300x reed blocks

[nightbasser]

Just got done rebuilding my 300x and while I had it down I Removed all the rubber that was cracked and burnt from the reed cages. After lapping them to 600 grit on a glass plate I installed new Tony Doukas reeds. Now my x idles super smooth and doesn't load up like it did with the stock rubber cages. I have several friends that have done this also with hundreds of wide open miles so I know the reeds hold up just fine doing this. The best part is you don't have o get raped by mercury for new rubber cages that will just crack and burn again

[dkennimer]

Any pics during the process? Glad it's running good!

[Gamblinman]

Glad it worked out. I don't understand the burning and cracking of the rubber coating of the reed cages.

Did this motor lean sneeze often?

[Gamblerman65]

Were there any other issues with the 300x that caused you to install new reeds?

[nightbasser]

Yes it was a 2005 model and the crank broke so I rebuilt it. In late 2004-2005 Mercury had a run of bad cranks I've seen a lot of 2005 models with broke cranks

[nightbasser]

Glad it worked out. I don't understand the burning and cracking of the rubber coating of the reed cages.

Did this motor lean sneeze often?

The cracked and burnt reed cages are due to fuel and the rubber getting hard and chipping especially in the corners. My motor never did lean sneeze.

[rchavis]

I know one guy with a purpler boat , that remove the rubber and used Hydo tech reeds and doing fine .
Don once said he thing it was the high test gas also . As the Pros XS and other EFI that use regular gas is not having that problem .

I know Matt had that problem with his 300X here on the board also. He just brought new reed blocks $$$$$$$.

[EuropeanAM]

I do NOT recommend removing the rubber from the cages, EVEN with TDR Reeds.

Despite the very narrow cut between the TDR Reed Petals, there is very little petal overlap on the cage when the rubber is removed. This makes it very easy to break or fray edges of reeds (and has even been known to contribute to reeds pulling back through the cage window).