Re: Mercury 850 - no power/speed
...what Tashasdaddy said. All of this stuff is related. After cleaning the carbs, I did a link and sync (which does include cable adjustment, but not until AFTER everything else is set correctly)
I'm too new to give you advice, but I will tell you what I did to get mine going. First I bought two manuals - an old OEM and a newer Clymer - didn't use either of their timing methods, but the pictures helped alot! I also had to do it in a logical order because there is so much going on (I am new to motors and still learning what to listen/watch for) This is the order I did it in - others can correct me, but I basically followed the fuel supply.
1) Made sure I had clean, good gas (with good oil and a good cleaner - I used sea foam)
2) Replaced the fuel bulb
3) Cleaned the fuel pump screen.
4) Cleaned the carbs (tore them apart - spray in the throats & jet wasn't good enough)
5a) Link and Sync (per Clams in the FAQ section - you can do most of it in your driveway)
5b) Finished link and sync at the water (you will know what I mean when you read it) I set the carbs a bit rich and the idle a bit high for the first test run.
6) For the next 2 or 3 outtings, I fiddled with the carb settings, the idle settings and the throttle cable preload, until I found the right combination that works for us (lots of trolling, in and out of gear, no-wake zones, starts and stops with the occasional WOT addrenal rush in between)
7) Still to do: I need to get the idle/pre-load dialed in after doing a decarb (it idles much better now), and rebuild the fuel pump, but I may wait until next season for those. I will also recheck the link & sync, because I will probably learn something new over the winter that I want to change!
So you know, these old mercontrollers are strange - at least both of mine are. The first 20 degress or so of handle movement, from 12:00 - 11:00 o'clock, only shifts from neutral to forward (800-600 rpm), then from the first timing event (11:00 - 9:30 o'clock on the handle, 600-3000 rpm, spark being advanced) is trolling speed stuff and then at the second timing event (9:30 - 8:00 o'clock, 3000-5500 rpm, max spark advance and the carbs really open up) the handle gets really, really stiff - I almost have to lean on it. All of the searches I did came back with the (very unsatisfying answer) that this is just the way they are. Next season I may mess with the cables, but first things first - get your motor running correctly so that it doesn't get burned by wrong timing or lean carbs!
I hope that helps, I know it's long winded and if I made a mistake - please, someone correct me!!!
Shaun
