2004 Mercury 200 HP EFI

[NickMcD63]

I am in the process of getting my first boat and this is the motor I will be running.

I know they are bullet proof, but the GPH is making me a little concerned. My logic behing this motor is that I fish primarily small lakes and don't make long runs for the most part, but I will be idling alot during the day looking for spots on my graph.

Does anyone have experience with this motor that can put my concerns to rest?

[ccarlson]

I had a 2000 model in the same motor (assuming you are talking the actual EFI and not the Opti.). I only ran it for a year and had bought it used but like you said, they run strong, are known to be bullet proof motors with little issues but will be less fuel efficient than other motors on the market. Now, if you get a better deal on the motor, that makes up for it. Just be sure it is not the Opti as they had problems in that time frame of years. This motor would not be my first choice in a boat motor (I prefer yamaha) but certainly wouldn't steer me away from a boat with one on it.

One issue I did have with my efi was that at shallow landings or any long shallow spots where I was trying to idle with the motor tilted up quite a ways to avoid hitting rocks, the motor would give me some problems. It would start to run rough and then kill. Sometimes pulling out of the mille lacs landings for example and getting going out to the deeper water I would have to restart it several times. Once tilted down though it ran great. It was not a heating issue either...it was circulating water just fine.

They are a little louder than other motors but they have that muscle car type sound so I liked it. By the way, I said I only ran it for a year but I sold the boat for other reasons, not that I didn't like the motor.

Good luck,

ccarlson

[NickMcD63]

Great info ccarlson, I really appreciate your input. It is the EFI, not the opti. My first choice would be a yamaha as well, and I acutally missed out on the best deal I have ever seen with (2004 Blazer with a 200 hp Yamaha Vmax hpdi for $12,500!). I am really looking for dependability, and the cost I am getting it at I believe will make up for the difference in fuel economy.

Thanks,

Nick

[mabr]

That year should have come standard with smart craft gauges Im pretty sure. So you will be able to see hours run, temp, mpg etc etc. It also stores what the motor has been through. Temp alarms etc. Id suggest taking to a Shop to have a compression check done, and read the codes. Well worth it if your looking for a good motor that will last.

Ive got an 03 200 efi, and it has been bullet proof. Other than water pumps not one issue. You'll notice some like to smoke while idling but its common with the efi. And Like said previously they do growl!!! I had the choice of efi or opti pop as they were known in the day and I went efi. Not bad on gas but not great, stay in the 3k range on tack and its good, 5300 it likes it.

[NickMcD63]

That year should have come standard with smart craft gauges Im pretty sure. So you will be able to see hours run, temp, mpg etc etc. It also stores what the motor has been through. Temp alarms etc. Id suggest taking to a Shop to have a compression check done, and read the codes. Well worth it if your looking for a good motor that will last.

Ive got an 03 200 efi, and it has been bullet proof. Other than water pumps not one issue. You'll notice some like to smoke while idling but its common with the efi. And Like said previously they do growl!!! I had the choice of efi or opti pop as they were known in the day and I went efi. Not bad on gas but not great, stay in the 3k range on tack and its good, 5300 it likes it.

I am getting the boat from a dealership and they have already done all of the tests on it. All cylinders are firing between 126-130. And below are the hours on the motor.

[BoxMN]

We have 150efi, and it is perfect. One thing to note, since you mentioned small and possibly o wake lakes. The efis do use some battery juice. Couple that with trim use, maybe lights at night, and maybe livewell and radio.... with NO serious running to recharge, and you might find yourself with low battery. WE found that years ago, and thought we had problem with motor. Motor was fine, we just weren't getting enough recharge juice.

We added an on board charger and plugged it in after every trip, and 15 years later (ours is '97, and gets lots of use still) never had a starting prob since.

Also, as stated, the fuel usage is not bad when running in 3000's, and the wide grin you get running in mid 5000's is a BLAST! As is the growl of the motor, anybdoy remember the "Sheep in wolve's clothing" commercials back in the day?! ha! I still hear that low and aggressive growl every time I fire it up

[NickMcD63]

Thanks again to everyone!!! You guys are getting me soooo pumped! I have heard the same thing about the battery issue. Looks like I will be buying a back up battery right away.

[swampbuck]

As stated above keep it at about half throttle and you wont burn near as much gas. Its fun to go wide open but if you can back off and take a little more time your fuel bill will go wa down!

[BoxMN]

Thanks again to everyone!!! You guys are getting me soooo pumped! I have heard the same thing about the battery issue. Looks like I will be buying a back up battery right away.

No need at all for a backup battery. Just get an on board charger that will charge both 24v troll batteries AND your starting battery. 3 bank. It will keep all your batts charged, make them last longer, and it makes charging simple The boat might already have one, I can't imagine any remotely modern boat without one, especially one that has 24v trolling motor.

You won't wear the starting battery down in one day, it happens over the course of days or weeks without getting at least alittle bit of recharge. If you are able to RUN the boat any distance, the motor alternator will charge it back up, and no issues at all.

You will love it! Congrats!

[NickMcD63]

Thanks Box. Yeah, as you can tell this is my first boat, so I have A LOT to learn.

[hydro]

I have a '99 200 EFI, and the boat has two trolling batteries plus the starting battery. As mentioned above, as long as you use the motor regularly, keeping the starting battery charged is no big issue, but just for insurance I carry a short set of jumper cables to jump the trolling battery to the starting battery. It has come in handy more than once.

My boat also has only a two bank charger that does not charge the starting battery. If you are shopping for a charger go for the three bank model and charge all the batteries between trips.