I have a 1979 Mercury 50 Thunderhead Motor that I Purchased. It was shut off in good working condition about 6 yrs ago. Before I restart it What are somethings I need to do to make sure i don,t damage it?
Ok a few things you probably need to do to protect it...
1. Make sure you use fresh fuel in the tank before you restart it.
2. Make sure you have 2-stroke oil pre-mixed into the fuel (assuming... It wouldn't hurt adding a little more than what is recommended for the motor for the first tank as the oil is your primary protection for the motor).
3. Check fuel lines are all secure, not cracked or damaged.
4. Might be worth looking over the carburettor too. If the carby was run dry of fuel before storage, you might be ok. If fuel was left in it, then the carb will probably need disasembling and cleaning as the fuel in it has probably gummed up or varnished which will cause poor starting and running.
5. It is important to install a new water pump impeller. After 6 years of storage the current rubber impeller has probably dried right out and will be very prone to cracking and damage. Since the impeller is the only part that pulls cooling water through the engine, this needs to be in full working order as poor flow or no flow of cooling water around the cylinders will quickly cause engine overheat and bad engine damage.
7. Check spark plug condition... Probably worth replacing just so you know they are good to go!
That's probably about it for the first start... Just monitor everything as normal after you have it started or are running it in the water for the first time.
If you are happy with the information, please rate my response on FixYa!
×