HELP! Kiekhaefer Mercury 1960-1 merc150

[ErnieG]

Any antique boat motor enthusiast here ?
My neighbor gave me this after sitting in his shed the last 20 years and I'd like to get it running again .
It's a 1960-61 merc150 15hp motor
I ordered a service and parts manual on evilbay so that's on the way .
I've never worked on a motor this old and I have read that these motors are quit difficult and very complex to work on and possibly need some specialty tools .
Anyone with experience on these ?
What should I do first ?

Thanks
Ernie

 

[jakethesnake]

Not sure how to fix it but it’s cool. I like boats

 

[drf256]

I did many OMC from that era, never a mercury though. I hope he winterized it before storage. Rusted rings pretty common.

Design should be about the same.

Easy to work on. I’d put it in a barrel of water and try to start it.

They are usually a cross scavenged motor with large assymetric popups on the piston. Reed valves and an intake manifold tied to a single carb (the Evinrude all ran one carb in that size).

Points ignition in that era. There are generally one set of points per cylinder, and the point and condensor mount plate is under the flywheel. Generally the entire point plate rotates to achieve ignition advance.

Id make sure she is spitting water if you get her to run. Generally the impellers go and there won’t be cooling. You may want to just replace the impeller first and change the lower unit lube while you have it off the engine.

If you post pics, we should be able to help you.

Poor Stevetheboatguy. He was the greatest and woulda been here for you.

 

[ErnieG]

I did many OMC from that era, never a mercury though. I hope he winterized it before storage. Rusted rings pretty common.

Design should be about the same.

Easy to work on. I’d put it in a barrel of water and try to start it.

They are usually a cross scavenged motor with large assymetric popups on the piston. Reed valves and an intake manifold tied to a single carb (the Evinrude all ran one carb in that size).

Points ignition in that era. There are generally one set of points per cylinder, and the point and condensor mount plate is under the flywheel. Generally the entire point plate rotates to achieve ignition advance.

Id make sure she is spitting water if you get her to run. Generally the impellers go and there won’t be cooling. You may want to just replace the impeller first and change the lower unit lube while you have it off the engine.

If you post pics, we should be able to help you.

Poor Stevetheboatguy. He was the greatest and woulda been here for you.

I did many OMC from that era, never a mercury though. I hope he winterized it before storage. Rusted rings pretty common.

Design should be about the same.

Easy to work on. I’d put it in a barrel of water and try to start it.

They are usually a cross scavenged motor with large assymetric popups on the piston. Reed valves and an intake manifold tied to a single carb (the Evinrude all ran one carb in that size).

Points ignition in that era. There are generally one set of points per cylinder, and the point and condensor mount plate is under the flywheel. Generally the entire point plate rotates to achieve ignition advance.

Id make sure she is spitting water if you get her to run. Generally the impellers go and there won’t be cooling. You may want to just replace the impeller first and change the lower unit lube while you have it off the engine.

If you post pics, we should be able to help you.

Poor Stevetheboatguy. He was the greatest and woulda been here for you.

I did pull the plugs and the inside of the cylinders look good and compression feels very good .
I'm gonna try to do a compression test and see what they are.
I have to check for spark also ...but yes it does have the ignition advance for your choice of use such as trolling or full running use .
I was planning on a carb and fuel pump rebuild before even trying to start it ..the pump diaphragm is rock hard so I'd assume it will not work very well .
Luckily rebuild kits are available for both .
I'm waiting on the service manual before trying to change the impeller..I want to get and see whats involved first.
I did check the lower unit oil and it looks very good ...not milky colored at all ..I'll have to see what weight they recommend I that .
I'll keep this updated as I get into this thing !

Thanks
Ernie

 

[legdelimber]

Not much of a boat guy myself, so judge my question accordingly.
A 12ft John boat and electric trolling motor for a couple years, is the extent of my involvement.

But wondering if the area where the impeller runs gets "crusty" while sitting and how much would it wear the impeller if run without first cleaning the surfaces that the impeller touch?
I'm thinking of losing water flow and pressure through the block, if the impeller has much leakage past it.
Seems like I was always seeing someone changing impellers in boat motors when they were getting them going for the season here.