TOPIC: Merc 110

It's a '64 model.

store.oldmercs.com/category_s/839.htm

www.marineengine.com/parts/mercury-outboard-parts/110/1470349-thru-1865778

The missing part on the carb is the float bowl top. This contains the float needle/seat and the float needle arm. It's sealed to the filter housing on top by a cork or fiber gasket, and a small gasket between the top itself and the float bowl.

Fortunately, this is a very common part and you could use one from pretty much any old Merc with the same carb design.

You'll also need the filter since it's missing. Not to mention the 1/4-28 bolt for the top, and the plastic or metal washer that seals the bolt. And a few screws as well!

If you have an old scrap Merc carb kicking around, it'd make an excellent donor for these parts.

You can see the parts breakdown at Marineengine.com diagrams, here's the carb:

www.marineengine.com/parts/mercury-outboard-parts/110/1470349-thru-1865778/carburetor-assembly

Here's the carb packing kit which would have all the gaskets/pieces you'd need to service the carb:

www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_details.php?pnum=SIE18-7006-1

The fuel fitting is smaller than the standard Merc item and quite expensive. You may find a deal on eBay from a seller who doesn't know what they have.

Here's a new 30635T3 fitting on eBay for $28.35 shipped, not bad if you find out the motor's a good one:



Meanwhile, when you get to the point of running it, you could just stick a hose over the end of the male fitting, for tesing purposes.

You'll need an impeller which is specific to this motor, as I expect it'll have the old "pin drive". The Plus to this is, a lot easier to get the impeller installed!

The ign will no doubt need servicing, just pull the flywheel, remove both sets of points, clean them with a points file or medium-grit sandpaper, and burnish with crocus cloth. Gap the points to .020".

The fuel pumps on these are a bit persnickety, if there is any little bit of fluff in the check valve it won't pump at idle. The pump must be scrupulously clean and I'd recommend installing a small-engine fuel filter ahead of the pump (along with new fuel hoses, of course).

Fortunately the diaphragm kit is still available and inexpensive. Otherwise you can retrofit with a cheap eBay Briggs & Stratton fuel pump (under $10).

Check the gearcase for water, if the oil looks milky, replace the driveshaft seal when you're in there servicing the water pump.

Of course, all the above is moot if the innards are shot, oil 'er up, spin a few times to distribute the oil, and do a compression check.

Have Fun!

Compression about 120 on each. Started higher on top and lower on bottom. My DeWalt died so I tested again after a recharge and the readings leveled out, with the bottom a little lower

Sounds good enough to run! Here's some 65hp carbs on eBay for $15 each, shipped. Can't beat that for an entire carb! It'll have the parts you need for the 10hp and maybe make a good spare for something else.

Bought the carbs. $15 is nothing, and I could sell what I don't need.

Still not really clear on the fuel fitting part that is missing. I saw your link, but that looked like the external fitting. It looked like I was missing something inside the housing. I will look at marineengine and see

Thanks!

Once you steal the float chamber top off one of the 650-4 carburetors, don't simply discard those carburetors. They are very desirable to vintage racers.
Based on your picture #9, I agreed with Ed, that you just need the external fitting he sent a link to.
I must confess,...The last picture you posted has me stumped?
Can you back off a few feet and snap a picture of that area???
If you find that you need anything other than the somewhat rare female bayonet, please post & I'll pull that rabbit out of the hat for you.

doc

I should have that rare internal and external fuel fittings if needed. I think I see the problem it has been modified. look at the pic from the front.

Here are some more pics of the mystery fuel fitting and the missing part.







Probably the best picture of what I am looking at. You can see it lined up with the external fuel fitting. FYI - I now have 5 old Mercs and Zero fuel lines to hook up to them!!

That is just the hole where the bumper for the top cowl fits. The fuel pump is on the Stbd side of the powerhead.

Ok, now I feel stoooooopid. Just when I start looking a little like I know what I am talking about.

