# Mercury 9.9 pro kicker



## greg123 (Oct 6, 2004)

I have one on my boat and love it! A bit cold blooded on start up but then runs like a champ all day. A friend just put one on his boat and was told by the mechanic to rev it up before shutting it down. He just had a problem with the main shaft breaking between the power head and the lower unit. The mechanics autopsy indicated owner abuse (he must have hit something). He's only used it maybe 3 times. End result is Mercury is covering it and he's getting a new lower unit. My question is, has anyone ever heard of needing to rev the motor before shutting it down. I don't do that and mine has run great for almost a year now. Thanks for any responses!


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## phantom cls (Nov 7, 2008)

no, i always run the gas out of mine. takes about 4 mins once i disconnect it. mine is cold blooded also, but purrs after she warms up!


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## hommer23 (Nov 20, 2012)

Mine is cold blooded also, i do the opposite I take mine out of gear and let it idle for a couple seconds/ until the RPM slows and evens out. If I remember correctly the old 2strokes you had to rev up just to clear the oil out to prevent the plugs from fouling out.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Have not heard of such a thing.


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## F. Thompson (Jan 9, 2014)

My 9.9 is cold blooded also. Once it's warmed up, runs like a champ. My mechanic told me to run Sea Foam in the gas and run it wide open at the end of the day. Great motor but I wish it would start easier. Thank goodness for electric start and a new battery.


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## droptine989 (Oct 14, 2012)

On the big outboard and my 15 horse i pull the gas line and let it run itself dry


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## Cpt.Chaos (May 28, 2006)

I just turn mine off, no problems......and yeah it's cold blooded also and purrs when warned up.


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## 23offshore (Jan 29, 2013)

greg123 said:


> I have one on my boat and love it! A bit cold blooded on start up but then runs like a champ all day. A friend just put one on his boat and was told by the mechanic to rev it up before shutting it down. He just had a problem with the main shaft breaking between the power head and the lower unit. The mechanics autopsy indicated owner abuse (he must have hit something). He's only used it maybe 3 times. End result is Mercury is covering it and he's getting a new lower unit. My question is, has anyone ever heard of needing to rev the motor before shutting it down. I don't do that and mine has run great for almost a year now. Thanks for any responses!


 Not told to rev it up before shutting down, told to run the boat with the kicker motor at full throttle for five minuets after your done fishing for the day. This will help avoid problems in the years to come, not in the immediate future. Do NOT just rev the motor up !


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## Corey K (Dec 11, 2009)

23offshore said:


> Not told to rev it up before shutting down, told to run the boat with the kicker motor at full throttle for five minuets after your done fishing for the day. This will help avoid problems in the years to come, not in the immediate future. Do NOT just rev the motor up !


Yes this!

A big problem with all 4 stroke kickers is they have a tendency to "make oil", if all you ever do with them is putz around troll. They need to warmed up and ran hard once in awhile. Especially in cold water, all small 4 stroke kickers also can be flooded easily. You can force gas through the rings and mix it with your oil on accident, and moisture can build up in the crankcase in cold damp weather. When I pick lines up and I'm done for the day I usually point the direction I want to head in and crank the kicker up, while I'm putting rods back in the rod locker etc.


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## PIKE (Sep 10, 2003)

I have one that I had difficulty starting and though it was "cold blooded" as well until I watched this video. Starts like a champ every time now. I know it is a little off topic, but hope it helps some of you.


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## TrackerPro (Jan 1, 2010)

I replace all the gas with fresh every other season always add stabil. New spark plugs when gas replaced too. Hard starts go away when ever I do both. Some times I wait until I have a issue then do both. Always fixes it.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

Never heard of that. To get rid of the cold blood on any of the small Mercs, you need to pop the brass cap out and adjust the idle mixture on the carb. To get their emissions rating, they set those carbs so lean, they'll barely run at idle. I've done it on mine and they run sooooo much better afterwards. Enables you get the idle speed down also to be able to troll a little slower.


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## stockrex (Apr 29, 2009)

Corey K said:


> Yes this!
> 
> A big problem with all 4 stroke kickers is they have a tendency to "make oil", if all you ever do with them is putz around troll. They need to warmed up and ran hard once in awhile. Especially in cold water, all small 4 stroke kickers also can be flooded easily. You can force gas through the rings and mix it with your oil on accident, and moisture can build up in the crankcase in cold damp weather. When I pick lines up and I'm done for the day I usually point the direction I want to head in and crank the kicker up, while I'm putting rods back in the rod locker etc.


This is true for any 4 stroke, my little Honda has fuel dilution big time when I idle it fishing season, just change oil often, cheap solution.
Running the motor hard to temp for a while boils out any moisture and fuel but any system that idles will have this problem.


