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  1. #1
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    Plugged Exhaust Tuner

    I am replacing some parts on my 97 225 EFI, i noticed that the tuner was almost completely stopped up with carbon build up. I have already cleaned it out but am wondering if cutting a small hole in the bottom of the tuner "almost where it meets lower unit" would help with some of the exhaust exiting??

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    #2

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (nobody2u)



    Yes indeed it will, make it 3" out the trailing side

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    #3
    "trailing side" as in the side not facing the transom

  4. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #4

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (nobody2u)

    Before you start cutting holes in your tuner..... let's find out FOR SURE which one you have (there were two different tuners in that vintage).

    Again.... DON'T CUT HOLES IN YOUR TUNER.... you'll potentially regret it.

    Got a picture?



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
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    #5

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (EuropeanAM)

    Here she is......




  6. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #6

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (nobody2u)

    That's the late style tuner.

    DO NOT drill holes in the can or bottom this tuner. The ONLY thing that this will do is make it noisy (no real added benefit).

    However.... I would make sure that the idle relief ports (viewed from the topside- 18 of them as I recall) are drilled out to their original size (3/8").



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
    Still consider myself a "Marine Apprentice" after 47 years (learn something new every day).
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    #7

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (EuropeanAM)

    It looks like he got it drilled out pretty good....Look a little bigger than 3/8" though!!!

  8. Member runninrusty's Avatar
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    #8

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (RDM0535)

    Do you have to pull the power head to see if they are clogged?????

  9. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #9

    Re: Plugged Exhaust Tuner (runninrusty)

    <table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by runninrusty &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Do you have to pull the power head to see if they are clogged?????</td></tr></table>

    You can (in most cases) view the BOTTOMSIDE of 6 or 7 of these relief ports by removing the gearcase, and looking up through the exhaust housing with a BRIGHT FLASHLIGHT.

    Don't bother trying to open them up from the bottomside..... all you'll accomplish is to convince yourself to pull the powerhead and do it right.

    NOTE: Contibutors to this problem include:

    -Ethanol enhanced fuel
    -Lack of proper fuel treatments (especially Quickleen)
    -Poor quality (or too much) oil
    -EXCESSIVE LOW RPM OPERATION, Especially when combined with above items
    -And of course, any overly rich running condition.




    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
    Still consider myself a "Marine Apprentice" after 47 years (learn something new every day).
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    #10
    Well lets say i did just want a "little" more noise, where is the best place to drill a hole? I have heard about mid sections getting too hot, and dont want that problem...

  11. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #11

    Re: (nobody2u)

    I've heard of several simply cutting the can off.... meaning it's no longer sealed to (or supported by) the bottom of the driveshaft housing.

    IMHO.... that's not a good idea (that's a lot of metal media to be hanging in there, heating up, cooling down, with no end support).

    The real problem with drilling the tuner is that it can affect the "wall of water" that's built in (and surrounds the exhaust to keep from melting down the tuner, driveshaft housing, etc.).

    Wayne Worthy & Eric Simon offer a different tuner that should give you plenty more noise.... though you'll also need a poppet diverter kit (also offered by them).

    One other consideration- get with NikonMan (Gary)- he also frequents this board. Seems like I recall him having pictures of an interesting pipe set one of his older motors had on it.....

    One more note: if those idle relief ports were more than 50% blocked.... you're already going to have a notable sound difference.



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
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    #12

    Re: (EuropeanAM)

    BEFORE CLEANING/DRILLING:-----------------------------------------------------------------



    AFTER CLEANING/DRILLING:-------------------------------------------------------------------





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    #13

    Re: (nobody2u)

    have you had any luck in fixing your problem?
    i have a 97 efi 225 that acts exactly as your describing
    let me know what you find out
    Thanks Nick



  14. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #14

    Re: (nick519svs)

    Nick:

    Be careful about trying to apply "other engines" solutions to your own... as there are many different "causes" that can result in similar "complaints".

    I would suggest that you start a new thread for your specific engine, and problem.

    Be sure to provide your engine's serial number when you do.



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
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    #15

    Re: (EuropeanAM)

    Don, what would be the effects of this? Poor idle? I dropped my lower today and looked up at mine. The ones i could see a couple had about 30% clogged and the others were about 10%. Motor seems to be running fine. Oh yeah its an 05 250XS.

    Dave Sheffield
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  16. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #16

    Re: (Shef)

    Symptoms can vary, depending on the engine and the setup.

    Most all display decreases in holeshot, some loss on the top end.

    Extreme cases may have a hard time loading on trailer, SUBSTANTIAL loss of top RPM's, and misleading results when attempting to "misfire" cylinders at idle (or when attempting to "read" spark plugs).



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
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  17. Member lpugh's Avatar
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    #17

    Re: (EuropeanAM)

    Don I pulled my mid and found them to be severely restricted. Also found the Map sensor had gone bad only ranged 3.4 to 3.8 volts!
    This is the early 3.0 that is somewhat restricted. My tuner is much smaller than the one above and has two areas in series for the idle relief circuits.

    My question is would there be any benefit to opening up the all the idle relief passages for a better hole shot. Cleaning them helped quite a bit. I would love more of the same. I don't object to a little more noise, This motor runs very quiet at present. You pro bally do not remember but it has 64 cc heads, four valve intake and Eric re flashed the ecu's

    Thanks Don
    Thank You Leon Pugh

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    #18

    Re: (lpugh)

    As Don stated I've done several mods to mid's, including cutting 5" off the bottom of the can and a custom exhaust out of the side of the mid, tuner installs etc.. But I would never recommend anything other than doing it right to anyone else because of the risk involved. Some of the mid mod's I've done required holes in the mid, let me state up front that it's not the safest way to get some added sound without proper knowledge. I've added a "ZOOMIE" set of pipes to a 250 EFI, but it required a great deal of welding to do it right, not the average backyard project. If you want to added rumble, than ditch the OEM can and pick up a HydroTech Tuner from Wayne Worthy along with a Simon Poppet Kit. The tuner is worth on avg. 12 HP and you'll get that rumble the right way.

    This was my latest project on my 300x, I wanted an offshore style exhaust. A HydroTech Tuner is installed. I wasn't just making the cut out, but knowing where to make it without having a major weakness in the mid is key:

    http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread?id=662616
    Gary



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  19. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #19

    Re: (lpugh)

    Leon:

    Good catch on the MAP. That's sometimes a difficult one to diagnose (unless you have the proper tools)- and would certainly account for a substantial amount of carbon buildup.

    In regards to you tuner- UNLESS you have access to a later model Adapter Plate, tuner and driveshaft housing (ALL would need to be changed)- stay with the original idle relief setup. It was tuned well for the size exhaust you have (though your exhaust setup is quite restrictive for a 4-butterfly intake setup).

    Changing out the appropriate midsection components to "match" would certainly wake up your setup quite nicely, however.

    That particular exhaust configuration was restrictive enough that on some "lighter" hull setups, the TPS (WOT) setting had to be altered to "limit" the maximum WOT spec for the TPS (this was covered in a service bulletin).



    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
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    #20

    Re: (nick519svs)

    After cleaning the exhaust it made a huge difference in the way it idles. I can tell that it let's it breath alot better!!

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