Mercury 125????

I have just odered a new 1750 fh crestliner with the merc 125. I am wondering what to expect from the merc motor? What type of oil to run? How long to run it to break it in? and any other info would be great.
I have only used Johnson in the past, so I am totally new to Mercury.
Thank you.

I have a 97 merc 125- no problems to date (knock on wood). I use tcw-III oil in it as recommended. The only knock I have on it is at idle speed it sometimes dies- the time i really notice this is when pulling tube/ski/etc and when circuling around or tightening the rope it sometimes will die. When idleing (sp?) it seems to sputter. I am going to try that lube that was referred to in a past post to see if that helps. All in all no problems with the motor. Good luck.

Hey Jigger is this one of the 2+2 motors that Merc puts out? If so at idle, it’s only running on 2 cylinders then goes to 4 as you accelerate. I’ve heard alot of good things about the motor. Bass and Walleye Boat mag rated it as “best mid-range motor” in a shoot out a couple of years ago. I run Amsoil 2 stroke synthetic in all my toys and absolutely love it. My 75 hp Merc idles smoother and smokes less since I started using it. I highly recommend it.

Hey thanks. Yes it is the the 2+2 motor. I am hoping this elminate the $$$ kicker motor. Thanks again for the info.
Jigger

I had this same motor on a 1895 Yar-Craft Storm tiller boat. Excellent motor from the point of cost vs. value. Not as quiet as a 4 stroke and they truely are pigs for fuel but we are talking about a VERY affordable carburated motor. And they’re very reliable and troll smoothly…. but you will NOT be eliminating the need for a kicker motor in my opinion. They still scoot right along at well over 1.5 MPH if I remember right and that’s not enough speed control, for me anyway, but it is MUCH better than a normal 125 HP motor.

I also second the use of the AMSOIL. Very good stuff that nearly solves the problem of the 2+2 mercurys being pretty smokey when slow trolling into the wind. (gasp-cough…. my head hurts!)

All in all a good motor. I’d be comfortable running one again and they are much less expensive than a comparable DFI or 4 stroke motor.

I agree with James on the trolling speed aspect. My 75 Merc on my 18ft Alumacraft pushes along about 2 mph too. I have started to experiment with putting a drift sock off the bow so it runs under the boat. Let me tell you, it does the trick. I can now run 1 mph GPS speed no problem.

Good luck!
Crossin’

Jigger I have a 2002 125 Merc on my Alumacraft Trophy 175.It is the 2+2 motor and it will kick in and out around 2000 rpm.I use Mercury 2 cycle plus,TC-W3 oil in mine.It is around $20.00 a gallon.It is a good motor and trolls down around 2.0 mph for me.It is a gas hog and it can be cold starting,at least mine is.Good luck with your set-up.
Ryan Hale

One thing that I found really helps keep the idle smooth and reduce the smoke is using a can of Seafoam in the fuel every few tanks. This product really cleans the gunk and has kept my Merc running very smoothly.