishing day,just got back.I have a few questions that i think you guys maybe able to answer.

Ok first of all when the motor is in N an R it locks itself,in F the motor isn't locked.Is this motor suppose to lift up on a fast stop.In other words when i came to a slow stop and took my time stopping from a distance to stop it was fine but when i wanted to like slow down right away and come to a complete stop on a dime the whole back of the motor would come up.Not all the way out of the water but somewhat it would pop up,is this a normal thing for this motor.I know you are suppose to keep the lock open so if you hit something the motor will pop up but i have never had a motor pop up when i was coming to a fast stop.

Also i noticed that the exhaust is so low on these motors,when it gets rough it almost goes under.I would think that won't hurt anything.It ran like a bat out of hell.She has a ton of power that is for sure.We went over 30mph,2 full adults,gear etc....

Aslo i don't think my power head is leaking but is there a way to know for sure if it is?Would water just flow out of the gasket fast or slow or sometimes it's hard to tell.I noticed quite a bit of water got under the cowl,that was because it was rough in the water today.Any help on this stuff would be great.

 

[crazymanme2]

I know on the older Mercs their unlocked in forward but not sure on the newer ones.I will look at mine tomorrow & post.

 

[scoobeb]

Mine is a 2003.It's a weird setup this motor.I have never had any motors lift up when coming to a full stop fast.I stopped at my marina on the way home and the guy told me everything on the motor seems to funtion properly,he said it just may be a normal for this motor.He couldn't find anything out of the ordinary that looked wrong.This motor i see is not air tight like most.Most of the newer and even some of the yamahas i have owned when it gets rough never get any water under the cowl as this one does.He told me there is alot of drain holes for the water to drain out if any gets in there as it did from being so rough.It wasn't alot but i could see the salt on the power head.It cleaned up nicely though.

 

[crazymanme2]

Just looked at mine & when plastic trim tab is up motor will tilt up all the way.In the down position it will kick out the shallow water setting of the tilt.This is in forward.In reverse it locks.
It's just like the old Mercs other than the old motors have no shallow water setting.

 

[scoobeb]

So then i guess it is normal for it to be like that.I have had a ton of motors in my life and have never seen one jump up when slowing the boat down,that is a weird setup.Oh well at least it's not broke or anything.I will just have to slow down for a longer distance instead of trying to come to a dead stop.It's not like it's coming all the way out it just moves a little bit up.

I wonder why it's like that.My yamaha never kicked up when i would come to a dead stop,it would kick up though if it hit a rock or something under the water.Well thanks for the info.If you ever have anymore good useful tips on this motor let me know please.

 

[crazymanme2]

If you ever have anymore good useful tips on this motor let me know please.

Drive it like you stole it. :lol:

 

[scoobeb]

Yes i will drive it like i stole it for sure.It has some serious power for a little motor.

Now that i got the motor squared away i need to get my boat fixed again by the dealer or they need to give me a different boat.

I have a 2012 1442 LW alumacraft flatbottom.I for the life of me can't belive how they designed this livewell.The livewell has 6 rivets going through the bottom of the livewell through to the bottom of the boat.In other words the livewell is not a solid box.The rivets they put in the livewell are so small that when i get into any type of chop and the boat has a bounce as jon boats do the livewell is seperating from the bottom of the boat which lets the livewell leak all the water out into the boat.The boat itself is fine it's just the livewell.I looked at some of the newer 2012 compared to mine and i think this was a flaw in the boat,the new boats that just came in have rivets 3 times the size with big heads on them so nothing will seperate now.There is no way to fix mine right with out screwing it up.They already welded the first rivet and that didn't even hold so they need to do something.

I would rather get a 1442 or 1542 with out the livewell in place of this one.I'm gonna call alumacraft.This is only the 4th time i have taken the boat out and all 4 times there is a ton of water n the boat,no aceptable for me.I paid $1500 for a boat that doesn't leak.Well i will see how this goes.

 

[crazymanme2]

That s__ks. :x Is it a big deal to take live well out? Have any pics?

 

[link7]

Is the motor coming up when you're in shallow water mode?

Just like crazymanme2 said if you're in shallow water mode there's nothing from preventing the motor from tilting up. In normal mode there's 2 little hooks that attach to that trim rod that goes through the motor mount. In shallow water mode these hooks are disengaged. If you put the motor in reverse and apply power the motor will fly up. I've done this a couple times and it freaked me out. If you read through the manual it says to make sure to never run the motor in reverse in shallow water mode because of this.

When you're moving forward in shallow water mode the only thing keeping the motor in place is the weight of the motor and the forward thrust of the lower unit. If when you're slowing down the drag on the lower unit is more than the weight of the motor it will move up. If you're slowing down from 30MPH to 0 instantly, that may be what's happening. It's probably a little better for the motor (and your passengers) anyway to ease off the throttle a little bit instead of quickly. If the motor is only coming up a little bit and then dropping after you stop, it's not a big deal.