Guess its better to be safe and ask questions though!! The carbs are on their way. Assuming that I have spark I will hopefully have it running on starting fluid / spray bottle with pre-mix by the end of the week. Really need to look around for some fuel lines. I find that the motors aren't much use without them.

Quick question - how thirsty will the 1500 be? I am assuming pretty thirsty, and I will need to have multiple fuel tanks lined up. Will I want to go with a fixed tank mounted forward so that I have more capacity and it helps to trim out the GT-150?

Found out last night that the recoil needs some work on the 110. Haven't taken it off yet, but it looks like the handle just got pulled off and the cord is still in the recoil. Anybody got a recoil pull sitting around that I can convince you to part with that would match? And say Mercury on it?

one last thing - Any tricks to take the recoil off without screwing up the spring? I was looking at the manual on page 3 of the section on starters, and it did not have a lot of detail. I am sure one of you guys has taken this one apart.

Don't know why I didn't do it at the same time as the compression test, but I checked for spark this morning. Yessir!!

Top one wasn't blue perfect, but the bottom one was. The top one was plenty strong enough to fire.

Can't wait to get the carb, manually fill the bowl , and then try firing her up!!!

One last question - I am assuming this is a 10 hp, but it is the lighest 10 I've seen I swear that the cover is the heaviest compenent. What is the rated output?

Now to the real question - I know with OMC 9.9s the difference between a 9.9 and a 15 is the carb. Can I assume the same with the 110? If I swap carbs, what can I boost it up to without additional modifications to the engine? Is there a timing change needed?

We have a pair of '80s something Johnsons at the a cottage - a 9.9 long shaft with electric start that weighs just over a ton and a 15 short shaft manual start that weighs just under a ton. Usually the Dingo (14 ft tin rowboat) has the 15 on the back. If I can get the 110 closer to 15, bet the weight difference will make up the rest and the Merc would look nice on the back.

Only issue is that someone might want to "borrow" it after I get it all polished up. Maybe I should save it for a future cedar strip project.

IT IS A 9.8 THAT IS THE BIGGEST HP IN THT COFIGUREATION FOR MERC. THE 7.5 CAN BE UPPED TO THE 9.8. THE CUBES ARE ABOUT 11CID. SO 1 HP PER CUBIC INCH.

Thanks!!

We have fire!!!!

Couldn't wait. Stopped home over lunch. Gave it a good shot of Sea Foam spray and spun it with choke closed. Good shot of cheater fluid. Close the choke. Pop, pop, pop right away!!

Going to pull off the carb tonight and give it a cleaning and good run through. Already have the carb off the girlfriends "bad motor scooter" waiting for a cleaning, so might as well make it a pair o'carbs. BTW - her bad motor scooter is bright yellow and has a 50cc POS 2 cycle made in China. Smokes like a roasting pig and this is the second time I have had it in pieces in the shop. Tempted to take a BFH to it and tell her is is non-repairable!!

It will be all ready to go for when the "carb re-build kit" comes on Friday and I can actually try to start it on its own merits instead of cheater fluid. Still going to be a little monkeying around as no gas lines.

Like the usage of the optional yellow DeWalt starter. Much easier than the broken recoil!!!!

If everything pans out with the carb then its check/replace the impeller and I have another project done!! Just take some time to clean it up a little so it looks black on both sides instead of just one.

Carbs arrived last night. Can't wait to put the carb together tomorrow and reinstall. Just need to fill up the bowl and throw it in a bucket. I have a feeling it will roll with no problems!! Can't wait. I will take some video of the first firing and post it on here tomorrow. Or, I will post tales of lament and be asking for advice!!

Probably not!! I understand these carbs from playing around with the one on my KE-7 and I should have it ready to go with the exception of some fine tuning. Wish the "modern" 50cc Mikuni would behave as well as the 52 year old!!

