Hi folks, <br /> I've been away for awhile, but I have a new development with my force, and I need help. Please bear with me, this is a long post but I want to give you some background so I can solve this problem.<br /> To recap, I have a 1990 18' bayliner capri 1800 bowrider with a 1990 force 2 stroke 3 cylinder 90 hp outboard. I had originaly complained about not getting on plane soon enough, and engine dieing at low speeds and idle. I decarbed the engine and was going to do a compression check and adjust the carbs as per advice given here. I did decarb it, (probably not enough though) but I decided to have the rest done at a shop and have the engine checked out as well at the shop. The last time I took the boat out before I took it to the shop, I had already decarbed the engine, and the boat ran good at first. After running for awhile I shut it down and sat in the water for awhile.(eating lunch with the kids). When I tried to restart it, I had all kinds of trouble. I eventualy had to spray starter fluid in the carbs to make it run,( I tried premix but it wouldn't do the trick.) When I did get it running it stalled several times in neutral, and going from neutral to drive would make it bog down and die as well. I eventually got it running again by gunning it in neutral and then immediately wot in gear. (I attempted this several times before I finally got it running.) Once I was able to run wot for awhile it ran ok at higher speeds. (no bogging down ) It ran ok at slower speeds for awhile comeing into the marina, but eventually stalled about 50 feet from the dock. I didn't want to deal with it anymore so I paddled in (embarrasing!) and traillered it and took it home. <br /> At this point, this is when I decided to take it to the shop and have them look at it. When I picked it up, the guy told me "she runs great". The compression check results were, top cylinder 130, middle cylinder 135 bottom cylinder 120. The spark was 1/2 ". Here is what the guy wrote on the reciept as far as the work done.<br /><br /> " Removed idle fuel recirculating covers, cleaned screens & reset check valves. Adjusted carb idle mixtures & idle speed. Replaced spark plugs, checked timing & pick-ups. Test ran, all checks at shop ok."<br /><br /> The guy also mentioned it wouldn't fit in their tank so they ran it on muffs. <br /><br /> Have patience, I'm almost done! I took the boat out today, the first run after takeing the boat home from the shop. I tried to start it without choke and it wouldn't start. No surprise there. I then choked it and it still wouldn't start. No biggie, it's still cold. Repeated 2 more time with choke, still no start. Now I'm a little worried. I then tried to start it without choke, and after a few tries it started and ran without stalling. Great! This is the first time I was ever able to start it for the first time in the morning without using starter fluid or pre-mix! I'm now starting to feel good about taking it to the shop instead of working on it myself. It purred along at idle and when we took off it purred along through the no wake zone with no problems. I then took it to wot for a few minutes and it topped out around 30 mph in choppy water. Thats good enough for me. I then cruised around for 30 to 45 minutes at 15 to 20 mph, then stopped in the middle of the lake so the family could eat lunch. We sat for maybe 20 minutes and then I tried to start it. It almost caught once or twice, and then it just wouldn't start at all. I then choked it and it sputtered a bit but still wouldn't start. (When I choke it, I have to take the cowling off to manualy activate the choke. I'll eventually fix the choke, but I want to get it running good first.) I choked it again and nothing. Not even sputtering this time. I let it sit for a minute and then tried starting it with the cowling off and no choke. Eventually it got going, but it was real weak, like it was at least 1/2 the rpms it should have been, and some hesitation as well. I let it run a bit, then I put the cowling back on and there was a momentary drop in rpms, almost like it was missing, and then imediately picked back up again. I'm sure the engine bogged down, it wasn't the reduction of noise, but a difference in rpms as well as a reduction in noise. I put it in gear and it started bogging down. I ran it in neutral for maybe 15 or 20 more seconds and then put it in gear at the lowest speed. It ran ok, and eventually I was able to run at wot again. I then headed back to the marina at about 15 to 20 mph. No more problems. At the no wake zone it ran fine at low speed, but stalled once. I was able to start it back up on the first try with no more stalls or hesitations. (For the first time in my short time owning the boat, I was actually able to shut it down after tieing off at the dock, instead of drifting in with a stalled engine!)<br /><br /> So what is going on here? When I took the cowling off,I did notice gas around the gas line going in to the carberateur, and gas on part of the carberateur bowl. There was also gas elsewhere around the carberateur. Do I need to rebuild the carbs? Why does the boat run fine at first and then have problems if I shut it down and then restart? Should I be gradually slowing down from wot to low speeds? Should I idle for a while before shutting her down? It almost seems like it's getting gas after I shut it down, (flooding the engine) Hopefully you guys can help me figure this out. I'm not sure if I should go back to the shop, I really don't know much about engines and I'll probably get screwed big time. It seems like it's a simple fix, I just can't diagnose it because I don't have the experience.<br /> <br /> Another thing, for the work the guy did, he charged me $203.33 Do you guys think thats a good price? <br />Thanks in advance!
