Need Advice On Merc 2.0 Rebuild or Reman?

**Capnmoench** · 11-06-2016, 08:36 PM

It is aluminum smeared and filings melted up into the cutout.

**Capnmoench** · 11-07-2016, 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by W2F a V-King

You are good to go! Those areas look good to me. I prefer JB weld to marine tex, but what you did was done very well.

As far as pistons go, I am using Vertex in my 225. There are some cheaper, and some more expensive. I value the opinions of some of the guys here on S&F very much. There are some real Mercury GuRu's here. Do some searches here and see what I mean.

Some of the parts you will read about here are race motor orientated, and some fish motor ( non race applications ).
Find a local machine shop that has a good reputation to do your block/head work and see what opinions they have on which parts to use. If nothing local comes up, search this out here and find one you can ship your block/heads to.

One nice thing about the 2.0 is the thick sleeves, and that they can be modified to spin way up and perform VERY well.

Let the rebuild begin !!

James

I like this. Thick sleeves is good. I don't have much intention of racing a 94' Bayliner Trophy. I was surprised when this Merc 150 pushed it 40mph at 700'. That's plenty fast for a 20' fishing boat. Cruise is about 26mph. My main goal is a motor that will last and is tough. I'll even downgrade to a WOT of 39mph at sea level for some longevity.

**Capnmoench** · 11-07-2016, 04:20 AM

What does anyone think about these rebuild kits i see popping up? I keep getting basically redirected to eBay anytime I search "Mercury 150 rebuild kit". It seems legit and viable, but I've been screwed by aftermarket before. Like anything and everything I have ever bought with the Sierra name on it. Not that the rebuild kit does....just saying. Unless they refund me for defective motor mounts I had to remove my powerhead for, and buy a second gasket kit, THEY SUCK! (Ongoing battle with them) I don't need anything that runs a 5500 rpm motor at 7000, but I am I guy, and it's not like won't ever mess around at WOT for an extended amount of time just because. But I'm also not looking to spend more on a home rebuild than a reman.

**W2F a V-King** · 11-07-2016, 08:49 AM

One thing you might want to investigate before going any further is to try and find out why you had the meltdown. Reman or home rebuild won't fix the problem of why it happened. The melted pistons are the symptom of a problem created by something else. (lean or stuck rings come to mind off hand)

Cylinders effected being #1 and #2 suggest top carburetor problems as a good place to start looking. But there are other reasons pistons stick themselves to the cylinders.
Rebuilding the carburetors is going to be needed anyway on any motor rebuild. (imho)

As far as rebuild kits...some go here (there are other places too..do a search here on S&F)>> http://parts.promarineusa.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+L0E4B07331FF133016293011+M50+ENG

First find a machine shop to evaluate your block and heads. And give you an estimate for whatever your block and heads need.

You will need to disassemble the motor down to the basic components to evaluate all parts. Is the crank and rods OK? You wont know that until you get it all apart and look. If you need a crank and rods the price just went up quite a bit. Your easiest and cheapest way out might be to search out a good used power head. Or the reman. I personally don't care for reman motors for my own reasons, but there might be some reputable sources out there.

Tear it apart and take some pictures and post them up!

We likes pictures!!

James

**Capnmoench** · 11-07-2016, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by W2F a V-King

One thing you might want to investigate before going any further is to try and find out why you had the meltdown. Reman or home rebuild won't fix the problem of why it happened. The melted pistons are the symptom of a problem created by something else. (lean or stuck rings come to mind off hand)

Cylinders effected being #1 and #2 suggest top carburetor problems as a good place to start looking. But there are other reasons pistons stick themselves to the cylinders.
Rebuilding the carburetors is going to be needed anyway on any motor rebuild. (imho)

As far as rebuild kits...some go here (there are other places too..do a search here on S&F)>> http://parts.promarineusa.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?WEBEVENT+L0E4B07331FF133016293011+M50+ENG

First find a machine shop to evaluate your block and heads. And give you an estimate for whatever your block and heads need.

You will need to disassemble the motor down to the basic components to evaluate all parts. Is the crank and rods OK? You wont know that until you get it all apart and look. If you need a crank and rods the price just went up quite a bit. Your easiest and cheapest way out might be to search out a good used power head. Or the reman. I personally don't care for reman motors for my own reasons, but there might be some reputable sources out there.

Tear it apart and take some pictures and post them up!

We likes pictures!!

James

Thanks again. Will do. I'll be getting to that shortly. I'm still trying to recover from the $7K I spent to rebuild the rest of the boat, $1K of which I threw on the motor for overhaul less powerhead and lower unit. Let's just call it a "refresh". A big part of the reason I want to save this motor. I do know I need to figure out the culprit. The guy at the marine shop here said that a #1 cylinder is usually due to a thermostat. I hear "thermostat or carb" online. I did notice there was water peeing from the motor after it got to operating temp. It wasn't a really strong water jet though. I did have my concerns about that. I will be buying an ultrasonic cleaner and 3 carb rebuild kits. I'm crossing my fingers for the crank and rods. I will know when I get it apart. Tearing my sealed and painted joints I worked so hard on making "saltwater ready" so that I didn't end up with oysters for cowl brackets again is a little off-putting. I'm a little busy with company from out of town right now as well. As you can see from my thread on the other forum, I'm not going to let it go though. I made my decision about this motor and I'll be posting the whole thing here.

