Mariner = Mercury ?

Coldfinger · 01-02-2006, 06:06 PM

I am considering the purchase of an older (1984?) sled with a 115 Mariner outboard jet which has problems, and a history of problems, I can buy it for the value of the sled and trailer...

I have been told that Mariner and Mercury in this age group are same-same interchangable...is that correct ?

Are there many of these motors still around in usable condition ?

Are these motors known for problems ?

Thank you for reading/helping...

FastActionRodTip · 01-03-2006, 06:33 AM

Quote:

I have been told that Mariner and Mercury in this age group are same-same interchangable...is that correct ?

Are there many of these motors still around in usable condition ?

Are these motors known for problems ?

yes, yes and they're reasonably reliable
had a 94 115 Mariner, 4 cyl inline, idles on 2 cylinders...shook at idle and would cough and die...wasn't impressed although it ran very strong..probably was closer to 125 hp in reality

1pump · 01-03-2006, 09:02 AM

If I remember right, the '87 and earlier Merc/Mariner 115 was a 6 cylinder. Back in the 70s/80s they were probably the most popular outboard around here. There's still quite a few around.
IMHO, they're about the only vintage outboard worth fixing up rather than replacing. With a few mods and proper tuning you could get 150HP out of one.

Coldfinger · 01-04-2006, 02:39 AM

150HP WOW, what type of mods does it take to get the extra power out of them, and how much dependability/longevity do you have to trade off to get it ?

The motor is the inline 6 style, probably a late seventies model, as I found out the boat is a 1977. I found an early 80's model Merc 115 with pump at a local boat shop which they say runs good and has good compression, it looks like a copy of the motor/pump which is on the boat, what is the ballpark range for a price on something like that ?

EULACHON · 01-04-2006, 03:33 PM

I have a 150 Jet on my boat. Came that way new with a mariner kicker. Mine is a 6 runs like a top. It was well maintained and like I said runs great.

I was told Mariner was the "offshore" or Saltwater version. They are extrmely popular over in Australia.

Paul