Merc 525's

[95south]

here is the problem. first let me say, Im not a mechanic and some of my friends would say after crashing and totaling our cig this year, maybe not even a good driver. ( thats another story )
Our friends top gun just went into the shop to get it ready for us to bring it down to key west. He got bad news from the shop.
the shop said, remember the problem you had when the engines were new? well it happened again. Water intrusion into the engine.
My friend maintains his boat with an open check book and when he needed new power he did not want any issues so he went with new 525s.
the last go around I believe he needed one new block all new heads and headers.

so here we go again. Total hours on engines 90.

what is the answer and how come merc does not step up and fix the problem

thoughts?

[Bradz]

I going to guess it is a staggered setup and the forward engine is the issue. Are the the long heavy tailpipes mounted with a bracket to help support the tailpipes and not crack the headers?

[95south]

no, this is a 95 topgun standard set up

[Big Time]

here is the problem. first let me say, Im not a mechanic and some of my friends would say after crashing and totaling our cig this year, maybe not even a good driver. ( thats another story )
Our friends top gun just went into the shop to get it ready for us to bring it down to key west. He got bad news from the shop.
the shop said, remember the problem you had when the engines were new? well it happened again. Water intrusion into the engine.
My friend maintains his boat with an open check book and when he needed new power he did not want any issues so he went with new 525s.
the last go around I believe he needed one new block all new heads and headers.

so here we go again. Total hours on engines 90.

what is the answer and how come merc does not step up and fix the problem

thoughts?

Water in the cylinder? Did they say how the water was getting in there?

[imco offshore]

are you going to buy a new or have that one rebuilt,, if your going to rebuild i would be interested in the take out,

[imco offshore]

did it happen to both engines ? jim how could it happen to both engines

[Geronimo36]

so here we go again. Total hours on engines 90.

what is the answer and how come merc does not step up and fix the problem

thoughts?

Logic tells me it's the CMI headers......

Solution is to get rid of them and use something that works!

IMHO, merc should be held liable for these header failures and force their manufacturers to sell them better products... This is not an isolated event, it's an epidemic... Even though they don't manufacture them, they sell them as a part of the package and include a warranty..... Here's a question for Merc, if they sold you a set of 525's and you decided not to use the CMI headers and use Brand X exhaust system, would Merc. warranty the engines if there was a failure?

Sorry, my rant for the day....

[BraceYourself]

I love Merc's engines. Best there are.
Problem is all the **** from other manufacturers that goes on them. Such as TRANSMISIONS, Headers, etc...

This is the marine biz and I think merc produces a good engine but they suck on warranty. Your problem lies with CMI.

I think its wrong but being one that's went through it, it is what it is.

Then CMI goes you bought headers from us not an engine. And at best CMI may say well we'll fix our problem. Usually they just look at it as another chance to make money.

[txriverrat2001]

Tommy had the same issue with his Black Thunder - he'll probably chime in and give you the low down ....

[95south]

original problem was with both engines. when the first set of repairs were done the shop said, merc just gave us the same parts and this will happen again.
this time, for now it is only one engine.
the problem is water going into the engine while at speed. not from water laying in the pipes.
you buy a complete pkg, not piece meal to hopefully avoid issues.
merc or cmi, the problem is the same
you have to love the boating industry, buy a new boat and get a million different warranties from all the different mfgs and systems in the boat.
buy a car, one warranty
bottom line, this should not happen and now how to deal with it?

[gerritm]

Did it take out the piston or burn them or did the valves go? Both of mine were the #8 cylinder and it burned up the top edge of the piston. One we was from a broken spark plug and we think that it sucked water back in when it misfired. You could see water marks in the exhaust ports. The other engine I am not sure what happened. Again it burned the top edge of the piston and you could see water intrusion in the exhaust ports. Both had low compression. I just had 3 of the 4 CMI headers welded for cracks. Tommy's H's Black Thunder had the valves bent or something like that. He is the expert on 525 problems. I am pretty sure it was a different problem than mine. Both were out of warranty and had around 100 hours on the engines.

