Thanks Gordon.
ALSO!
We have two older model
Mercury OBs with tiller controls. 9,9 and 15 HP. What we learned:
The cover on the two tiller
cables cracks and lets in (salt)
water. As the Bendex coils corrode the apparent length of the sheath shortens. The inner cable become slack and the take up adjustment is insufficient. Replace the entire cable assembly. About $80 on line.
The rotating bell crank bits have too much hysteresis either from assembly or wear. I fashioned a plastic bushing for one, a
bronze bushing for the other. The stack on the pivot bolt is too loose also. I added SS shim washers to make this near zero slack. Note the SS washer in the
photo.
These two physical improvements and the manual restored excellent action and control.
Other Merc improvements:
Change the
aluminum prop to SS Solas. (Picture) About $70 on line. Consider the use. We needed to reduce the
pitch 1” for the
RIB with two people and groceries.
Own a spare
water pump kit. The entire kit is way less than the
parts.
Buy a spare zinc. Also, we added an
aluminum whale tail plate with a large extra zinc. (Picture)
There is a tiny thermostat on the
cooling housing above the plugs. Get a spare. (Picture old one)
Have at least one spare primer
pump rebuild kit. Ethanol ruins these.
Add a transom filter on the
dinghy with a
water separation bowl. (Photo)