ignition type on a 4hp mdl 40 Mercury

[crosbyman]

update… found everything 🙂 on the Mercury site (good a place asany I guess)

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[crosbyman]

update: points polished up gap adjusted , openning set with the VOM method at around TDC and the bad condenser ( tall canister) was refurbished with a 630V mylar .020 uf capacitor.

the rounded top edge was taken out with the grinder to remove the inner foil , a new capacitor installed and soldered in via a 1/16 hole drilled in the bottom. the canister was filled with epoxy
with a small auto-mix seringe . the capacitor top wire was reconnected to the coil primary & point junction. Time will tell Mylar caps hold up

Closed up everything an it fires like a draggon 🙂

carb spotless . impeller coming in via Amazon and no water in the GC….just sand 🙂

not a bad deal …. I think that one cost me 70$ cdn + the the impeller (can’t recall exactly ….. amongst the 6 I need to get going before ice out)

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[billw]

Yeah, that is just a conventional Phelon ignition. Before Phasemaker. You are a lucky man. On those, the impeller is more important to change, than maybe any other engine I can think of. VERY prone to failure. make sure it’s free to travel up and down on the rusty shaft.

Long live American manufacturing!

[crosbyman]

no rust on the shaft 🙂

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[billw]

C’mon, it’s an old Mercury! The shaft HAS to be rusty!!

I was thinking about it….I have to look into it more; but I don’t think they ever made a true 4 hp with conventional ignition. I think the last conventional ignition was on a 3.9. Also, if you say there is NO rust on the shaft, again, you are a lucky, lucky man; but I wonder whether the whole lower unit or shaft has been replaced with a stainless one, which was not originally how it was made. They didn’t have stainless shafts until 1976. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the serial number? Do the saddle and power head serial numbers match?

Long live American manufacturing!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by billw.

[crosbyman]

will recheck everyting and send photos…

I have another 4hp Merc and never bothered to do the ignition because it works. The ignition coil on that one is the boxy type about 2”x2” and hangs in the back.

I have a 3.9 Merc and recall adjusting the points similar to this 4hp . Been a few years and don’t remember the coil arrangement on that 3.9. everything is in the cottage garage hibernating !

ser.# in in the 269xxx series.. will recheck but Marineengin.com says it is a USA made 4hp

so far the only issue is the mid-way splash plate which took a hit and a piece broke off I may just grind it back at a V angle on each side . I suspect it was broken in transit or storage because the LU is not damaged per say.

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[dave-bernard]

The 3.9 will be the same.

[crosbyman]

BiIlw … well I did find some rust tint on the shaft but frankly nothing very serious the rest of the shaft is darken with exhaust fuel-oil & carbon colored .

the pump’s zone is yellowish ( “rusty” as you correctly pointed out ) but no major pitting I can worry about i think .

A good spin and some steel wool or similar abrasive should clean it up .

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by crosbyman.

[billw]

That’s the best looking steel shaft I ever saw. That thing should be in a museum. It looks like it’s about a 1969 by serial number and sure enough, it had a conventional ignition. I didn’t know there was a 4 that had it. Now I do. In 1970, they went to Phase Maker and in 1968, it was 3.9 hp.

Long live American manufacturing!

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