[95south]

the first time it was pretty bad. I think they ended up replacing one of the blocks.
this go around, it was caught in time,I think only the heads were redone
the big question
are these engines ticking time bombs? what next?
the might as well say Acme on the sides of them!
merc, great way to treat the customer

[Geronimo36]

I love Merc's engines. Best there are.
Problem is all the **** from other manufacturers that goes on them. Such as TRANSMISIONS, Headers, etc...

This is the marine biz and I think merc produces a good engine but they suck on warranty. Your problem lies with CMI.

I think its wrong but being one that's went through it, it is what it is.

Then CMI goes you bought headers from us not an engine. And at best CMI may say well we'll fix our problem. Usually they just look at it as another chance to make money.

The warranty should be with the company that sells you the package (merc), they should be the ones honoring warranties, taking care of you, replacing failed items and then forcing their suppliers to increase quality or else they move onto someone else........

Merc warranties an engine when a valve drops or a lifter breaks etc. and those parts were manufactured by CRANE.....

Merc. the corporation is taking the easy way out and pointing the finger because they don't want to take the $$ out of pocket.... Regardless of headers failure being because of CMI or a transmission being from BAM, I still point the finger at Merc. when the chit hits the fan!

If I were a dealer of said manufactured parts I'd also be ****ed at mercury because I make them the stuff and I can't control how their customers use/abuse it...

It's business and there's risk involved...that's also why they have hefty profit margins on this stuff..

[BraceYourself]

The warranty should be with the company that sells you the package (merc),





I 100% agree. But seen time and time again that marine biz just passes the buck. Then the customer gets ****ed, rightfully so, calls a lawyer, and in my case the attorney is a friend and says "This is going to take a long time, a lot of money, a lot of other experts involvement, and in the end I can't say 100% what the judge will side with, so just bend over and go on with life and be glad that you can at least affoard to waste money on boats, then I say well ok. And the cycle continues.

[95south]

time for a class action suit, other wise Braceyourself is 100% correct, been there done that

MERC are you listening
deal with the issues and fix the problem

[Steve Miklos]

When you think about what parts on the 525 does Mercury make? The answer is almost none. So how can they pick and choose? The answer is They have not been challenged at a level that has made them blink. Gm Ford etc all use parts from outside vendors. With the mark up in a 525 they can and should do the right thing.

The most disturbing part is they have benefited by selling parts and sometimes labor on these failures.
Steve

[Geronimo36]

When you think about what parts on the 525 does Mercury make? The answer is almost none. So how van they pick and choose. The answer is no one has challenged them at a level that has made them blink. Gm Ford etc all use parts from outside vendors. With the mark up in a 525 they can and should do the right thing.

The most disturbing part is they have benifitted by selling parts and sometimes labor on these failures.
Steve

You said it better than I can, that's what I was trying to say!


Brace, I might be upset the tran(s) failed but I'd be pi$$ed at Merc... Root cause...

[Geronimo36]

the first time it was pretty bad. I think they ended up replacing one of the blocks.
this go around, it was caught in time,I think only the heads were redone
the big question
are these engines ticking time bombs? what next?
the might as well say Acme on the sides of them!
merc, great way to treat the customer

Did they determine what the cause was???

If it's exhaust I'd suggest going with a different exhaust system even if it's less appealing to the eye.... It's your money when she blows again!

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Knowing headers have a tendency to leak should lead to preventative measures. It is one thing to have a problem and it is something else to not recognize it or let it progress to a point of engine failure. I always suggest to drain headers after use and look up the tailpieces to check for even burn in the collectors when possible. Leaking exhaust almost always leaves a sign in the collector.

I know this doesn't address the initial problem but, it is a way to save money in the future.

[PARADOX]

All I can add to this, that for decades I was a Merc. men. I bought 525's for the reliablility, and have Merc back them up. I had some minor head aches with mine and Merc. in short told me to f.. '' ... off.
I'm not done with Merc. / Brunswick and any info like this will just help my couse. What has happend that some of the old Merc. die hard boatting personnel are gone. Now it's strictly mathametics and as far as I go take can ki$$ my a$$. What's worse that even Merc's execs. are blowing me off. (I have their cells and direct lines)
And I have 5 Merc motors/packages.
Merc needs to see threads like this.