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## No Mas (Jul 9, 2003)

I've had mine for two years now and was never told to do this either. Mine too is cold blooded, but it seems the more I use it the quicker/better it runs. Now if I could only get the dang thing to keep a consistent speed I would be all set.


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## pryorhunt (May 13, 2014)

PIKE said:


> I have one that I had difficulty starting and though it was "cold blooded" as well until I watched this video. Starts like a champ every time now. I know it is a little off topic, but hope it helps some of you.


This would work great if you had the same motor. I have a 9.9 pro kicker that isn't a tiller. It has no choke. So, I turn the key and wait for it to start. It usually takes two or three turns on the key to get it going. Like everyone has been saying it is cold blooded but once it goes, it runs like a champ. I don't use sea foam but I do use the gas treatment for Mercury's recommended by the dealer. I don't rev it up after a day of fishing, nor do unplug the gas and run it dry. I put up with the cold blooded starting and have a nice day spending less gas, fishing with no gas smell, and the purr you can barely hear!!!


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## Hunts4ducks (Dec 4, 2014)

I start mine exactly the way he does on the video. And it DOES start right up... Before I will agree it was a cold blooded B(;h to start. I also have the pro troll (Great tool btw) and at the end of the day before shutting it all down I give it max throttle for a minute or so. Only because for the last however many hours it has been purring at the same rpm. I have never ran it out of gas at the end of the day but I do at the end of the season.. I also use stabil in the gas. Never have had an issue with the 9.9 just runs and runs. Just my .02 cents worth.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

When all else fails, this little screw is the key to solving the cold-blooded problem. The idle mixture screw comes from the factory with a brass cap on it and set super lean for emissions. Pop it out and give the screw just a slight counterclockwise turn until it runs properly. 

View attachment 222713


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## pryorhunt (May 13, 2014)

Downriver Tackle said:


> When all else fails, this little screw is the key to solving the cold-blooded problem. The idle mixture screw comes from the factory with a brass cap on it and set super lean for emissions. Pop it out and give the screw just a slight counterclockwise turn until it runs properly.
> 
> View attachment 222713


Mine isn't cold running it just starts hard. Once it starts, it runs like a champ. I have one bulb on the gas line, before the lever to switch the gas from motor to motor. I started switching the lever and then pumping the bulb and it helped a bunch. But, it still takes a couple cranks on the key to start. I think I'm just too spoiled because my 150 starts as soon as I turn the key. It sure isn't anything I can't live with. I love em both for dependability, quietness and gas millage.


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## Downriver Tackle (Dec 24, 2004)

pryorhunt said:


> Mine isn't cold running it just starts hard. Once it starts, it runs like a champ. I have one bulb on the gas line, before the lever to switch the gas from motor to motor. I started switching the lever and then pumping the bulb and it helped a bunch. But, it still takes a couple cranks on the key to start. I think I'm just too spoiled because my 150 starts as soon as I turn the key. It sure isn't anything I can't live with. I love em both for dependability, quietness and gas millage.


 Mine was the same way. Ran great after warming up a bit, but no matter what I did, pump the bulb or whatever, it was always hard to get going initially. A little 1/8-1/4 turn on the idle mixture screw and it fires right up now with little effort. Also lets you dial back the idle speed a little to troll slower when you're running off that jet.


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## greg123 (Oct 6, 2004)

pryorhunt said:


> This would work great if you had the same motor. I have a 9.9 pro kicker that isn't a tiller. It has no choke. So, I turn the key and wait for it to start. It usually takes two or three turns on the key to get it going. Like everyone has been saying it is cold blooded but once it goes, it runs like a champ. I don't use sea foam but I do use the gas treatment for Mercury's recommended by the dealer. I don't rev it up after a day of fishing, nor do unplug the gas and run it dry. I put up with the cold blooded starting and have a nice day spending less gas, fishing with no gas smell, and the purr you can barely hear!!!


I have the same motor as you. Mine has the choke feature at the key. When turning the key to start the motor I push in on the key for the choke. Sometimes I need to give it a bit of throttle (while in neutral) to get it going. I like the picture in the post where it shows the idle mixture screw to enrich the gas for idle speed. Gonna check that on my motor if and when I remember to.


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## pryorhunt (May 13, 2014)

greg123 said:


> I have the same motor as you. Mine has the choke feature at the key. When turning the key to start the motor I push in on the key for the choke. Sometimes I need to give it a bit of throttle (while in neutral) to get it going. I like the picture in the post where it shows the idle mixture screw to enrich the gas for idle speed. Gonna check that on my motor if and when I remember to.


I use to have the key with the choke in it, but I needed to get a different control module and this one doesn't have it on it. I might have to play with the jet myself, but dam I hate messing with ****. Usually I end up "paying" in the long run!!!


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