Mariner 1988 3 cyl 60hp questions

Hi all.
This here is my very first post. I've been lurking in Tinboats for about 2 years now, trying to learn the most that I can before purchasing my first boat.
So this year, I was able to get myself a 16 ft - '58 Mirro Craft with no motor.
I go shop for one (a motor), and I see what seems like a deal......1988 60 hp Mariner. The price was a bargain compared to other motors being offered in the same year and hp.

So I go to look at the motor and check for:
* Spark --- using a spark tester, I see healthy blue sparks jumping from all three high tension wires
* Compression --- Cyls 1 & 3 have 125 psi, Cyl 2 has 129
* Gearing --- put the motor in neutral, prop spins freely -- place it forward/reverse, hard to spin the prop

Now, when we did the testing it was -27 celsius in Toronto. The seller was adamant that we start the engine so I can see/hear how smooth she runs. He puts ear muffs on the motor, and turns on the water to the hose (he had to put a heat gun to his faucet and melt the ice to be able to turn it on).

Motor starts, after about 3 tries on the key ignition (motor comes with controls and rack & pinion steering, sadly, no oil injection or power TNT).

HOWEVER......after about 3-4 seconds, I see that there is no pee. I asked him to turn off the motor immediately.

My question....should I be running away from this motor, or should I wait for better temperatures (something like positive 5-8 degrees)? Or does this motor seem to have potential?

I was thinking that maybe because of some condensation in the impeller, and due to the freezing temperature, the impeller wouldn't spin....or something else was frozen in the cooling chamber.
I was really hoping that this motor was the one...but I am a patient man. If this sounds like a problem motor, I am perfectly capable of walking away.

I would really appreciate any and all advice.
Thanks in advance.

Rob

It could need a waterpump or maybe even a new thermostat both of which are really easy to fix. Some of the mariners also wont pee when thermostat is closed and if it was that cold out the motor probably wasnt warm enough to open the thermostat. It wouldnt scare me away from buying it.

Thank you very much for the boost of confidence Steve.
I have a final go over this weekend on the motor. It should be above freezing, so we should see a stream from the telltale......if not, I will have to ask for another $100 off the asking to pay for the impeller replacement.

Another question. This motor weighs around 180 lbs, and only has manual tilt. Can I get hydro-assist tilt and trim for this? How much would that set me back?

Rob

If the motor doesnt pee right away give it a minute to warm up and see if thermostat opens. The motor is not going to overheat tha fast at idle and lime I said some of the mariners ony pee once the engine temp warms up enough for thermostat to open. Keep the cover off and you can touch the cylinder head with your hand once it feels warm motor shoild pee if ot does not shut it off and you know you either need a waterpump and possibly a thermostat too. Its always a good idea to replace these items anyway in a used motor. As far as trim/tilt you could buy a cmc hydraulic unit but it would cost about $750.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=345286#p345286 said:

Rob Silver » Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:37 am[/url]"]

Another question. This motor weighs around 180 lbs, and only has manual tilt. Can I get hydro-assist tilt and trim for this? How much would that set me back?

Rob

Click to expand...

The CMC PT-130's go anywhere from about $250-300 (and up) used to $700 new.

You really aren't lifting the whole weight when tilting it, personally I would opt for one of these if you have trouble. I actually made one from some sheet SS and alum tubing for close to nothing.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Adjustable-Outboard-Motor-Tilter/737415.uts?productVariantId=1205826&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=00047700&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=885E84C8-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=41499689711&mr:keyword&mr:match&mr:filter=57965610191&gclid=CIih6-nLnL0CFcyhOgodiQ0Apg&gclsrc=aw.ds

Steve, thank you for the reply.

I saw a couple of posts on some other forums to NEVER run your motor dry, i.e. without ear muffs or garbage pail of water, so I got scared when there was no stream coming from the telltale. I will definitely take your instructions to heart. I believe that I will be getting the motor already given that other factors such as compression, spark and gearing are in order.

At the moment, the CMC-TNT option would cost about as much as the motor. Not sure if I want to go down that road just yet. Maybe when I find out that the motor is a keeper, then I Can think about it.


MDC,

Not sure how the contraption you made works. Mind posting a few pics in action so I can see if I can fabricate one myself? Where does it attach to the motor? My boat has a splash pan.....will that get in the way in terms of operation/optimal leverage? I apologize for my ignorance on this. Thank you very much in advance.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=345376#p345376 said:

Rob Silver » Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:25 am[/url]"]
MDC,

Not sure how the contraption you made works. Mind posting a few pics in action so I can see if I can fabricate one myself? Where does it attach to the motor? My boat has a splash pan.....will that get in the way in terms of operation/optimal leverage? I apologize for my ignorance on this. Thank you very much in advance.

Click to expand...

It attaches to the top of cowling in the back. Then the front rests on the top of cowling in front. I took 2 pics. The piece in the back does not fit in this motor as I had made it for the 40hp manual tilt that I had. Did not need it with this little 25. To make it fit all I would have to do is cut some metal off each side of the angle SS so that it would go into the slot in the cowling. All you do is pull forward on the handle tull the chain gets tight then keep pulling and the motor raises. It's really quite simple, leverage.

MDC, that is quite ingenious.
I am pretty sure I can come up with something similar. Only problem now, is that this is a remote motor.
Need to have some kind or detents to make sure once tilted at a cetain position, it stays tilted.

Thank you very much for that. Really gave me several ideas.

Rob

It is possible to determine where the telltale comes from by looking at the engine. If the hose comes off the back of the thermostat housing, you won't see any water until the thermo opens. It will show(hot)water flow until the thermo closes and then you will see it again when it opens again. You always know how your thermostat is working with this system.

If the hose comes right off a water jacket in the block, you will see water pressure anytime the engine is running. This will show you how well the pump is working.

I took my water pump apart on a brand new Mariner 150 right after starting it for the very first time...because I didn't know this.

This critical information boat2fast!
From what I understand, the Mariner is just a grey colored Merc.......so the engineering design might be the same. It might very well be that the thermo controls the telltale on this motor.
Again, this only makes me more confident in purchasing this motor!
This forum and its members are really amazing!

Thanks again!

Rob