franklins

Has there been any of the 250 and 225 mercury motors breaking of the boats. In our bass tournaments there has been three already this summer and two I no of last year. The motors are breaking of just above the jack plates in the goose neck. Has there been any in the races you no of?There has not been no one killed yet but have been badly hurt. I believe they have some casting problems since that has been five just in the bass tour that we fish in!!

Fountain38SC

Fishing boat ya say. Found the problem, there allergic to the boat.

Tantrum

For the dowm low on Outboards you will get a better response on www.screamandfly.com Im not sure of the "gooseneck" failure you are talking about but there has been some issues with sport master lowers on 300's talked about here. Is this a midsection issue? or steering?
Sorry Im slow

Phazar454Mag

A friend had a 225 EFI some years back that broke off a 17 ft speedboat going at WOT. The boat was being thrown around real bad as it broke off, but he was lucky and only got some minor bruises, so he was OK. The engine was hanging behind the boat in the cables after it broke off. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I helped recover the engine, and looked at the casting where it broke. Couldn't believe this could happen. The outboard was out of warranty, but Mercury did cover his loss and claimed they had never heard of this before and wanted the outboard to be shipped back to the US for inspection as to why this could happen.

Poo

First rule . Grab the evidence against you !

I've wondered about casting problems lately myself on I.O. parts . I use to work in a foundry ,without constant attn : weak parts get out real quick .

Of course as an owner its youre job to keep an eye youre equipment . I tap around my gimble ring and listen for tone before each run .

Steve Zuckerman

Franklins,
Mercury is the only OEM that consistently fields a racing/high perf division. Other OEMS, could, and some (OMC) have, but it's an expensive proposition.
And yes, once you go black, you'll never go back .....
Here's one for you.
Steve

Phazar454Mag

I agree that as an owner it is your job to keep an eye on your equipment, but to actually check for casting issues before each run is probably beyond most people if you are running standard Mercury products.

Poo

I did not POINT out Merc, but mine is a merc now that you bring it up . In the last year or so I've witnessed a lot of gimbal failure thats why I check it . It takes two seconds while i'm making the usual rounds ie , checking ram bolts ,and any steering component's .Also My method is not a fail safe . But you can hear a fatigue part fairly easy just by its tone . I use a pickle fork it has great tonal response .

As a kid in the 70's I was in a drag race (at national trails ) and lost a left front tie rod end . It made a mess of my weekend (and my pants ) So I have been cautious since then . Checking and re-securing parts on the boat is part of the fun of ownership to me . Kinda' like waxing youre new car in the driveway .

Phazar454Mag

I am sorry, I did not mean to point out anyone.
What I meant is that I think most people do not check for casting problems, and simply do not know how to do that, and do not expect any. This includes myself by the way, I do not check my gimbals before each run, but I tend to do a lot of checking in the engine bay before and after a run.

franklins

You are right about people do not check out there boats!! I have learned alot my self about that to. On our outboard motors you should check the jack plate and motor mount bolts about every second time out. They should be at 80lbs and we find them losened off quit often. Most people would never even check the bolts once a year.