DOCS OUT

Spoke to a seasoned service man and asked about engines. He suggested for my next boat, that I get the 502's as they are better, stronger, less problematic than the 496's. When I asked about the 496's,... he shrugged and raised his palms. What's your take. Weigh in. Pro's and con's. Experiences?

Seems I read that Formula, in the future, is indeed going to push the 502's in various power iterations.

Magicfloat

Only 502's currently available are painted blue,very expensive but very reliable.496's are painted black,relatively inexpensive but also very reliable.Apples to oranges comparison here.Both have there own pros and cons. But if you are talking about used boats,black 502's vs. black 496's,no big deal,both are good. Make your buying decision based on many other factors.

Lake Rat

For the money, you can't by a better (fairly) high performance engine than the 496. They are practically bullet-proof. We put them in all kinds of boats with virtually no problems.

selpel

My choice would have to be the 496 a much better total package. Close water cooled, crank triggered ignition and much more reliable. My 2 cents worth,

zx14

I was told and I can not confirm that the 502 has the same guts as the 525. 525 has differant cam/springs/exhaust/intake/ and blue paint.

forged crank and pistons in 502 not in the 496. Both are good motors though. You do get some extras in the 496 the 502 does not have. I ran 7 psi of boost from a pro charger in a otherwise stock 2000 502 mpi mag trouble free for 230 hours before I sold that boat. I now have twin 502's and trust them.

DOCS OUT

Only 502's currently available are painted blue,very expensive but very reliable.496's are painted black,relatively inexpensive but also very reliable.Apples to oranges comparison here.Both have there own pros and cons. But if you are talking about used boats,black 502's vs. black 496's,no big deal,both are good. Make your buying decision based on many other factors.


You've peaked my interest in stating 'apples to oranges'. For the current model year, other than horsepower, what exactly are the differences between the 496 and the 502? Thanks.

Magicfloat

Current 502 blue motors are hand built by Mercury Racing in Fon du Lac,Wi. No expense spared,best of everything thru out,and price reflects that. 496 motors are stock production motors from Mercruiser in Stillwater,OK.and the lower price reflects that.Both are great motors,but sell to a different market. "You pays yo money and you takes yo choice"

DOCS OUT

"You pays yo money and you takes yo choice"

Yeowshuh, I understand completely.
Seriously, thank you for the explanation of the difference. NO salesman has EVER said that. I get the rote, 'one has more horsepower than the other'....duh?! This forum and the participants are such a great a source of information.

Southocg

502 is the platform, 525 is the HP (blue). The 502 is the much better platform from which to build. You can stick a SC on it without replacing the rotating assy.

496 is on it's way out.
GM is dropping the line from it's truck division, subsequently no longer available to Merc for the 496. Merc is going to have to look at putting a SC on a small block to fill the void in the 400hp range.

DOCS OUT

What year did the blue paint i.e., premium constructed engines, come about as opposed to the older black painted engines?
I've got a friend with a BAJA 2005, Outlaw and it's got the blue engines.