# 1983 Mercury 4.5hp craigslist special



## Bigkat650 (Dec 17, 2015)

Guy posted this 1983 Mercury 4.5 on craigslist for $10 as a parts motor. It looked pretty complete and in relatively good shape. I figured it was a miss-print, and he intended to put $100. I called him up and he said $10 is all he wanted. I said I would take it because I figured at $10, even if its ceased its still worth $50-$150 or more depending on the rest of it and how far I wanted to go in parting it out.

He said it was a great little motor but the impeller went and he didn't catch it until the motor quit working. He never said it smoked, or did anything other than it died on him. He took the lower leg off and took the old impeller out and that's where he left it. Didn't try firing it up again, didn't even put a new impeller in. Just listed it and sold it to me because he wanted it out of his basement.

I get it home and by god it looks like it would be ready to fire up tomorrow if I put a little gas to it. I'm hoping that will be the case, but i'm expecting i'll have to get a tad more involved then that. This is kinda where my questions begin--where do I go from here? Assuming it doesn't fire up, and knowing he ran it without the impeller circulating water until the engine quit... my thought was to check for compression. Did he blow the head gasket or worse, crack the housing. Now--it kinda feels like it has pressure when you crank it, but I am by no means an expert.

I guess i'm just looking for a little guidance. If you came across this outboard, knowing the back story, where would you begin?

Thanks for the help, and let me know what you think of my score!


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## Jim (Dec 17, 2015)

Nice score!


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## nowgrn4 (Dec 17, 2015)

Can you pull the plugs, lower the pistons and see how bad the cylinder walls look? If their OK and you have spark and compression clean the carb, reassemble lower and see if it runs. $10? What have you got to lose?


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## kofkorn (Dec 17, 2015)

That's a great deal! The lowest I've had was $25 on a '74 johnson 2hp. The lower unit on that motor would sell for $100 in a heartbeat. 

Even before you spend time pulling the cord to start it, I'd check the compression (buy a $15 gauge at an autoparts store). It'll save you a big hassle. If the compression is even and above 80 psi, then buy a new impeller and run it. If not, you may want to look into a used powerhead or consider parting the motor. 

No way to lose on this one.


Good luck!


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 17, 2015)

Great find! 

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 17, 2015)

kofkorn said:


> Even before you spend time pulling the cord to start it, I'd check the compression (buy a $15 gauge at an autoparts store). It'll save you a big hassle. If the compression is even and above 80 psi, then buy a new impeller and run it. If not, you may want to look into a used powerhead or consider parting the motor.



That it's kinda my game plan. I ordered an impeller in my haste so I'm gonna throw that in. I guess the pressure gauge makes more sense then spending more on a tank and lines. If there's pressure, which there definitely is some but I don't know the psi... I'm sure I can get it going.

Even if not, like you said im sure i could part it out and make a coupe hundred bucks. I'm excited to get going! I'll keep this updated as I tear into the thing in the next couple days


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## KMixson (Dec 17, 2015)

Cosmetically it looks to be in excellent shape. If it does not run the usable parts would recoup your money invested in it. As for getting it to run, I would check compression first. If good, that rules out a lot of problems it could have. If it ran hot due to a bad impeller maybe the metal parts returned more to their original specs after cooling down and are in a state that it may run. I have seen that before in engines. But be warned, I have also seen engines that didn't seem too bad but were destroyed due to heat. If it does fire up and run keep a close eye on water pump operation and look for leaks. Make sure it is peeing but look for water leaks in the gaskets on the motor. Also look for fuel and exhaust leaks in the gasketed/mated surfaces. Heat tends to warp parts and can cause a leak where there was none when the engine quit. In some cases the mating surfaces can be tightened down a little more to stop the leak. Heat can also crack parts so look for leaks in the parts as well. Good luck with it. I hope it runs for you.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Dec 17, 2015)

How does the paint look on the power head?


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 17, 2015)

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> How does the paint look on the power head?



It looks pretty good all the way around. Looks like the guy took care of the motor.


















The last image you can see where an inspection sticker is still on it as well as what I believe is a number written with a wax pencil.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Dec 18, 2015)

Then it probably didn't get that hot.


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 22, 2015)

So I got the impeller installed and everything buttoned up ready to test run. Problem is, I don't have a gas tank for this set-up. All I have is an old 6 gal pressure tank for a late 50's Johnson.

Is there any way I can test this motor out without spending $100 on a tank and new lines? I'm keeping my eye on craigslist, but nothing so far. I don't want to invest in the tank and lines if I cant get it to run, as I'll just end up parting it out and I'll probably buy a 3hp with an on-board tank.

