1994 Procraft 200 DC with 200 Mariner Mag 2.4L

[Rickeyo]

Need some guidence. Im currently building this 200 DC 1994 procraft to fit my bass tournament needs. I have sturdied up the transom to insure it will hold the jackplate well that i have put on it (manual jackplate) its a 20' boat had a 175 black max on it that i was not impressed with, wouldn't put the boat on pad (carbs probably or possibly wrong prop etc) i have a 20 ft champion with a 1987 or 88 Mariner Magnum 200 carb motor. Is this the chrome lined cyllinder motor? Reliable? Doing the oiler delete on it, anything else i should do to it? Plan on putting my Laser II 24p off of my 150 mariner magnum that is on my 18' skeeter for now until i get the kinks worked out of the boat and get it running good, then what prop should i buy for it? A 25P tempest is what i was thinking, maybe a 26p if it will turn that just have to see i guess. Anything i should look out for on the 200? I have had several 150 black maxes and magnums this will be my first 200 2.4L so not really sure whats different about it that makes it a 200, just bigger bore different jetting and reeds maybe or what exactly? This motor is running good on the back of the old champ on muffs, but going to do a compression check to make sure, pretty sure i checked it when i bought that boat and every cyllinder was like 110-120 but can't quite remember. My ol 150 magnum screams and runs great even starts easy and has 105-110 on every cyllinder but i didn't know if the 200s are supposed to be a little higher compression or not. Also trimmed out full tournament load in hoping to hit low to mid 60s with it is that doable? Currently the 18 ft skeeter with the 150 mag is hitting 58 full tourney load and 24p laser II at about 5600 rpm. Ok hole shot, just hoping i can get this 20 footer out of the hole a little quicker and run a little faster on top and better overall than the 150 on the 18 footer. Is mid 60s realistic for this big of a boat and the 200 mag? Sorry for the long post this is my first post i believe

[rgsauger]

Welcome to scream and fly! You’ll find a whole lot of guys here that are very helpful. Bass boat central is another excellent resource for setting up your boat.

Your 2.4 200 motor is a chrome bore. They are outstanding motors. I love mine. Factory compression was around 120 psi. Sounds like your motor is in good shape.

Low 60s should be within reach. You will find that set up will go a lot farther than throwing money at your motor to make more power. Personally, I think a laser 2 propeller sucks. I think I gave mine to a fellow as a doorstop. I literally picked up 7 mph just by playing with props when I got rid of my L2. I am currently running a 26 pitch four blade Hydro motive. If you do not have one yet, be sure to get a water pressure gauge foryour dash. If you want to run fast, you will be running the motor higher.

Now is the time to add a new set of Chris Carson reeds to your motor. Not only will it help it run better, but if they break, will not damage your motor when it passes through it. Bottom end and mid range will improve. Very cheap insurance.

as you stated, lose the oil injection and run good oil at 50:1 if you stay under 6,000 rpm. Personally, I only run pennzoil XLF. It has never fouled a plug and does a great job on these old motors.

also lose the black boxes on that motor. You don’t need them and they can hurt your motor if when they fail.

Since you are dealing with an old motor, I strongly strongly strongly recommend that you replace the switch boxes, both of them, if they are old. If one of them starts to double fire, you will burn up at least one cylinder. Want to know how I know? Get Sierra brand that are made in Germany. A pair of them is around $300 and it’s excellent insurance.

A good foil foil will help you get out of the hole And stay up top at lower speeds.

And you can cut the heads to bump the compression up to around 145 psi but then you have to run premium unleaded in every single tank without exception. It will give you more bottom end and mid range but will not make a difference on top. Personally, probably not worth it in your case. It would be a good idea to tilt the motor fully up, remove the spark plugs, and soak all cylinders in seafoam to decarbonize them. After an hour or two and then crank it up. Will smoke like a freight train but will totally clear them up. Compression might even come up a little bit.

Unless the carburetors have recently been rebuilt, it would be a good idea to do them also. I think that’s about all I have. I have a 1990 model Merc in a 2.4 200. Has been a fabulous motor and I love it. My shadow is a light layup and will run low 80s with that motor. Low 60s should not be a problem for you.

[Rickeyo]

Welcome to scream and fly! You’ll find a whole lot of guys here that are very helpful. Bass boat central is another excellent resource for setting up your boat.

Your 2.4 200 motor is a chrome bore. They are outstanding motors. I love mine. Factory compression was around 120 psi. Sounds like your motor is in good shape.

Low 60s should be within reach. You will find that set up will go a lot farther than throwing money at your motor to make more power. Personally, I think a laser 2 propeller sucks. I think I gave mine to a fellow as a doorstop. I literally picked up 7 mph just by playing with props when I got rid of my L2. I am currently running a 26 pitch four blade Hydro motive. If you do not have one yet, be sure to get a water pressure gauge foryour dash. If you want to run fast, you will be running the motor higher.

Now is the time to add a new set of Chris Carson reeds to your motor. Not only will it help it run better, but if they break, will not damage your motor when it passes through it. Bottom end and mid range will improve. Very cheap insurance.

as you stated, lose the oil injection and run good oil at 50:1 if you stay under 6,000 rpm. Personally, I only run pennzoil XLF. It has never fouled a plug and does a great job on these old motors.

also lose the black boxes on that motor. You don’t need them and they can hurt your motor if when they fail.

Since you are dealing with an old motor, I strongly strongly strongly recommend that you replace the switch boxes, both of them, if they are old. If one of them starts to double fire, you will burn up at least one cylinder. Want to know how I know? Get Sierra brand that are made in Germany. A pair of them is around $300 and it’s excellent insurance.

A good foil foil will help you get out of the hole And stay up top at lower speeds.

And you can cut the heads to bump the compression up to around 145 psi but then you have to run premium unleaded in every single tank without exception. It will give you more bottom end and mid range but will not make a difference on top. Personally, probably not worth it in your case. It would be a good idea to tilt the motor fully up, remove the spark plugs, and soak all cylinders in seafoam to decarbonize them. After an hour or two and then crank it up. Will smoke like a freight train but will totally clear them up. Compression might even come up a little bit.

Unless the carburetors have recently been rebuilt, it would be a good idea to do them also. I think that’s about all I have. I have a 1990 model Merc in a 2.4 200. Has been a fabulous motor and I love it. My shadow is a light layup and will run low 80s with that motor. Low 60s should not be a problem for you.

Man thanks so much for the detailed reply! I will decarb it possibly, i have a norescope mechanics camera i can view every cyllinder and see just how much carbon is in them etc. And also inspect cyllinder walls while im at it. I have always ran quicksilver marine oil and premium in my boats and never had any issues, the black boxes on the motor you speak of, what are they exactly? What do they do? And how would one go about hooking up a water pressure guage on one of these old motors just inline off of one of the thermostat lines or where exactly? Sorry im a mechanic, degree in automotive tech. But haven't done a whole lot to outboards other than water pumps oiler deletes poppet and thermostats carbs etc.

[rgsauger]

In the technical form there is a fella that is asking for help on his motors. The advice that everybody’s giving him is the same advice that I gave you. You’ll get rid of both black boxes. Then you will make sure that you have a bias wire connecting both of your switch boxes. Then you will set your timing. 23° max is pretty safe.

You will have some carbon on top of the piston and in the head but the main thing we are wanting to do is to soak it good and proper so that it gets the carbon out of the rings and the grooves in the pistons.

There is a line that goes across the back of the engine connecting both cylinder banks for water. That is the one that I put a tee in and ran my pressure line off of For my gauge. I think you can also get it off the top of the motor at the back just inside where the cylinder banks come together.

If you have not done so, definitely pick up a factory service manual or download one. You can poke around and you generally find them for around $30 or so on eBay. Worth every single penny in my opinion. Jaysmith racing also has a very nice tool for screwing in the cylinder head and setting your timing by the math with a dial indicator It’s important because that lets you set your timing pointer to make sure that everything is right.

[rgsauger]

Keep in mind what I said about replacing both switch boxes for $300. Resist the urge to buy the cheap China crap. The good ones are made by Sierra in Germany. I melted number six a year ago and had to get a sleeve in it.

If you take care of them, the old chrome motors will go a very long time.

[OnPad]

RG got you lined out pretty good there. The only thing I'll add is your laser prop is most likely for a small diameter gearcase 4 1/4", and not going to run very good on a full size case 4 3/4", from what I recently deducted is even # laser props are small case, odd # pitch is large case.
26p tempest might be a bit much, try a 24 or 25, in fact try as many props as you can get your hands on.

Alot of people rebuild fuel pulse pump every couple of years.
Probably a good idea to pull the drain plugs out of you float bowls on carbs, and at least spray out.

Stators on those old mercs can give a guy problems also.

Black boxes, one is for oil injection safety's like low tank and pump rotation, the other is for idle stability, adds timing if rpm dips under aprox 500 rpm. They have configured the boxes differently over the years some engines have three and some of the boxes add timing over a certain rpm aprox 4500. Just going off of memory so if you want more detailed info on what boxes you have, and what they do, you'll have to check the service manual.

Water pressure needs to come out of the block if possible. Not going to do you much good after the thermostats. Don't quote me on this, but I think you can get it out of the poppet hose also, but the block or exhaust divider is best.

I guess that was more than one thing added. Kinda windy actually.

[Will hedrick]

I have 25 tempest, I'd give it an 8 out of ten,I don't run it anymore.

[rgsauger]

Good call about the pulse pump. I totally forgot that.