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Got on one on a new 2003 Sea Pro. It's a 200hp SW motor with the short shaft. What can I expect overall. Already had some rigging problems in that a loose cannon connector was causing motor to shut off while running at speed, made it interesting while running about 50mph. Problem has been corrected. Trust is a little shaken but after about 10hrs later all seems to be o/k. First time running Merc's, had Johnson with about 1500hrs and very little in the way of reapirs. What should I expect and when. Thanks guys...
Expect happiness and forget about the other thoughts. Truthfully you should have been asking these questions before you bought. But now that you are a Merc owner, enjoy it. What will be will be; there is good and bad ones in every lot.
Make sure you have good credit because I see Yamahas in your near future. I have fished one boat 6 times this year that has Merc 250 SW series. 3 times we have come home on one motor. The powerhead was replaced after sucking in a reed valve after my first trip (tournament). Fished the second day on one motor. 1 trip after the new powerhead it sucked another. $1100 later, it ran for 3 more trips and Sunday the guts blew out of it for the third time this year. They run fast on a 31 Fountain when they run, but they don't seem to like running. All told there have been over $11,000 spent on the one motor this year and total hours are less than 500.
1) The motor will perform brilliantly with proper upkeep or;
2) The motor will double nicely as an extra anchor even with proper upkeep.
What you hope to never have to deal with is Mercury reps in Fon Du Lac, WI.
You will also have to deal with Advocate posting here about how great his Mercury motors are.......even though they have 200 hours on them over about a 5 year time span.
I really think he uses his motors to make daquaris on the weekends rather than fishing.......but thats just a guess.
You will also have to listen to morons like foster who probably has no clue as to how to properly break-in an engine and more than likely uses cheaper oil rather than the manufacturers recommended oil.
2000 Optimax 225 / Best motor I've ever owned!
When all you have in life is a hammer, treat everything like a nail.
Well here is a great help, have had 6 mercs 3 little and 3 big, never had a problem other than bad sparkplugs due to very slowtrolling, and a little weak controle pee on the new one witch is taken care of right now.
For the record had evinrude yamaha also no problemo.
The saltwater serie is a very reliable engine as I hear but there is always someone with any brand(boat, outboard, auto etc) who has bad luck.
So keep the money or take a good warranty, who knows, peace of mind or money
I have had a 1998 200 and a 225 (both carb) and both were great. The 200 was very strong and very fuel effecient for a carb motor. The 2.5 liter v6 (which the 200 is) is supposed to be the best they ever made and has been the backbone of the racing program for many years. Just remember to do impeller/water pump every year, decarb, and use good oil.
I'm running an '02 Merc. 150 Saltwater (2-stroke, carbed) on my boat. I've got approx. 75 trouble free hours on it. It starts immediately every time, gets great fuel economy, trolls all day w/out fouling plugs and pushes my 20 Grady to roughly 41 mph.
I'll admit that the shifting in and out of gear could be smoother but I've learned to live with it.
My 150 is also a 2.5 liter.
My old 1985 2.0 150 was still running good when I repowered earlier this year.
Do the preventative maintenance and it will be a very reliable engine for you.
GW204, I was going to ask here anyway but while you brought it up; What are you running for plugs? My 03 200 carb does not like to troll. I've had the motor cover off 4 times to clean the plugs It has 35 hours on it, clean gas in it, and Merc Premium Oil. I'm just waiting for 50 hrs before I switch over to synthetic. I agree the shifter is just so so but the motor starts right up cold with very little smoke. So far I'm happy.
I had a 1997 225 Offshore (carbed) on the back of my old boat. The engine was great. Thirsty, but great! The only problem I ever had was that the stator need replacing. It started very easily every time, accelerated smoothly, and pushed the 23' boat nicely. If you do a search of Mercury here, be sure to separate the comments on the Optimax outboards from the EFI and carbed models. From my readings here and talking with owners, the larger Optimax engines have had their fair share of problems. However, I think most owners of the EFI and carbed models have been more than satisfied.
The current plugs are whatever came in it from the factory. I'm pretty sure they are NGK but I don't know what number. I'll try to remember to check when I get home. I run 89 Octane and Premium Plus oil. Initially I was running 92/93 octane but went to the 89 for my first two offshore trips to save a little $$$. Never noticed any difference in performance so I stuck w/ it from then on.
I also plan to go synthetic, probably Amsoil, but I'm waiting until the 1 year warranty is up. If I have any sort of problems during the warranty period, I don't want to have any possible "issues" because I wasn't using Merc. oil. Just something to think about.
NGK plugs work best in my Optimax engine.The 200 hp came new with Champion plugs.Owners book says Champion for light duty,NGK for severe service.Champions did not perform well ,rough idle and plug fouling.Mercury installed NGK under warr. for me.They work fine they are pricey if you buy them from a dealer.Ck. your owners manual for proper heat range plug for your engine.You can buy them on line for app. ten dollars each[platium electrode].Also I use Mercury DFI oil only.
GW you can go to the NMMA website and look at the certified oils list. There are also some posted on the non-certified list, of which most had TCW3 certification in the past. After calling NMMA to understand this, they basically informed me the ones on the non-certiied for the most part are waiting for renewel.
Here is the website with the list: http://www.nmma.org/certification/programs/oils/
There are a few synthetics on the list, but you may recognize more than I can.
Mercury Outboards, what should I expect 
It has 35 hours on it, clean gas in it, and Merc Premium Oil. I'm just waiting for 50 hrs before I switch over to synthetic. I agree the shifter is just so so but the motor starts right up cold with very little smoke. So far I'm happy. 