Thought maybe I could just buy the fitting for the tank, and a short fuel line and use gravity to keep the motor primed. I'll only need about a cup of fuel to test it out. Is this even possible? Thoughts? If not, I'm just gonna have to wait until I find one on craigslist because I can't justify spending $100 to see if a $10 motor works.


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 22, 2015)

If you could take i picture of the fuel fitting port I may have an extra to spare that I can send you.

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## onthewater102 (Dec 22, 2015)

you probably have a barbed fitting going into the carb somewhere after the fuel connector - just attach your temporary fuel line to that. Prime the line by pouring some fuel into it then set a fuel jug higher than the carb on a ladder or something. Put the primed line into the fuel and you'll have a gravity fed siphon that will let you test it on muffs or in a tank no problem & shouldn't cost more than the price of the hose - which you can just use vinyl hose from the local hardware store on a temporary basis anyway & be out $5 in your test...


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 22, 2015)

Texas Prowler said:


> If you could take i picture of the fuel fitting port I may have an extra to spare that I can send you.
> 
> Sent from the dust in front of you!



Here is a photo of the nipple. PM me if you have an extra one you're looking to get rid of :mrgreen: 














onthewater102 said:


> you probably have a barbed fitting going into the carb somewhere after the fuel connector - just attach your temporary fuel line to that. Prime the line by pouring some fuel into it then set a fuel jug higher than the carb on a ladder or something. Put the primed line into the fuel and you'll have a gravity fed siphon that will let you test it on muffs or in a tank no problem & shouldn't cost more than the price of the hose - which you can just use vinyl hose from the local hardware store on a temporary basis anyway & be out $5 in your test...



Awesome, that's exactly what I was planning on doing, glad it sounds like it will work. Thanks!


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 22, 2015)

Darn man i have the newer style merc clip on type. Those won't fit.[CRYING FACE]

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 22, 2015)

Texas Prowler said:


> Darn man i have the newer style merc clip on type. Those won't fit.[CRYING FACE]
> 
> Sent from the dust in front of you!



It's all good, thank you for checking it out!


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## Texas Prowler (Dec 22, 2015)

No problem. 

Sent from the dust in front of you!


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 29, 2015)

Today I took it the next step. Put the impeller back in, buttoned it up and put some fresh 50:1 mixture into it. Opened up the choke and pulled the starter cord. First pull, nothing... Second pull and LIFE, well for about half a second anyways. I kept pulling but it just sat there. After about 5 minutes, I took off the cowl and looked immediately noticed gas spilled out everywhere under the hood at the base of the motor--it was terribly flooded. 

Hmmm, where could this gas be coming from? I assume its something to do with my fuel delivery system. See, I didn't want to buy new lines and a new tank for a $10 motor if it turned out I wasn't gonna be able to resurrect it. So I rigged up a gravity feed system where I used a plastic paint cup, silicone and some 1/4" hose and fed it down into the female coupling from the Attwood 8899LP6 kit I picked up from Walmart on Clearance. Turns out that fitting is designed to connect to the tank and work with the included male pin coupling... not to connect to the motor. Even though the part looks correct, its not what it was designed to do, and its not the correct fitting. I got the correct part coming though :mrgreen: 

And then... Curiosity got the best of me. I thought maybe there's enough gas in the lines to fire it up. So I pulled the cord ONCE and this little $10 motor purred to life and it was the most beautiful sounding 5 seconds of my life (except maybe when my wife said "I do" or when my kids first screamed after being born). The water shot from the back at a steady stream and I realized this motor is going to be exceptional. I have never owned a motor that started so easily, let alone one that had been sitting for months in a basement that was supposedly dead and I bought for $10. I just get this fuel situation buttoned up, and I hopefully will be good to go!


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## onthewater102 (Dec 29, 2015)

Congrats!


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## CedarRiverScooter (Dec 29, 2015)

cool story, I'm envious.


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## Bigkat650 (Dec 30, 2015)

Evidence that she lives!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xeJ51e1lMc

How does it look and sound? (You're jealous of my pink bucket aren't you!) Its chilly here, and my gas mixture was probably closer to 40:1 as oppose to 50:1 so i'm hoping any excess smoke is due to that, and it wasn't that smokey anyways. 

Only concern is does it appear that there is enough water coming from the 'pee hole'? It seems steady, even idled down pretty low. Its a new impeller, but the pump housing was mildly damaged when the previous impeller broke and partially melted inside. I cleaned it up, and thought I would put it together and see what it looked like before I decided to purchase a new one. It seems to still be functioning properly, i'll just keep an eye on it.

Thanks for looking any of course, thanks for any info!


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## Sinkingfast (Jan 1, 2016)

Sounds, runs and pees just like mine.


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