Any one have any thoughts on a 88 Mercury's Classic 50 45hp? Good motor? Dependable? Notorious for any problems? Looking at a boat with this motor. Appreciate any feedback. Never have owned a Mercury.
Boats & Motors
Mercury Classic 50 45hp
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MP We used to fish for brown trout in door county,as soon as the ice let us mostly in march and one crazy trip be for that.I can not remember having a hard time starting my 50 or a friends.He had the same rig only his was a year newer.Both on 16ft lund mr pikes.That was a great time from Algoma to the tip and both s ides of door county.Won thing for sure that 50 was THURSTY.But then again know it was hard starting compared to an Etec.
drummer boy,
I knew that was probably the case. I've never personally run the 'Classic Fifty,' but I have run or been in boats rigged with similar vintage Mercs and they all had one thing in common...all were VERY COLD BLOODED! Once you got them started, they usually were good. Premium no ethanol gas, good oil, SeaFoam...didn't matter. Maybe the Classic Fifty was THE motor in that Era from Merc?!
I had a 1974 65HP Merc, that ran up until I got rid of it in 2007, when I bought a new boat. The only things we had done to the motor over the years was replace all of the fuel lines, impeller, thermostat, Carb rebuild, and a bent lower unit drive shaft from hitting a rock. The motor ran great up until the end. I will admit Mercs always seemed that they struggled to start, but did. I was a big Merc fan, until dealer talked me into a 4 stroke Yamaha. The Yamaha is a fantastic motor! I will get another if I have the chance.
Used to have a 35HP Mercury from that same vintage (1985/1986)...it was bar-none the WORST motor I have ever owned (that is counting 5 others). I have owned 5 OMC / BRP engines since that one and my next one will probably be a Yamaha now that BRP stopped making the E-Tec line, although if I get a good deal on one, I may still consider an E-Tec if parts are available at the time.
Those old Mercs were COLD BLOODED, idled very rough (even with tune-up - mine was a 2-cylinder, so that may be part of it) and were a turd to get the RPM's up with. Ditched that motor REAL quick, and hung a 70HP Evinrude on that 16' Alumacraft, which was WAY too much motor for that tin boat, so I traded a buddy even up for a 50HP Johnson which was a truly great motor! Like I said, those 1980's Mercury 2 strokes were dogs and I still have the Mercury bad taste in my mouth! I have a couple friends that have mid-range (90 and 115) Optimax motors that have been alright, so I'm not saying they haven't made improvements since then, but I wouldn't touch a 1980's Mercury with a 10-foot pole! Also had a buddy that had a 50HP Mercury from the early 1980's that was so unreliable, he added a 36V trolling motor so he would be able to go upriver to get to the launch...
IMO there are a nice motor, I have owned one for some years and later bought one for my late father some years back. I believe one of the major problems with older motors is disuse and poor storage. If they aren't used on a regular basis they get all gummed up and are a hassle to straighten out. Friend I sold my last Merc 50 just junked las summer. He hadn't ran it in 5 years and failed to store properly. I would tell the seller you will be bringing a 'muff' along and will need to run the motor from a cold start. Advise him the motor needs to be 'cold' when you arrive. If he needs to start the motor before you arrive the deals off. Good Luck
I have a 1987 tiller on a 16' Lund predator and it does 26 MPH. No issues other than it was carboned up by a previous owner doing a lot of trolling. Took three mechanics to figure out why it wouldn't come up to power. Got that straightened out and no problems since. Everyone tells me to remove the auto-blend oil injection but I don't feel like mixing gas by hand.
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