Fully Dressed Powerhead Exhaust Tuner Change

[BassCatKWG]

Hello Guys and Gals,

2010 BassCat Puma FTD DC
2010 Mercury Pro XS 250 (ser#1B764965)
Servicemaster/Verado Style Lower Unit
2019 Fully Dressed Powerhead

I wanted to post a new thread concerning the compatibility of exhaust tuners when installing a new fully dressed power head from Mercury or Quicksilver. There seems to be some conflicting data coming from Mercury about this subject, and when I searched for the topic, not a lot of information was found. Hopefully this post may help some of you.

The following was a post I made on Enduro67's thread from 7-22-2019:

Was wondering if this was ever resolved? I too am in the same exact situation. I had a dressed powerhead installed in Sept. 2019. The Merc dealer, who is a friend of mine and I trust (he sold the power head to me at cost), called Mercury to verify if my exhaust tube was compatible, and they assured us it was. He had nothing to gain by telling me I do not need a new exhaust tube, so I'm pretty sure he was convinced by talking to Mercury we were good to go. I have been running it since then (50 hours on new one) but it does seem that I am slightly down on power from the original motor. Upon looking at different parts sites that I will not name, some have had the 8M0075819 listed and others (including Dons) says that my motor had the 832935A17. Lol, wish I would have seen this post sooner! I have been looking at lower unit replacement options when I came across this thread and said hmmm. Couple questions for you guys if you don't mind:

1. At 50 hours (with probably the wrong tube) is my new dressed power head compromised?
2. Anything extra I should do while swapping to the 8M0075819?
3. Is there a way to definitively tell what exhaust tube I currently have?
4. Have you heard of Mercury getting this info wrong to anyone else.

My old motor was (Ser# 1B764965)

I remember my dealer saying that Mercury mentioned something about the blue compressor pulley, which mine did have, so that was another informational item we used to verify I didn't need a new tube. Is this accurate?

I really hope I'm not stuck with a very expensive ticking time bomb that is literally less than a month out of warranty now. Lol, especially if it's some "Dealer Tech Support Guy Working for Mercury's" fault!

Thanks, really hope to hear from Savage and Don on this topic

[EuropeanAM]

1B764965 absolutely, positively WOULD have required that the exhaust tube be replaced.

Believe I've already responded to this list of questions, but the first step would be to get the correct exhaust tube installed NOW. Have the powerhead checked (a compression test isn't a bad idea).

Sounds like either something was lost in translation or the dealer didn't listen/read the documentation on the Full-Dressed (Quicksilver) Reman Powerheads. Compressor PULLEY color has nothing to do, whatsoever, with this.

Now the color of the Throttle CAM (which was ALUMINUM on your original powerhead) DOES offer some indication (the one you have now is BLUE).

[BassCatKWG]

Thanks Don, will follow your instruction! I have not ran it since and will not, waiting on Gen1 TM anyway. And ya, after researching the topic it seems there may be quite a few Full-Dressed Powerheads out there running with the wrong tuners. I read through all the documentation that came with it (still have it) and it does not say anything about the tuner. Maybe I did not get that piece of paperwork, all I got was the installation instructions and break in procedures, which we followed. Before I bought and had the powerhead installed I was in communication with you, Savage, and Joe54 (about a year ago). Y'all made the tuner issue clear and that's why I had my Merc dealer call and ask. I was there when he was on the phone with dealer tech support and they verified we did not have to change the tuner. Oh well, "it is what it is" as they say! Hopefully she runs strong, after I install the correct tuner, and stays together for a little while at least, lol! (currently has 50 hours on it I think)

Thanks again!

[EuropeanAM]

If you visit the link below, you can scroll through the different full-dressed powerheads. Each one specifies the serial number (earliest) it replaces, and specifically lists the exhaust tuner it is compatible with.

Just have to read the details.

https://www.quicksilver-products.com...ed-powerheads/

[BassCatKWG]

Yes sir, I am aware of that document and have seen it many times now! I guess the confusion comes from Merc mechanics not staying current on the protocols. I also blame myself for not digging further and pressing my local mechanic on the issue. It was by no means a money saving thing, as the tuner is what, maybe 6-7% the cost of the new powerhead? I own a small HVAC company here in Texas and I first hand know the value of repairing or replacing equipment the right way, especially in terms of longevity. While not always able too, I try to avoid "bandaid" repairs as much as possible.

So I guess the tuners have different flow characteristics? If not breathing adequately could it effect ring seating and or burn rich causing build up? Hopefully nothing too bad after 50 hours.

Anyway, thanks a bunch Don, we really appreciate all you do to help us out!

[EuropeanAM]

They do have different flow characteristics. Your particular combination would tend to the LEAN side, rather than rich.