05 Mercury 115 stroke

[seekingwalleye]

Bought a new boat this year with a new 05 mercury 115 4 srtoke and took it out for the first time yesterday. Wasn't even driving for 15 min when I decided to bump it up to half throttle, and a minute after that I slowed down real quick and when I did that the motor made a real loud and noticable clicking/ticking noise..kinda hard to explain..Kinda pissed off now.. bought a new boat for a reason. If I gradually slow down it does not do it but if I slow down fast, thats when I hear the noise. any idea what this could be...of course I am gonna bring it in now, but just what I want already.. motor problems.. thanks again..

[MIDNIGHT777]

Seeking,

Had a 2003 50 hp Merc 4 stroke with the same prob. Told the dealer about it and they said it was nothing out of the normal. They said since it was a 4 stroke, and very quiet, you would hear a lot of motor noise you would not hear with a 2 stroke. I had the motor for 3 years and just recently got rid of it (got new larger boat). I put lots of hours on it and had no problems. You will be happy with the motor, I loved it. Bullet proof!!!!!

Sounds like we have/had lots of the same issues

Matt

[18 inch Crappie]

Does not happen with my 115 Johnson 4 stroke, so how can that be normal?

[seekingwalleye]

Nahh, It can't be normal.. its loud!.. nothin normal.. I will call the dealer and hopefully they will have something for me..

[MIDNIGHT777]

I am just telling you what the dealer (and come to think of it a few others) told me about my Merc 50 hp 4 stroke. Maybe they were full of crap, maybe not?

[kjgmh]

Do you have a stainless prop on it? It is real common to get "ratcheting" on these, usually most noticable with a stainless prop. It happens when the motor slows down faster then the prop.

[John Mickish]

It happens when the boat suddenly decelerates and the water then starts pushin the prop, instead of the prop pushing the water. I believe it it sort of a one way clutch.

[Juan Grande]

seekingwalleye,

I just bought a new boat with the exact same motor. I haven't taken it out yet, but I'll let you know if I have any problems.

[cold one sd]

My Mercruiser did it the entire time that I owned it.

[Mark Christianson]

My 1999 Honda does the same thing. My 1993 Honda did the same thing.

If I leave it in gear, and put the trolling motor on 100%, I can get a constant "clicking" noise. Take it out of gear and it goes away. Or if I fly up on a spot and shut off the motor and drift up to my spot, its a fast clicking and slows down as the boat momentum slows down.

If you are going half throttle and immediately pull it back to neutral, I bet there is no noise.

Its the fact you have it in gear, and that the boat is forcing water past the prop and turning it faster than the motor is able to actually turn the prop. Not a big deal at all.

That is if we are talking about the same clickin noise.

[Surface Tension]

Quote:

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Do you have a stainless prop on it? It is real common to get "ratcheting" on these, usually most noticable with a stainless prop. It happens when the motor slows down faster then the prop.

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Bingo!

[delcecchi]

I have noticed this on several motors including my 98 merc 115 if I turn the key off when moving in gear.

[seekingwalleye]

thanks for the reply's. I am going to take it out again this weekend but I also talked to 2 different dealers and they both told me its most likely my prop. I was just worried with a new boat and all but I will listen more carefully tomorrow. Thanks!