I've got a 1999 Mercury XR6 150 outboard, and yesterday evening I was on my way to the hole, when I started hearing a loud "ticking" sound coming out of the engine area.  I slowed down, it stopped, I put the engine in neutral and revved it, and there was no more noise.  I put it back in drive and started going again.  No problem.  So after fishing, I had completely forgotten about the noise.  I cranked up and I was flying back in to the ramp, when BANG, clankity, clank, clank... OH $#!*  I opened up my engine cover and I didn't see any problem.  I am pretty sure a gear must have broken off the drive shaft or something.  

Have any of you ever had this happen, or know what happened???  Any idea what it's going to cost to have it fixed???    :'(

I'd estimate the cost to repair:  "BANG, Clankity, clank, clank"  at about $1000 and up.

Sorry.

BANG, clankity, clank, clank... OH $#!*   that = $$$$$$$$$$$$$ :'(

That could be anything, a lower unit or something in the power head. Like a rod or a piston going. The only way to truely know what it is and how much is to take it somewhere to be looked at.

I hate to say but I bet its going to be a lot of $$$$

Take the spark plugs out and see if they all look the same. I would guess not, one is going to be full of aluminum. Sounds like you lost a ring locator pin. The first ticking was the warning, the oh!!CRAP!!!!! was when it took out the piston.

If that was the problem, trust me, you won't fix it for $1000, you won't even be able to do a halfass repair for that. A Merc remain'd power head is going to cost $5000, from other sources they run about $3000 if your motor is still a rebuildable core.

One word of caution, if in fact it did loose a pin, don't just repair that one hole, all six pistons must be replaced or you will stand an excellent chance of getting to do it again.

One other cause is the plastic drive gear on the oil pump broke.  If that happen, very good chance the motor is scrap metal.

The last time that I herd that noise (and I better never hear it again) I got to purchase a new motor........  If you have a compression gauge, check your compression.  When mine did that it cracked the block.........Hate to hear the news

man, that is terrible news.  i hope you guys are wrong :'( :'( :'(

Take the spark plugs out and see if they all look the same. I would guess not, one is going to be full of aluminum. Sounds like you lost a ring locator pin. The first ticking was the warning, the oh!!CRAP!!!!! was when it took out the piston.

If that was the problem, trust me, you won't fix it for $1000, you won't even be able to do a halfass repair for that. A Merc remain'd power head is going to cost $5000, from other sources they run about $3000 if your motor is still a rebuildable core.

One word of caution, if in fact it did loose a pin, don't just repair that one hole, all six pistons must be replaced or you will stand an excellent chance of getting to do it again.

One other cause is the plastic drive gear on the oil pump broke. If that happen, very good chance the motor is scrap metal.

I checked the plugs, they all look the same.  Also, I don't think is a cracked head.  Wouldn't I be able to look at it and see that?  Sounds like it is coming from the lower area of the outboard.  When it first happened I thought my prop broke off.  But if I had to guess I would say something broke, like a gear from the driveshaft to the prop.  I don't know.  I'm going to look at it myself a little more before I take it to a mechanic.

It's a very good chance you could have blown a LU.  As mentioned, do a quick compression check, you can buy a cheap guage for less than $20,  If all cylinders are fairly close, it wasn't a piston.  

There is still the posibility a rod could have let loose or a bearing but the Next step would be to drain the LU oil and see if metal pieces come out.   If you know how, you can drop the LU and crank it up without it and see if rattle is still there.  Just don't run it for more than about 30 - 45 seconds since there will be no water going through it.

Even if it's the LU, you're still not going to be very happy. They don't cost as much as a powerhead, but it's still going to ruin your day when you buy a replacement or get that one repaired.

I'm sure it's just a small gear or something simple like that.  

Because it was making noise under power and stop when you let off. Lower Unit.  Find a biz dealership and they will have rebuilt ones. Do the compression check if all cylinders are not within 10% don't buy the lower unit.

Garnet

Could you guys tell me more about the lower unit? This is my first boat, and I've only had it for a couple months now. I don't know much about the outboard, but I know that whoever had the boat before me did several modifications to the motor. There is an aftermarket huge carborator, new headers, a low water gear box, and a size 25 prop. I'm sure that there are other mods that I am unaware of. I'm thinking that the mods he made to the motor and prop were more than the "lower unit" could handle. Could that be the case? As I said before the engine is a Mercury XR6 150, and according to the speedometer the boat would top speed at 72 mph with just me in it. I don't know if that is normal, or not. Thanks for the help. I haven't taken it to the boat shop yet. You guys have me nervous.

All we can do is guess at what Bang, clankity, clank, clank is.

You're wasting you're time. Go take it in, pay the man his money and get a diagnosis.

All we can do is guess at what Bang, clankity, clank, clank is.

You're wasting you're time. Go take it in, pay the man his money and get a diagnosis.

Thanks so much for your help (said with my tongue implanted deeply into my cheek) :

All we can do is guess at what Bang, clankity, clank, clank is.

You're wasting you're time. Go take it in, pay the man his money and get a diagnosis.

Thanks so much for your help (said with my tongue implanted deeply into my cheek)  :

Or, you can sit around with a motorless boat.  That's your choice.  

Whether a car or an outboard motor, BANG, clankity, clank, clank isn't good. Unless you're an outboard mechanic all you can get from an internet forum is just what you've gotten so far. Diagnosis's that range from a blown power head to an internally blown lower unit.  Neither is cheap.  

I've got a 1999 Mercury XR6 150 outboard, and yesterday evening I was on my way to the hole, when I started hearing a loud "ticking" sound coming out of the engine area. I slowed down, it stopped, I put the engine in neutral and revved it, and there was no more noise. I put it back in drive and started going again. No problem. So after fishing, I had completely forgotten about the noise. I cranked up and I was flying back in to the ramp, when BANG, clankity, clank, clank... OH $#!* I opened up my engine cover and I didn't see any problem. I am pretty sure a gear must have broken off the drive shaft or something.

Have any of you ever had this happen, or know what happened??? Any idea what it's going to cost to have it fixed??? :'(

That was about 2 weeks ago. Turns out, the "ticking" sound I was hearing prior to the Big "Bang" was a gear tooth in my gear box. The "BANG" was the tooth getting stuck between two gears and locking the gears, and the "clankity, clank, clank" was teeth of all the gears being shredded into my gear box. The "Oh $#!*" turned out to be a $1900 repair bill. Happy ending... My insurance covered the entire cost, less a $250 deductible, and I should be back in the water Friday evening.

Moral #1 If you hear a strange sound coming from your outboard it's probably a precursor for worse things to come.

Moral #2 Have boat insurance, it's not that expensive and it's worth it.  8-)