Close, but not done yet. I have it running for a short amount of time, but it is problematic to adjust the carb with no fuel line. I pulled the float and filled up the bowl, but it still does not give you too much time to fool around with making adjustments.

Did someone mention that I could just push a fuel line on the male fuel fitting? Any trick to that? I will see if I have a length of hose laying around that could fit the bill.

Figured out the fuel hose - another case of thinking it was more complicated than it was. Messed around a little and had it running on and off on cheater juice and its own fuel. Didnt want to keep running. What should the initial setting on the carb be? I will take a look at my manual, but usually you guys just pull it right out of your hats.

What size is the fuel fitting? Seems to be a lot of 1/4" fittings on eBay

you motor takes one that looks like that but a smaller version.
I have one used they are hard to get.

How much Dave? I am between getting it from you or a new one on e-bay for $28.

If that is the small one get it new for that price. check it out first and make sure. last time I saw a small one for sale new they were about $60.00. I need $30.00 for mine used.

Thanks Dave! It is new and Joe Poole has one too.

There are always challenges and learning experiences. This one wasn't too bad. Learned that a 4" C clamp makes a pretty good iPhone "tripod" Learning that it is easy to forget the simple things - like advancing the throttle - when you are trying to start your newly rehabbed Merc 110. Sigh, just when you think you know something....

www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=Mcz_o20cSws&u=/watch%3Fv%3D7Xxjf2jfTSg%26feature%3Dem-upload_owner%23action%3Dshare

Merc experts - is there another tell tale on the 110 besides what is coming out of the exhaust

It seems like it is running a little hot. Hotter than my experience with other engines. I ma wondering if it is getting sufficient water flow.

One last thing - this one is going to hit CL for sale. What is a good price?

I watched the video, sounds like the idle mixture is just a tad lean <cough cough>. Try turning the mixture screw 1/4 turn CCW and see if that helps.

There's fairly decent water flow out the exhaust relief, and it will be somewhat warm since it's mixing with exhaust.

The important thing is to feel the exhaust manifold cover. If you're getting enough water flow thru the powerhead, the cover should never get hot. Should stay cool-ish to lukewarm, and would be a bit warmer than that after a full power run in the lake.

I will give it a try on the mixture setting change. Still starts a little grumpy, hopefully a little richer mixture will fix that up. If I want to sell it with the cover on, I will need to make sure you don't have to pop the top every time you start it so that you can squirt in some cheater fluid.

With the polar plugs, is there anything you can do to "freshen" them up that is like cleaning the electrodes on a "normal" plug? Or just get new plugs? I am wondering if that is part of the problem. Or, do you think the spark is too weak initially? It seems to run fine once its going, so I am tempted to let sleeping dogs lie with the points.

Again, thanks for the input.

That motor won't run Permagap plugs properly, it doesn't develop high enough voltage to fire them consistently under load. They are also too long (1/2" reach) for that motor.

At least I assume that's what you meant by "polar plugs".

Your 10hp should take standard-electrode plugs in J8C flavor (stock # 841). Or, if you're feeling really froggy, you probably could find some NOS J7J plugs on eBay.

But the J8C copper core has a wider heat range than the original plug and that's probably why Champion discontinued the J7J.

BTW using those Permagaps is likely a great part of the poor running, besides a bit lean idle mixture. Poor spark will mimic carburetor problems.

Ed,

It came with Champion L78V permagap plugs, so I assumed those were correct. Guess that's just my bias that the previous owners really knew what they were doing. Here's the plug from the top cylinder -

63LStriton wrote:

Ed, It came with Champion L78 permagap plugs, so I assumed those were correct. Guess thats just my bias that the previous owners really knew what they were doing. Here's the plug from the top cylinder -

I guess they were cornfused, 'cause later-model Merc 7.5 & 9.8 Twins with electronic ign use the L78V plugs.

It'll definitely run better with the correct spark plugs in it!