**TEXAS20225** · 11-11-2016, 10:23 AM

WOW it aint worth the effort bore it out and put new pistons in it, have them mill tha adapter surface it wont cost 20.00 dont be in it penny wise and pound foolish james perry best machine shop man in the USA ive rebuilt 100s of v6 mercs behind his machine work he is wrenchin 2 on the site

**W2F a V-King** · 11-11-2016, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by TEXAS20225

WOW it aint worth the effort bore it out and put new pistons in it, have them mill tha adapter surface it wont cost 20.00 dont be in it penny wise and pound foolish james perry best machine shop man in the USA ive rebuilt 100s of v6 mercs behind his machine work he is wrenchin 2 on the site

Agreed!!

James Perry is a very busy man, undoubtedly gifted and talented at what he does.

I am waiting for him to have some time to do my PM 225 block. Along with many others guys as well.

Albeit my boat is still in the restore stage.

**TEXAS20225** · 11-11-2016, 03:40 PM

i have 3 of his 225 pmaxs that are my own personal motors each one a little different, just put a 2000 model on aint lake run it yet but it sounds very nice (but so did the one i took off

) i also have a steel sleeve 260 he did last month for me i have it assembled but need a few parts for it.

**W2F a V-King** · 11-11-2016, 05:18 PM

Always wondered what a sleeved 260/280 would be like with standard PM pistons/rings...

Haven't met James Perry in person yet. Did speak with him on the phone. He lives about 175 miles or so from me, so when he has a spot for my stuff I'm going to take it to him so I can meet him and see his shop.

James

**coffeeguy** · 11-11-2016, 05:32 PM

Need to figure why it went south.

**iwantaVirage** · 11-12-2016, 04:34 AM

Being cyl 1 & 2 are run from the same carb id pit my money that they were dirty/ plugged up and/ or foats adjusted too low(makes motor think its got smaller jets and therefore run lean full to air ratio)..
But aside from machine work which could be cheap if just needing to be bored oversize, id buy pro marine vertex pistons (although most any pro marine pistons are good from what I've seen- but the vertex style are bullet proof!), get a gasket kit and any bearings and seals needed-- of course assuming the crank and rods are good-- but even if any of those parts need replacing you can get rods and even a crank for very reasonable prices if you watch the misc classifieds!
After all is said and done, just take note of carb settings/ float condition and float heights and clean them thoroughly- - replacing thermostats is just good maintenance esp running in salt water though id think other cylinders would have gotten hot as well- - both sides since cyl 1 and 2 use separate thermostats-- and cyl 2 and 5 usually run a tad hotter then the other cylinders so are quicker to melt aluminum...
2liters are cheap and mostly bullet proof if maintained so you'll have a great reliable motor if repaired and tuned properly!
Oh, and turning them up WELL over 6k rpm is like a walk in the park for them, id be more worried about over propping the motor on a heavy boat and lugging it where it wont pull a solid 6k rpm's fully loaded. .
Good luck and hopefully you have good news once it's apart as far as rod and crank journals(but again you can buy good used rods and anything else ya need cheap!)! Keep us informed and again, good luck!

**Capnmoench** · 11-14-2016, 12:12 PM

Thanks for all of the input, guys. I'm working up to it. I almost have enough ambition to deal with it this week. Right now, I have my mom, who just sold her house and recently retired, staying here. She's traveling in a camp trailer that's seen better days. I rebuilt half of the roof, but it's not worth the effort to fix it any further. I'm spending a bit of time trying to find her a new one. And wouldn't you know, crap keeps breaking on her truck and I've been fixing that too. I did notice new rods can be found pretty cheap. New OEM old stock on eBay for about $60 each. Good call on the thermostat. It does sound like it is most likely a clogged carb. The scoring on cyl 2 is very minimal, but it is there. No other cylinders show anything unusual. I'll be pulling this off at the same time I'll be remodeling a bathroom to keep the wife happy, and trailer shopping to keep from having to fix the mom's mold bucket. Stay tuned for some disassembly. The powerhead is calling to me from the driveway.

**Capnmoench** · 05-03-2017, 12:39 PM

Update. I found a 175HP 2.5L that I'm going to throw on my leg. It's currently on a 20" shaft. It was rebuilt and only run 2 times in a driveway. Then the owner that had intended on rebuilding the boat it was on had a stroke. He said he didn't have the energy to work on the boat. So, $3000 and I have a 0 time 97' 175. After watching this thing run in a barrel, I'm pretty convinced I had a thermostat issue in the 150. I didn't know what I was looking for with the opening and how long it takes. The tell tale on this started pissing in about 1 minute max. Mine took around 3-5 minutes. I thought this was normal. I'm thinking I was wrong.

**rkmirage** · 05-03-2017, 02:49 PM

I have a sweeet running 2.0 150 powerhead I'll sell you cheap, call me 941 544 8187. 1t has 130 on all but #6 it has 127. Its complete, ready to drop on. That will be your cheapest fastest way to get back on the water.

**rkmirage** · 05-03-2017, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Capnmoench

Update. I found a 175HP 2.5L that I'm going to throw on my leg. It's currently on a 20" shaft. It was rebuilt and only run 2 times in a driveway. Then the owner that had intended on rebuilding the boat it was on had a stroke. He said he didn't have the energy to work on the boat. So, $3000 and I have a 0 time 97' 175. After watching this thing run in a barrel, I'm pretty convinced I had a thermostat issue in the 150. I didn't know what I was looking for with the opening and how long it takes. The tell tale on this started pissing in about 1 minute max. Mine took around 3-5 minutes. I thought this was normal. I'm thinking I was wrong.

You will have to change the adapter.