sitting blue 525....
 

i have a question to see what others think.....i have an early serial # merc. blue 525 all stock with just under 100 hours on it. its been sitting for about 2 years and going to put in my 2006 daytona 27... Question is should i replace the valve springs? i talked to merc racing tech support and they are telling me it will be fine. they said if it had 300 hours on it and sat for 3 or 4 years or had rust on them then yes... mine look brand new still no rust or imperfections. i know valve springs can be the "weak" link.. but in this case not sure. let me know what you guys think. thanks!

under 100 hrs,they should be ok,but they don,t cost that much and are much easier to change if engine is out of the boat.

keep this in mind,if you replace them now you will get almost 100 xtra hours before you need to address the spring issue,for me,there would be new springs installed before i installed the engine,knowing that the springs are the weak link,id say it,s a no brainer.good luck no matter what you decide to do.

I agree they SHOULD be ok, but, heres my view.

The engine is out and on the ground. Replacing the springs would be very easy at this point. Cost isn't a big deal as long as you don't buy them thru merc.

New springs in there, with only 100 hours on the engines, once installed in the boat, I think you'd be golden for a while. And not have valve springs tapping you on the shoulder whispering in your ear every time you run across the lake at wot.

Ive done lots of things over the years where I felt things were 'ok', and decided to reuse or run with. Im probably overly paranoid, but, not once did I ever replace something that may have been questionable with new, and regret it.

Was the motor spun over occationally while sitting?

If not.... 100% change them

If it was spun over every couple months,,, I MIGHT risk it if they look good,,,, and if its an easy engine to work on while in the boat,,,,if not,,,,still chage them while its on the floor

I would also pre lube the motor before I started it

the engine was not spun over....just cylinders oiled... the valve springs through teague are about $440.00... that isnt much for insurance, but why spend it if you dont have to. my buddy also says to replace. its just one of those things that is a 50/50 chance. they will most likely be ok but if not its going to do alot more damage. ive built 540ci. engines in past that have sat 6-7 months and never had any issues, but this is almost 2 years this march.....i could probably find out but does anyone know what the spring tension should be. i could pull them and have them checked.... its just hard to spend that kind of money when they look so nice and new already in there.... lol... thanks for all your replies....

I belive the 525's had better springs than the 500efi,I would run it,It not a big deal replacing them later on,yea its easyier now.

also you should beable to find springs under 175.00!!!!

Rob


ohyea.Ive got a buddy with a 2001 fasttech with 500efi's with around 600 hours on the hole motor,and he murderes it, Yea it make puke ,just saying some people are lucky,lol

I would think that the manufacturer that designed, engineered, built and have to warranty the motors would carry the most weight in a decision. I realize they are out of warranty but should be fine. If you have plenty of money to spend then go ahead and change them. I'm not an expert, just an opinion.

yea Mercury Racing tech support kinda paused when i asked if i should replace them.... like i was crazy or something but i thought it was a good question.... they said they will be fine.. im just glad you can now call in and actually talk to someone about the blue engines.

Replace them now !!! Nuff said !!!

I just pulled some springs from an engine that has been sitting for roughly 3 years. I don't think they have been turned over at all in that time. Once we removed them all and placed them on a tray, there were a few that were at least 1/4" shorter than others. I'm sure that they were the ones that were compressed while sitting, but I can't say for sure. It obviously makes sense that they are the ones. These are Crane's that only have about 65 hours of run time. They were set up with about 150 psi on the seat and about 400 over the nose. The ones that were still the same free length lost about 15 psi on the seat and the ones that were 1/4" shorter lost about 30 psi on the seat. What I'm trying to say is that they needed to be changed. For a set of springs, 10* retainers, 10* locks and seals, you are only talking about $350 or so. It's cheap, cheap insurance.
Eddie

Yes to the pre-lubing prior to starting the first time. Taking it to the next level, install a pre-luber and use it prior to ANY start-up.

1/4" shorter!! NO S#@T!! mine are all out and all of them side by side are visually the same height... i might get them pressure tested just to see what the pressure of them are.. most likely im going to replace...

If they are out - just change them and never have any doubt about it. As Mr. Young already posted, the springs he mentioned had no rebound from sitting - if your's rebound to an equal dimension it doesn't mean they will give the same pressures...

Keep your engine happy & healthy and change the springs, retainers and locks and never look back at it - may keep you away from any down time in the boating months