Mercury Four Strokes

[Eastwind]

Could anyone tell me how long Mercury has been manufacturing their 90 HP to 115 HP four stroke motors? A friend is considering the purchase of one on a new boat and is curious about the quality of these motors. Any information regarding this would be appreciated.

[reinhard1]

when i bought my whole rig i was going to get a yamaha 115 four stroke. when i was talking to the salespeople at the boat show the boat i wanted [1850 chrestliner] had a 115 merc on it. so i asked him about the merc. this was 2002. at that time i was told that merc did not make the 115 four strokes yet and the merc on the crestliner actualy had a yamaha engine. so i got it for it was $800 less than the yamaha. so far i only replaced the spark plugs once and have had no trouble with it at all . runs as great as it did the first time out. changed the oil every year along with the lower unit grease and kept the gas treated in the winter. i run pure premium gas in it, oxy free. good luck.

[Black_Bay]

Mercury has had 90 and 115's for quite a while. Like Reinhard said Yamaha used to provide the powerheads but don't any longer. I haven't heard anything bad about the quality of their 4 strokes.

[solbes]

Yup, Merc 4 strokes used Yammy powerheads until the mid 2000's. You can search for a Trailer Boats magazine article in 2006 dubbed El Veradito when the new Merc powerheads hit the market.

The gist is that these motors are the same mechanically as the 4 cylinder Verado's minus the supercharger and intercooler. I'm guessing the ECM is different. Good news are the engine internals are extremely strong, bad news is the internals are extremely strong and it means that that 75 or 90 hp is pretty heavy. The 115 engine, which weighs the same as it's lower HP brothers, is not as heavy compared to the competition. Pretty reliable engines though besides being large.

[WaveWacker]

Tell him not to worry one bit. Great motor. You state "new rig" so I assume that means a new motor. That means it will be fuel injected. My 2002 75hp is carbed and I wish like heck it was EFI. Not that it runs bad...it runs great but I am rather meticulous with draining carbs when it's going to sit for a long time, sea foam in gas, non-oxy gas, etc. etc. At time it has little "hiccups" here and there but nothing major.

My dad on the other hand has a 2009 90hp and that thing is absolutely sweet! No other way to describe it. He still runs sea foam or stabil in it prior to being done on a trip but no draining carbs, etc. Less worry's is what it boils down to. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Some day I'll trade up for a new rig or just motor.

[FM_Mike]

I had a 2003 Mercury 4 stroke and it was a sweet motor. When I got my new rig this year I got a 115 mercury 4 stroke. It is quieter than the 50 was. I love the mercury 4 strokes. Quiet, reliable (Not that others brands may not be) great on gas. Was so happy with the 50, I wanted the 115 on my new boat and glad I did. IMO You will not be disappointed.

Mike

[Juan Grande]

I agree, I have a 2005 115 Merc Four stroke and it has been fantastic. I change the plugs every two years, and change the oil, lower unit lube, etc. every fall and it starts up on the first turn every time. Very quiet and fuel efficient as well.

I too wanted a Yammy and the sales guy told me that that 2005 was the last year Yamaha power heads were being put in Merc four strokes. I went with the Merc since it was pre-rigged and saved $750. I've been very happy with it.