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Posted by waco72 on 06/28/09 - 6:58 AM

I was wondering if anyone had some insight to this problem. I have a brand new Mercury 40hp 4 stroke on my 130 Sport and it only has about maybe 8 hours on the engine. The other day I noticed a chirping/squeaking noise coming from the powerhead unit at about 1200 rpms and would get louder the faster I would go. It makes the sound in both neutral and forward. It sounds like a a car engine in need of a belt adjustment. The water flow out of the engine is good and the performance is the same. I checked the belt ( I am no mechanic) but everything looked ok. When I ran it W/O throttle the other day the sound disappeared for a little while then returned. It is covered under warranty but I am hesitant to bring it into the shop anytime soon fearing that I may lose it for a considerable part of the season. Could this be normal during the break in period? Thanks

Posted by MW on 06/28/09 - 1:56 PM

I like to start "simple" first. With the engine at "Idle" in neutral try putting both hand's on top of the cover and apply slight pressure, if the "Squeek" stop's, it will tell you that it's the engine "Cover", and NOT the motor itself, does it "Sqeek" with the cover off while running at "Idle" in Neutral ? (for "Safety", remove cover 1st, then start engine, shut down engine before replacing cover).

Posted by waco72 on 06/28/09 - 2:03 PM

It still occurs even with the cover off. I read elsewhere that it may be a drive shaft bushing and that it may be normal. I get no warning lights, no effect on performance, and the sound disappeared the other day for a few minutes after running but came back again. Thanks

Posted by waco72 on 06/28/09 - 2:11 PM

MW wrote:
I like to start "simple" first. With the engine at "Idle" in neutral try putting both hand's on top of the cover and apply slight pressure, if the "Squeek" stop's, it will tell you that it's the engine "Cover", and NOT the motor itself, does it "Sqeek" with the cover off while running at "Idle" in Neutral ? (for "Safety", remove cover 1st, then start engine, shut down engine before replacing cover).

No, when the cover is off and it is in neutral it does not make any unusual noises. When the rpms are increased to about 1700 or greater is when I notice it. It did not start making any of these noises until I hit about 7 or 8 hours total time.

Posted by swilson on 06/28/09 - 8:04 PM

WaCo72 wrote:
It still occurs even with the cover off. I read elsewhere that it may be a drive shaft bushing and that it may be normal. I get no warning lights, no effect on performance, and the sound disappeared the other day for a few minutes after running but came back again. Thanks

From the description, this seems similar to a sound I had in a new 40hp merc last year. The "chirping" (which for me was most pronounced in the mid-range rpms) disappeared after 6-8 hours. I also thought the sound was a drive shaft bushing.

Perhaps this is somewhat common, though it is hard to say for sure. If the motor is running fine otherwise, giving it some time might be reasonable.

Posted by Alecat on 07/25/11 - 6:17 PM

Hello all. I have the exact same problem as WaCo72 on a 2010 13 Supersport. Did you ever resolve the issue? I've had mine to the shop twice, but they never looked at the driveshaft bushing. Any help from the group would be most appreciated.

Edited by Alecat on 07/25/11 - 6:19 PM

Posted by Ric232 on 07/29/11 - 5:24 PM

My 2008 model Merc 40 4-stroke does the same thing. It started sometime during the first 10 hrs and hasn't stopped, but has never gotten worse. It only does it when in gear, does not do it at slow idle and not above fast idle. So it only does it as you throttle up from slow idle until you you start to plane, then goes away. I've thought about having it checked, but I've frankly done all my own service so far. Marine engine service prices are ridiculous these days.

Posted by Alecat on 07/29/11 - 8:15 PM

Ric232: Same with mine. It only squeaks in gear at lower RPM. As soon as I shift it into neutral at idle it goes away. Problem is we have to stay under 6 mph going out of our river to the ocean so we have to listen to this racket for almost an hour every time we go out. I've contacted Mercury about this because it seems to be a frequent problem for owners of newer 40's. I am a bit disappointed that Mercury has not offered any answers. I've already had it checked bu an authorized dealer. If it helps, my service guy says it should be a warranty issue, so maybe we won't get taken to the cleaners? I'm taking it back this week and I'll follow up on here.

Posted by River guy on 07/30/11 - 6:39 AM

I also just re-powered my Dauntless with a new merc. 40 and have the same issue. It almost sounds like a dry bearing. It happens between 1200 rpm and 2200 rpm. Very anoying! If you get any answers please pass them along. I'm also going to wait till later in the season to take it back so I don't lose to much boating time...

Posted by Alecat on 07/30/11 - 6:54 AM

#10

Hi River Guy: I have spoken to my mechanic and a few others; most seem to think it's nothing significant, but when I tracked down Mercury Headquarters they said--"Oh, you have to get that into the shop right away...", but all shops are 2-3 weeks out and that't the rest of the summer. I'm really displeased with Mercury at this point. It's sounding like a defective part issue (maybe even a recall) that they should pay attention to. I'm going to haul it out next week and have my mechanic drop the lower unit and check the drive shaft bushing. I'll keep you posted.

Edited by Alecat on 07/30/11 - 9:52 PM