Recently purchased rig with this engine. Runs great. Although everything is ok now, I've heard discussions from other boaters that I should remove my oil injection system and go to premix as soon as my warrenty expires (it has expired). Have been told the system uses a plastic gear to drive the oil pump and it WILL wear down and/or break at some point. They report the warning system is not sufficient and the odds are there will be engine damage before a shut down can be accomplished. Would greatly appreciate several members as well as experienced engine techs provide recommendations.
Thanks to all...

Always a popular question.

Mercury has a built in sensor to pick up wether or not the pump is spinning.
If the pump stops working there is more than enough time to shut down the engine, yes even at high speeds...just make sure you are paying attention.

People seem to think that once you have NO oil pump...you instantly have NO oil in the engine.
Carbs float bowls still have fuel in them...which contains oil. More than enough oil goes through an engine at any given time to cover a small amount of a NO oil situation.

If the owner is paying attention there will be no damage should the pump fail.
Its the people that choose not to check their buzzers/beepers and warning systems to see if they are working that suffer.

Oil pressure drops in your vehicle, you see the guage drop or the light come on...do you keep driving?
Same thing applies to oil injection with any model or brand of engine.

If for some reason you are paranoid about the oil injection system...take some oil along with you.

If you fear that the pump will pile up and cause damage? Would Mercury continue to sell the same pump if this was something that was guarranteed to happen?


I hear the same thing often about VRO pumps...understanding how they work and fail safes is the half the battle to keeping them working.

Make sure your warning system works...and keep the oiler going.

One other thing to keep in mind....most people look for a forum to complain or find out why stuff does not work...there are wayyyy more people out there that dont have oiler problems.. you just dont hear from them.

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TMD