Merc F25 Jet

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Still Afloat

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Hey Guys and Gals, I’m new here, searching and reading a lot. It’s my first post. This is a great site.

So I’m about to pull the trigger on a 2006 Merc F25 ELH Jet outboard. Does anyone have any experience with this outboard? Good or bad? It has the same displacement as the 30 hp powerhead (prop model) in the same series. So if it’s really putting out 25 hp at the jet it must be a very efficient jet or the powerhead is putting more than 30 hp.

I was looking through the Mercury spare parts site and the prices are crazy. You would think that everything is made of gold. With that in mind, I just want to make sure that this motor series doesn’t have a bad reputation. It will power a 1448 Jon with the intent of accessing some local rivers. Thanks for any advice.

Dave
 
Okay, since nobody else has answered this I will give you my .02 worth. I have experience with jets but not this particular engine.
Keep in mind that the engine part of this powerplant will have been run pretty hard for most or all of it's service life so far.
Look at the jet castings and see if the castings have been run through a lot of sand. If so then the tip clearances of the impeller will be worn and the efficiency will have gone out the window.....not that they are efficient to begin with.
Ask for any service tickets for maint. parts and services. Pulling the jet unit is not as easy as pulling a gearcase so maint. can be neglected a bit more.
If the engine is in running condition have it put into the water and check idle quality. If a 2-stroke will idle normally it is well sealed, if not...........
 
Thanks, Pappy. Good pointers. I’ll look for signs of wear and past service. I’m not counting on past service records but, worn bolts heads, etc. tell a story as well. We will test run the motor.

I’m not completely new to outboards. Many, many, years ago I was mechanic in a marine shop and I still do my own repairs. I also ran a pump business for several years but, I have never dealt with outboards driving pumps.

So other than riding up and down western rivers with fishing guides in their big jet sleds, jet outboards are still new to me.

I guess where I want to go with this thread is to get an idea if the
Merc F30 & F25 EFI outboards built around 2006 are reliable or do they have a bad reputation. That‘s kind of a general question that could apply to jet or prop models.

The powerhead is 526 cc, same as a 30 hp so if someone has experience with the 2006 F30 EFI motor or similar, what did you think of it?
 
Thanks, Pappy. Good pointers. I’ll look for signs of wear and past service. I’m not counting on past service records but, worn bolts heads, etc. tell a story as well. We will test run the motor.

I’m not completely new to outboards. Many, many, years ago I was mechanic in a marine shop and I still do my own repairs. I also ran a pump business for several years but, I have never dealt with outboards driving pumps.

So other than riding up and down western rivers with fishing guides in their big jet sleds, jet outboards are still new to me.

I guess where I want to go with this thread is to get an idea if the
Merc F30 & F25 EFI outboards built around 2006 are reliable or do they have a bad reputation. That‘s kind of a general question that could apply to jet or prop models.

The powerhead is 526 cc, same as a 30 hp so if someone has experience with the 2006 F30 EFI motor or similar, what did you think of it?
Correction, that‘s the 2011 F25 Jet.
 
I think upto the 30HP 4-strokes are Tohatsu made. Tohatsu has a good duribility record, as far as prop motors go. Heed what Pappy said. A small HP jet would be running at 90-100% full throttle. They take much more of a beating compared to a prop motor. Could your boat take a 40/30 jet?
 
Thanks, Fuzzy. I intend to check it out well and understand the point that jets have a harder life than prop equivalents. I found the manual online and read that there’s a stack of shims under the impeller nut that are moved to the top of the impeller as it wears. If I can see that nut and shim stack through the inlet housing it might offer some clues. As well as looking for other signs of wear as Pappy mentioned. A boroscope would come in real handy and I may be able to borrow one.

I wouldn’t mind doing a compression check but, these outboards have a compression release for easy starting on the recoil start models. This is electric start and I’m not sure it the compression release applies so I need do some homework.

The boat is a Lowe 1448M, flat bottom with the mod V bow. It‘s rated for a 25 hp and the added weight of a 40/30 may require pods. I’m not sure that I want to go there yet, would like to keep this setup simple. At least at first.
 
There is allot of good info on Outboard Jets, the maker of the pumps. Even a good estimate of power needed for the weight of boat, gear, and people. I wouldn't worry about the shim position much. The condition of the impeller and liner would be more important. Just the bottom of the foot and condition of grates will tell allot. Compression test would be good. My experience with a borescope is that it makes things look allot worse than they are. Good luck with your search.
 
For what it's worth, I see a couple 13-15' boats on the river near me with 20-30 hp jets and they are usually screaming at full throttle to go upstream and don't move all that quick when there is more than 1 person in them. I think I would want a 40/30 minimum or 50/35 for a 1448 boat. If you're going to be by yourself 95% of the time the 25 might work but get some ear protection. I just replaced all the spark components in my 1994 60/45 jet 2 years ago and yes, the oem stuff was priced crazy so I went with mostly CDI parts. So far, so good.
 
Hi Jeff, good input. I actually missed a nice 60/40 tunnel in Boise a couple of weeks ago.

At this point I’m committed to the 1448, just bought a brand new one last Saturday. $$

I think you hit the nail on the head regarding weight vs performance and my goal is a light build. I’ll probably fish alone 90% of the time but, having the capacity to bring the wife or a fishing buddy is important.

I think that I’d like to stick with an EFI outboard. The next steps up if staying with a Merc is the 35 and 40 hp which brings the outboard weight up from 186 to 267 pounds. So probably the 40 hp, since the weight is same as the 35. A 40 hp jet on a boat rated for 25 hp might go pretty fast but, my practical side tells me that this would probably require pods and possibly create other complications. $$$

I’m not sure how fast I really need to go. I’m having visions of jetting around a curve and hitting a moose at high velocity.
 
Weight distribution will be key. If getting a tiller, going to need as much weight up front as possible, gas, trolling motor, batteries, etc. A stick steer from the front might be a good option. Also look into how high you need to raise the transom for the jet, and what kind of additional bracing might be needed.

Even using the derated jet hp, it is not equivelent to the same prop HP when set-up right.
 
Got it. Batteries, fuel and trolling motor up front are on the list of things to do. I’ll also use two Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries for the trolling motor and that will cut the battery weight in half.

The Merc is currently a tiller outboard but, I started looking into a doing joystick conversion last weekend. The only one that I found so far is the EZY Glide stick for steering. Does anyone make a two axis joystick for both steering and throttle?
 

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