Mercury 3.6

[WaltonsMountain]

Been talking to a guy that will sell me this Mercury 3.6 (the one on the left) for $150...i'm new to boat motors so I was wondering if you vets could tell me if I should pull the trigger or not. This is what he said about it:

"i have a early 80's mercury outboard with self contained gas tank that runs good but could use a good carb cleaning. It starts hard sometimes 5-6 pulls but will stay running. It is missing the choke knob so you have to plug the choke then start it. The carburator kit should be easy to find. It is about 30 lbs maybe."

Also, is this motor air cooled or will I need a water pump? Parts easy to find? Any info would help....thnx

 

[flintcreek]

Parts should be readily available. I had a 4.0 I believe 87 model and it was a great little motor looked just like this 3.6. I had my 4.0 bolted between 2 canoes and it pushed them on pretty good. I think it sounds like a good deal. I would want to put it in a barrell and hear it run. Check the fluid in the lower unit, make sure it does not have water in it, if the lube looks milky it has water. If I bought it before I ran it much I would change the water pump, change the lower unit lube and put in new plugs. Probably cost you $30.00 in parts and you should be able to do it in about 1 hour, even if you have not done it before. Carb kits are usually about $20-$30 do a search for Sierra parts and see if they have a kit for this Mercury. Most Auto Parts stores have started selling Sierra Parts. O'Rielly's and Napa both sell Sierra Parts. I am sure someone else will be on before long and give you their opinion.

Flintcreek

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

looks like a nice clean motor.

so is he saying to have to stuff a rag in the intake to choke it? thats probably why it takes a few pulls to start

 

[WaltonsMountain]

looks like a nice clean motor.

so is he saying to have to stuff a rag in the intake to choke it? thats probably why it takes a few pulls to start

I've never had to do this before or even worked w/ a boat motor in general... is this going to be a huge hastle when I want to turn it on?

oh, btw....he said he would sell me that 7hp Sea King (right motor in the pic) for $200 and he said it runs better..here is his description, "I also have nice late 60's ward sea king 7 hp that starts and runs great it comes with a nice 3gallon outboard gas can i will take 200.00 for it if interested"

..but i'm not real familiar with the sea king brand.... which deal do you guys think is better?

 

[flintcreek]

Not sure who made the Sea King for Montgomery Ward, some were made by Gale, West Bend and some by Johnson and maybe others that I am not aware, they subbed them out to the low bidder it seems. If it was made by Johnson (OMC) it would probably be a good motor. The old OMC motors are good and parts readily available. On the Mercury, I would think you could fab up something to make a replacement choke knob, if that is what is missing. Do some surfing and see if you can find out what the knob looks like, a piece of copper tube or something might be made fairly easily to move the choke linkage. If it is the flapper that fits in the carb throat you might be able to make something to replace it also. Some more pictures would help. Look at the plate on the Sea King and see if you can tell who made it or where it was made.

Hope this helps.
Flintcreek