2010 Mercury 60ELPT EFI 4 stroke

[Coontakinta]

Seeking information on 2010 Mercury 60ELPT EFI 4 stroke motors.
Looking for the good the bad & the down right ugly.
Not a motor I see a lot of & wonder if it was down to initial cost, the fact that Merc's are bit polarising, or something else.
Thought I might find some useful information on the US based sites but nothing there.
Are these motors belt or chain driven? Interested in ongoing maintenance costs & fuel consumption.
Anyone own one & using a different oil to that labelled with a big M or Quicksilver?
I REALLY like the boat it is on, but have grave concerns about this big black thing on the back.

[The Woo]

I've got the de-rated 40hp version. It's the same engine.
Mine is 2009, done several hundred hours, and has been perfect (touch wood it stays that way)! I've not seen anything on line to suggest they're a bad engine. Like all efi engines they like clean, waterless fuel, so make sure it has a water separating fuel filter installed.

They're belt drive, which has proven reliable and quiet.
I just use Castrol synthetic oil in the engine sump because it's what I have lying around. It hasn't used a drop.
I use Mercruiser HP oil in the gear case, for the same reason.

I've been very happy with it.

[Coontakinta]

Thanks Woo. Have you had to change the belt yet and if so at what cost? Looking at a review on youtube it looked fairly accessible and easy. Also at what number of hours is a replacement belt specified?

[The Woo]

Pleasure. No, not changed the belt yet. Haven't even consulted the manual yet to see when its due. I'm an ex marine mechanic and aren't troubled by the service books too much. I'll get it to 500 hrs and change it then, although I have inspected it and it looks perfect. Appears easy to replace, like most Mercs.

Only mild disappointment is the rusty trim motor. That's hardly unique to this model or brand though. Worth noting mine is kept on a floating dock and is under-loved, and seldom hosed off.

Really, if mine has lived this long without issue, yours will be just fine :)

Worth noting a mate has the 50hp version on the back of his 4.5m Bluefin. He's also very happy with his.

Here's mine in use last week. Getting set to push 20 tonnes of pontoon down the Nerang river.
I had a motor cowling cover made up to protect the cowl from sun damage as the late Merc stickers seem to peel very quickly if left outside and exposed - where mine lives its life..

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q301/bennythewoo/Illusion%2033%20OBrien/FE7E7B6D-6A3C-42B5-85FA-4528A06E523D_zpsz2qvgpm0.jpg (http://s139.photobucket.com/user/bennythewoo/media/Illusion%2033%20OBrien/FE7E7B6D-6A3C-42B5-85FA-4528A06E523D_zpsz2qvgpm0.jpg.html)

[Coontakinta]

I like what I am hearing so far woo.
One last question. I think ???
Have you noticed any stiffening in the control box? By that I mean are the controls hard to use after being on a boat stored outside? Two Mercs that I know of, kept in similar circumstances to yours suffer from thi ailment and replacing the cables didnt help.

[The Woo]

Nope, all good. And knowing the workings inside the control boxes I can't understand why they would stiffen up. There's no movements inside there that are close to interference type fit that could seize up. There is a tension adjuster on the front edge of the box, did someone muck with that?

Whoever replaced the cables could have easily diagnosed if it was the control box, the cables, or the motor end that was causing the stiffness prior to replacing any parts.

[Coontakinta]

'There is a tension adjuster on the front edge of the box, did someone muck with that?
Whoever replaced the cables could have easily diagnosed if it was the control box, the cables, or the motor end that was causing the stiffness prior to replacing any parts.

I would have hoped so too.
I will look for that tension knob and see if that helps. Strange that of all the people that I have spoken too at mercury about the issue, no one has ever mentioned that!
Thanks very much for your help Woo. VERY much appreciated.