If you're running in shallow water mode all the time, maybe you want to adjust the trim rod to trim the motor out to where it runs in shallow water mode.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I fish allot of rivers and channels, so always have the motors in unlocked position, and yes, anytime coming off plane quickly the motor will kick up, and you will hear the exhaust. I consider it a reminder when I hear the exhaust.

As mentioned above, if running the merc in shallow water mode and hit something, it will kick-up and come back to the shallow water mode. I have other motors, where that kick up will cause it to drop down in normal mode and lock! Not something you want to do if you hit something in shallow water.

PS: That sucks about the livewell. I hope they take care of you. I wouldn't get too many hopes up for a new boat, though.

 

[scoobeb]

The reason i had to come to a complete stop was there was so much power going to the tiller i went to make a turn and lost control a bit so instead of hitting a marker i laid off the throttle,probally a good thing huh!!!I have never had a jon boat so fast and it takes alot more water to turn this thing then my 15hp yamaha did.I just have to get used to it.

The lady i talked to at alumacraft said since this is the second time for the same prob they may be able to swap boats out.I told her i don't really care what happens i just want it fixed right or a different boat.I didn't do it nasty as it sounds.I'm starting to learn you get more with honey then vinegar.I told her if they can weld all 6 rivets properly and i never have a leak again then i will be happy.The people at the marina i bought it from said this is not the first time this has happened with this boat.They need to really correct this flaw.

Well at least i know the motor is just like everyone elses here.That makes me feel a whole lot better. .Now i just have to wait for the call to see what they want to do.The thing that really made me mad last time is it took 2 weeks to get a really little weld done.I hope it's faster this time if they go that route.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[scoobeb]

Update on the alumacraft.They are going to drill out the small rivets in the bottom of the livewell and put some big headed rivets in place of them.I told them that is fine as long as they will hold.That won't be done till tues so i have some down time in the meanwhile.It's going to windy for the next 3 to 4days anyway so no fishing for me.

That is the worst thing about a flatbottom is they will beat you to death with a slight chop and when it's a hair bit rough it's like torture.I have a question for anyone here who could answer this.I have this merc on a 1442 that is a hair bit over 200lbs and the motor will flat out get it.If i wan to upgrade to say a 1648 will this motor push it just as good?I have been told the wider the boat the faster it will go because the planning surface on the bottom of the boat is wider,is this right?I would like to get a 1648ncs(no center seat) alumacraft in the future.I know they are rated up to a 35hp which to me makes 0 sense as no one even makes a 35hp anymore.That boat should be able to handle a 40hp with no issues.

I have also been thinking of going with a lowe jon boat instead but like i said this is at least a yr to 2 away.I have owned a newer lowe boat and they just seem to hold up better.The paint holds up better not that it makes a huge difference.They just seem like stronger boats all together.I know were just talking production boats as most of the jon boats are close to the same.I had a 1236 landau a while back i bought brand new with a older 80's 4hp evinrude(awesome motor by the way) and i beat the crap out of it not on purpose of course and never had a problem with it.It seems like you never get what you pay for anymore and it's a real shame.

I have looked over that 25/30hp etec for a long while now and i belive that is the way i'm gonna go in the future for the bigger boat and just keep the 25 merc as i may never see one like this again in this shape anyway.I will post some picks of it,it's a gem.

 

[scoobeb]

Well i am waiting for them to finish my boat but i think it's going to be a waste of time if you ask me.I think it's going to pop open again.They need to put these new rivets in and weld them as well so they never move again or pop.I went to a huge boat show yesterday and it was awesome.They had the pro 17 5 and 185 and they were awesome looking boats.They also had some sweet g3 packages.I really like the new 70hp yamaha.It has a ton of power and is so light for a 4stroke outboard.lIke i said this is way down the road of course.I just want to get my boat done and go fishing without having any problems for once.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I have that merc on a 1648 and get 27mph gps with two adults. My thoughts are, while it is wider and may plane quicker, it will have more wetted surface, which would tend to make it slower at high speed.

 

[scoobeb]

Well i am getting a bit over 30mph now so if i only loose 3 or 4mph and i can have a much bigger boat it's well worth it then to me.The 1442 i really nice but me and my fishing buddy agree asap we need at least a 1648 maybe a 1652 even then i would have to step up to a bigger motor to.

 

[florida strain]

i have the same motor. and the same psi, 120 which is good. i have the vengance prop by merc. installed by the previous owner.

 

[xbacksideslider]

You ought to be able to just buy any old low pressure/no fuel injection automotive fuel line.

It's the regulations that force re-designs that force prices up. Then too, some companies are more than happy to join with the regulators to force new designs that leave the old designs illegal or obsolecent; keeps the competition out too.

 

[scoobeb]

Well got the boat back a while ago but i have been really sick.I haven't been able to go out in weeks.The rivets they put in are bigger but i can't see them holding any better then the last ones.I guess when i get over this flu or what ever i have i will go out and see if it still leaks.