496 ho plug wires are $500!!! Please read
 

I just bought a 26ft cat with a 496ho...still trying to dial everything in. with 4 passengers I am turning 4500 rpm with a 26p, bravo 1x, 1.5 gears and getting 65mph. My plans were to install headers and lab the prop. When I was installing the headers I noticed a ripped boot on one of the plug wires. This could have been there already or I may have done it when installing the headers.

I have a few question...please help:

could this wire problem cost me 400rpm?

Could I repair the rip in the boot..if so how?

Is there anything special about these wires since they cost $500 for the set from merc?

can I use aftermarket wires like MSD marine?

I dont see any reason what-so-ever that you couldnt use an aftermarket marine wire... IMO MSD is the best made. Forget 500 bucks. That is sheer gouging.

I do not know much about the 496 motor but I do know that $500 is outrageous for wires. I just purchased a complete MSD ignition system (box, billet distributor, wires, and coil) from Jegs for around $750, so $500 for wires is unimagineable!

I have a few question...please help:

Could this wire problem cost me 400rpm?
Possibly.....But....have you heard the motor running crappy? Is the wire/s really having an impact? In reality if the connector has contact and delivering spark without arc, there shouldn't be a problem. In a pinch if so, wrap electric tape arouund the boot to prevent arc.

Could I repair the rip in the boot..if so how?
See above.

Is there anything special about these wires since they cost $500 for the set from merc?
Wow...I doubt it...Honestly why would the need be any different than the automotive version in terms of coil to plug demand?? Remember, if it's got marine associated with it, the price jacks up. Volts to plug is simply volts to plug.

Can I use aftermarket wires like MSD marine?
Maybe you can replace the one bad wire with a Vortec truck 496 (8.1L) wire????? since the bottom line is delivering the appropriate voltage to the plug which I'm sure is no different than the truck version, in theory why not????

I'm no expert, but is my logic askew?

Yeah it suprised me that the 496 ho wires are $500 and the 525efi wires were only $125. I just thought that there must be something specific here

If you can, start the engine at night, give it a rev and have a look. You will see sparks flying around if it is arcing. If there are no sparks, chances are it is OK.

Don't know about the 496 but I tried to get away from paying $500 for a set of Porsche 911 leads and purchased the 'best' aftermarket I could find. The engine wouldn't even idle. Paid the $500 and running smooth and hitting the redline effortlessly.

The 496's have the coils mounted on the valve covers with short plug wires don't they? Maybe the $500 pricing includes the coils.

$430 at mercruiserparts.com
What a rip off. I'm headed outside to look at my boat and truck now, I'm willing to bet the GM 8.1L wires are the same. Then you could also just buy 1 wire.

No coils aren't included for the $500. :eek:

Nope, not the same as the truck wires. The Merc wires are much longer to go around the exhaust. You might be able to get them at a GM dealer though. The wires on my motors say AC Delco on them.

get a piece of the heavy 3M shrink tubing from an electrical supply house and shrink it over.

cheap and effective

or you could try that self bonding electrical tape , any ACE hardware sells it... just clean with acetone and strech the tape ,it's then activated..

i used it on my battery cable on my truck on a terminal and works fine...

Just make your own wires.

Unless I am missing something, it is not that bit of a deal. At one point in time you could cut your own

I do not thik MSD works as well...but these do for 1/2 the cost Merc charges. ($189)

They are so expensive because the performance spark plug wires have a unique stainless steel wire wound ("Mag Wire") conductor with a Dupont Kevlar core.

http://www.vitekperformance.com/shop...ame=MERCRUISER

I would go to MSD they are very good wires....and you can bet merc does not make those 500 ones either....years ago I worked at a boat dealership, was doing a engine job, was opening one of merc high dollar head gaskets, only to see that it was a victor gasket just dropped on a merc package and trippled the $$$

Look up a replacement crankshaft for a 1000SC. They're almost $14,000.

Merc is nuts.

Yes, a plug wire can cost you 400 RPM. Did on my boat when one fell off. Other than the lack of RPM, you could not tell the plug wire was off. Make your own replacement wire. I used to make my own wires all the time back in the day.

Make a set of your own. Just measure the old ones, maybe make some adjustments in length if needed. Easy.

496 Parts?
 

For anybody who is interested, Raylar has many sets of new take off Mercury plug wires for the 496 engines in stock and we sell them for $75 per set plus shipping for those who need them. Need 496 stuff, remember one name, Raylar

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Unless a 496 NEEDS some super wiz bang plug wire (I don't know if it does or not) $75.00 is probably about what the wires are worth to begin with, retail, take offs or new (+,- same thing).

Merc really sux sometimes. Would be nice if a Merc rep would chime in from time to time and justify/explain the reason/s for prices they charge for some of their products.

With Brunswicks - Mercury policy of non-disclosure of company information and inner workings,any employee who did would probably loose his job for chiming in here!
Mercury is just a normal big US stock Corporation, they are trying to make the maximum profit on anything they think they can control thru part exclusivity for the benefit of their stockholders. Lots of similar big industries do the same thing with replacement parts sales. Buy yourself a new BMW and the engine probably is being sold in the car at about $10K. Buy that same BMW engine from parts and I think it would cost $50K over the counter. Same situation. This is also one of the ways they use parts resale profit to offset the other costs associated with their marine engines such as extended warranty, racing sponsorship and such.
Other smaller marine engine manufacturers like Volvo Penta, Crusader, Pleasurecraft and aftermarket builders like Raylar, Teague and Ilmor take a more reasonable profit approach on replacement parts sales because we are not feeding such a large Elephant!
I am not trying to justify Mercury's pricing on replacement parts here, its just important you understand why they do what they do.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar