New Mercruiser Sterndrive Engine

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:09 am

Quote:

Designed and manufactured in house by Mercury Marine, the new MerCruiser 4.5L stern drive engine was unveiled at press event this evening.

"There isn't a single GM part on this engine," said Brett Martin, a MerCruiser product application manager at Mercury Marine. "It's not a marine engine based on an automotive platform, it's not an LS engine. In the 18 years I've been here, I think it's the best MerCruiser engine we've ever built.

"We saved a lot of weight on the intake manifold," he added. "And the 4.5L can be freshwater or raw-water cooled."

"We are proud to introduce the next generation of stern-drive technology with this ground-breaking new engine," said John Pfeifer, the president of Mercury, in a press release from the company. "This engine was purpose-built for marine use."

Major components of the MerCruiser 4.5L engine include a newly designed rear-facing throttle body, anti-whistle throttle plate, engine cover and mounts, lightweight flywheel, fuel supply module and structural oil pan. According the release, all of those elements work together to deliver superior idle and smoothness and low noise and vibration.

"Mercury Marine has taken the initiative to design a lightweight, high-displacement V-6 marine engine that is not dependent on automotive technology," said Buck Pegg, one of the founders of Chaparral Boats, in the release. "That is not just great, that is outstanding."

The MerCruiser 4.5L is the first V-6 stern-drive that's compatible with SmartCraft Digital Throttle & Shift for immediate throttle response and smooth shifting throughout the rpm band. An option for the 4.5L V-6 with DTS, Joystick Piloting provides easy docking and low-speed maneuverability.

SeriousRob · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:26 am

Not based on a car engine.....hmmmm
That could be good and bad.
Good - it will probably be better suited to the marine environment, constant water temps, better fuel economy, and better protected from corrosion control.
Potential bad - custom everything with more expensive parts because they are making thousands of engines as opposed to millions.
Just my 0.02 rob

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:26 am

agree ^^^ their is something to be said about running to Advanced auto or NAPA for an oil pan gasket (just an example) i can see the sticker price being HIGH like WILLIE NELSON on vacation.. I am betting the service bill can potentially break the budget. But i also hope that this could be a new industry leading platform of reliability, performance, weight reduction. time will tell. these motors will need to be on the water for a couple seasons before we can fully make a good decision..

At the $9,000 price tag this leads me to see high parts costs.. the thing that boggles my mind is that for 9k i can today build a closed cooling 5-600hp reliable economical LS motor that makes bucket loads more power than this V6.. now i am comparing grapes to cantaloupes.. but still i feel that the new out the box marine engines are a metric crap ton of money for relatively the same automotive engine.. yes parts are different.. but overall same. and that pricing for building would be me building the LS at my house in my shop, using my personal friend as the machinist. So that alone saves a lot..

but simple things like swapping a cam can help a marine GM/Ford block based IO a lot and for fraction $$. If this merc is stand alone a performance cam could cost $900 alone for the part vs a couple hundred.. and this would suck..

food for thought i am rambling.. but it is good to see innovation and constant improvements.. i would like to see fuel burn real world numbers.

Capt. Hoss · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:44 pm

Like what has been posted above, part are going to be extra expensive. I mean look now at the price we pay for a thermostat, auto-$10 marine-$20 just because it says marine on it. I cant even begin to imagine what more parts are going to cost if somthing happens to it.

Walt · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:08 pm

Nice concept... kinda like the "L" drive was. And like that, I see it being around for a few years and easily forgotten as people are less likely to buy the "option" until the cost comes down substantially.

rpengr · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:14 pm

It is interesting to ponder what this means for the future of I/O's. Overall, I think it is positive for I/O's, but I hope they don't start advertising by bashing the automotive based engine...especially when their engine is also mostly cast iron.

It looks like it has a slightly lower profile, which gives greater flexibility to boat designers.

I think it's funny they call 4.6L a large displacement V6. If you chopped 2 cylinders off an an 8.2, you would have 6.1L ...that would be a large displacement V6!

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:31 pm

If this was REALLY completely designed and cast/assembled by Merc (not an adapted Honda/Nissan/Toyota/VW who knows what design) what's interesting to me is that Merc thinks the sterndrive market it big enough to make this investment worthwhile. In order for them to go this route, there must have been a financial reason why. I'm not seeing how they could do this for the same price as a GM engine made in the millions though. I'd like to see more design details, what's the block/heads cast from, hp/torque, weight, rpm range etc. Maybe superior performance, lighter weight better competition with modern outboards?

deafwish · **Posted:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:44 pm

Looks like the Engineering and Marketing Departments got a new box of crayons...

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:04 pm

A short drag race. 4.5L V-6 vs. 5.0L V8

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/video/369 ... Sterndrive

LouC wrote:

If this was REALLY completely designed and cast/assembled by Merc (not an adapted Honda/Nissan/Toyota/VW who knows what design) what's interesting to me is that Merc thinks the sterndrive market it big enough to make this investment worthwhile. In order for them to go this route, there must have been a financial reason why. I'm not seeing how they could do this for the same price as a GM engine made in the millions though. I'd like to see more design details, what's the block/heads cast from, hp/torque, weight, rpm range etc. Maybe superior performance, lighter weight better competition with modern outboards?

Technical features
Model …………………… 4.5L V6
Power …………………… 250 HP (186 Kw) at 4800/5200 rpm
Cylinders …………………… V6, 2 valves per cylinder
Displacement ………………… 4.500 cc (274.6 cubic inches)
Bore and stroke ……… 4.0 x 3.6"/ 102 x 92 mm
Injection ………… Multi Point electronic injection (MPI)
Lubrication………… 4,7 liters (1.24 US gal)
ECU control……… SmartCraft PCM 112
The engine is 130LB. lighter than the 5.0L V-8
Mercury Marine built the ultimate anti-corrosion protection system into the 4.5L V-6, using durable cast-iron componentry wherever the engine encounters seawater, and corrosion-resistant aluminum and composites everywhere else.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/eng ... uiser/45l/

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:08 pm

Just sayin the bore of a GM 4.3 is also 4"....

Graham R · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:33 pm

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

Mercury Marine built the ultimate anti-corrosion protection system into the 4.5L V-6, using durable cast-iron componentry wherever the engine encounters seawater, and corrosion-resistant aluminum and composites everywhere else.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/eng ... uiser/45l/

Durable cast iron used in the presence of salt water? Aren't the GM engines and the Mercury and VP exhaust component also already made of this so called durable cast iron ? A material dating back to the 1700's ! Now, a new engine with titanium blocks and heads would be a huge weight saving, as it would be for outdrives and be virtually impervious to corrosion but cost? However, if VW are using it for suspension components even on low end cars like the Polo, then it may come someday. My 14 year old titanium bodied watch shows no corrosion despite a lot of use and abuse in saltwater

Cptsideways · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 3:54 pm

It would appear to me to be a backwards step.

Durability tested the same as automotive engines?
It's not light or aluminium like many modern car engines
It's cast iron & sea cooled - that is simply a crap way to do things
Made in thousands not millions - long term cost of ownership??

fi.na.tine · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:02 pm

Yep - agreed as above. Parts will be expensive, repairs expensive, and it will be cheaper to replace the boat rather than the engine.

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 4:25 pm

Well, I've had lets see 12 years of salt water use and moorage with this boat and it was in salt a few years before I got it...the block/heads have not rusted through yet, so maybe its more durable in engine use than people think...I do replace exhaust manifolds every 6-7 years, but that's a different story...
However, if Merc wants to present this as a better way to do sterndrives, then the engine should have full closed cooling. I don't care if most sterndrive owners are in freshwater, raw water cooling is still a bad compromise, and some freshwater is as corrosive as salt water.

And, I still want to see it with the covers etc off, to be fully convinced its not just a stroked 4.3.....lol.....

rpengr · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:44 pm

LouC wrote:

Well, I've had lets see 12 years of salt water use and moorage with this boat and it was in salt a few years before I got it...the block/heads have not rusted through yet, so maybe its more durable in engine use than people think...I do replace exhaust manifolds every 6-7 years, but that's a different story...
However, if Merc wants to present this as a better way to do sterndrives, then the engine should have full closed cooling. I don't care if most sterndrive owners are in freshwater, raw water cooling is still a bad compromise, and some freshwater is as corrosive as salt water.

And, I still want to see it with the covers etc off, to be fully convinced its not just a stroked 4.3.....lol.....

My OMC had 25 years of Salt use, and did not have significant corrosion in the block or heads. Only the thermostat housing and manifolds/risers would rust because they don't stay full of water, but instead get exposed to moist air. But those parts are easy to replace. Full set of V8 manifolds and therm-housing for a 5.7 can be had for under $700. So that's just $100/year. To me, that makes it hard to justify the cost of most closed cooling system, which still leave the manifolds exposed to raw water.

www.iFourWinns.com

New Mercruiser Sterndrive Engine

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