I'll stop and pick up some plugs on the way home tonight and see how it runs.

I checked my 6 plugs before running my 100. 3 old stock (looked up and manual said that plug number was too hot) 3 other old stock were correct. Discontinued from 1965, but got the modern cross reference plugs and runs great. (save the 3 original correct plugs just because). I also bought a second set for spare. Is it a good idea to run the old plugs in spring once when you are running out the fogging oil from the motor and then put in the new plugs for the season? I just figured why subject new plugs to cylinders full of fog oil. Looking for best advice. That is a cool little motor. If I had the right small boat for it, it would almost match my big 6.

I am kind of torn with that motor. It is a super light 9.8, and would look awesome on the back of the old wood sailboat that I want to buy and restore. Issue is that the current owner is my ex-wife's mom, and I have no idea if she wants to sell. Oh, I also don't have any more room for another project, especially a multi-year down to the bare wood restoration!!

The other issue is that I should really sell it to start building up the toy / renovation kitty. But you hate to let something that cool walk away when you saved it...... Now that I have the ridiculous whale tail off of it it looks pretty sharp.

Maybe Cal is right - I am turning into a hoarder!!

Fix one thing, find another problem, or 2. Got the new plugs in and it seemed to like them. Was messing around with running it in forward in the barrel, and it was having a little trouble under load. I was going to adjust the carb when I noticed problem # 1 - fuel leak.

Fuel is leaking out of the top of the fuel pump and running down the fuel line and then down the side of the carb. Pretty good leak as I noticed it right away. Probably need a new gasket that was messed up with shimmying everything around to get the carb on after the rebuild.

Decided to keep and eye on that and tried to give her a little more throttle. Then discovered problem # 2 - for some reason the linkage that keeps it at idle when not in gear is not disengaging. You only get "starting throttle", and thats it. It is hitting a hard stop, even when cycling from forward through reverse and back. It was working before, so something must have got out of adjustment.

I can probably figure it out looking at the Merc manual and Marineengine.com, but always open to tips and tricks..

I knew I wasn't crazy with the Polar plug reference. I saw it in the Merc manual - Section 1 page, page 3. I'm not smart enough to make that one up.

You'll have to trust me - i got tired of trying to upload the picture. Kept hitting limits!!!

It looks to me like Ed's got this one right. Below is a screen capture from the Champion Marine application guide, and the link goes to the ignition parts for a 1964 110.
What manual are you using?

store.oldmercs.com/category_s/1230.htm

Sorry for the sidetrack - Ed was totally right on the plugs. Put in the new ones and it relatively purrs.

I was talking about my reference to Polar plugs regarding the Merc permagap plugs. I knew that I had seen them referenced as polar plugs. Thats what I was referring to. Sorry for the confusion.

BTW - I was actually hoping your were chiming in with the solution to my linkage problem

Looks like #18 on MarineEngine might be the culprit for the throttle limiter. Probably just needs to be adjusted and tightened.

Didn't see anything on Marinengine indicating a gasket or O-ring for the line coming out of the top of the fuel pump. Just a little teflon tape and tighten it down more?

Perfect time for a guru to tune in for some advice on angles and torque settings.

Yeah, #18, 19, 20, 21 are for the neutral limiting function, so you don't rev it up too much when it's in neutral.

The stop is adjustable so you'll just have to fiddle with it until it doesn't interfere with the throttle-up in gear.

So is the leak actually coming out of the fuel pump, or is it at the top of the carb where the filter housing resides?

There are (2) gaskets there that must be in place or it'll leak; one inside the filter housing, and the other larger gasket on float bowl cover.

Also there must be a plastic or metal sealing washer under the bolt that holds down the filter housing.

The fuel pump itself is sealed by the gaskets/diaphragms. And it's bolted to the side of the block, as I recall. Maybe the 1/8" NPT fittings or the hose is leaking??

Just brainstorming here!