***FIX UPDATE*** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

[macr6]

Okay I changed out the head gasket on my 98 3.0L Merc. Then I set the timing according to the manual that don s sent me in a link.

A little background on what I found w/ timing. You have to use a jumper wire on the distributer and join the leads from the shift interrupt switch. Did that. When I started her up and checked the timing it was 12 BTDC It was supposed to be 1 BTDC. So I rotate the distributor to get it down to 1 ATDC (according to the SB) The engine idles super rough. So I turn the idle screw and it evens out. Purrs like a kitten. I take off the jumper wire, hook up the leads from the shift interrupt switch and fire her back up. The timing moves up to 12 BTDC, which is what the manual says it is supposed to do. It idles like a dream. I go "throttle only" on the throttle and get her up to about 2500 rpms just to make sure things are going right and they are.

Fast forward to today, I get to the lake, put the boat in, start her and everything is fine. I go to power out and it gets up to about 2k rpms and dies. Start her up again and she dies at the same rpm's again. She will go at about 1500 to 1800 rpms, just enough to get me back to the trailer. Now I'm lost. When I go throttle only it seems to be working.

Anyone have any thoughts? Something I should be checking? Right now I am leaning towards the carb and it not having the right settings on the screws.

 

[Don S]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Right now I am leaning towards the carb and it not having the right settings on the screws.

There are no screws that you can check that will cause that problem.
Sounds a lot like water in the carb. Do you have a water seperating fuel filter? It's not oem on a 3.0L.
There are only filters in the carb and fuel pump that stop dirt (not water).

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

There are no screws that you can check that will cause that problem.
Sounds a lot like water in the carb. Do you have a water seperating fuel filter? It's not oem on a 3.0L.
There are only filters in the carb and fuel pump that stop dirt (not water).

Don,
This boat is new to me. I haven't put any of those things on. What I do have is a little glass "thing" in the fuel line from the fuel cell to the fuel pump. Is that what you are talking about? It has fluid in it.

 

[alaska_av8r]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

I may be wrong but Don will point you in the right direction if I am wrong. That little glass thingy with the liquid in it, is designed to show if you have a diaphragm failure in your fuel pump.....and it sounds like you do. From what I understand that is a safety feature on boats so you can find a problem before it goes boom.......

 

[Don S]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

What I do have is a little glass "thing" in the fuel line from the fuel cell to the fuel pump.

A fuel/water seperating fuel filter looks similar to an oil filter found in the line between the fuel tank and the fuel pump on the engine. What this "Glass Thing" is, I can't say without seeing it.
Gotta' Picture?????????

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

I'll try to post one tonight.

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Okay sorry it took me forever to get pictures of my boat but this is what I have inbetween the tank and pump.

I set up the timing the way the manual said. The boat starts up and idles great. When I power up to about 2k rpms it bogs down and dies. I'm so lost as to what to check next. Any ideas?

If I read the manual right and this is the thing I think it is, it's not supposed to have fuel in it. There is some liquid in it when I grab it.

This is the idle speed screw I believe. In the manual it says to turn it till it just seats then back it out 1 and 1/4 turns. Do they mean completely have it out of the carb and then screw it in till grabs and then back it out? or screw it in all the way and then back it out?

 

[Don S]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

That looks like a fuel filter for a lawn mower or something, but it's not a water seperating fuel filter. Where do the lines from it connect. Just a picture of it means nothing.

The bottom picture is of the idle MIXTURE screw, not idle speed. Read the manual again. It says to screw it IN not out, till it seats. Then back it out 1-1/4 turns. But that is just a starting point to adjust the mixture when the engine is running.

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

That looks like a fuel filter for a lawn mower or something, but it's not a water seperating fuel filter. Where do the lines from it connect. Just a picture of it means nothing.

The bottom picture is of the idle MIXTURE screw, not idle speed. Read the manual again. It says to screw it IN not out, till it seats. Then back it out 1-1/4 turns. But that is just a starting point to adjust the mixture when the engine is running.

That glass tube thing sits in a hose between the fuel tank and the fuel pump.

Don, my confusion on the mixture screw was whether or not to turn it in till it stops then back it out. I guess I was confused on the term "seats".

 

[Don S]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

That glass tube thing sits in a hose between the fuel tank and the fuel pump.

You need to remove that........ "Glass Thing" and install a proper water seperating fuel filter.
http://www.iboats.com/Quicksilver_W...d.219263--list_time.1191715560--view_id.21162
The link shows a typical filter kit. Those filters you have only take out the big pieces, not water or the stuff that kills the engine. You normally find them on outboards, not IO's.

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Don, when the boat is on muffs where else would I be getting water from? Is there any other checks I can perform to narrow down this problem?

 

[Don S]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

What water??????

 

[Jerico]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

The glass thingy is a fuel filter. I had one just like it on a car I used to have. I would recommend replacing it with a proper water separator like Don has recommended. Also if yours is like mine, replace the fuel filter in the inlet where the gas line connects to the carb.

 

[macr6]

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

Re: OK, head gasket fixed, timing set...NOW WHAT???

What water??????

In your earlier posts you said it sounds like lots of water in the carb.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Try a portable five gallon tank with good gas & see if the problem goes away......
You can plumb it right in after you lose that filter that is pictured....
Install the filter as Don S suggests, but if you can't get one today, this should give immediate results......
You may need to completely drain your tank to get all of the water & sediment out & check the pick up for carp.......​

 

[macr6]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

I unhooked the line to the pump from that glass filter and setup a new fuel source. I ran it again and got the same results. The engine keeps dying at about 2 grand. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

You are running out of gas for some reason.....
Check your fuel pump pressure & the filter screen at the carb.....
If it still persists, I'd think about a carb rebuild......
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=167561

 

[macr6]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

I talked to a mechanic down at the boat shop while picking up a water/fuel separtor. He said since I did the head gasket that the valves could need adjusting. They would cause my symptom he said. I'm going to adjust those tomorrow cause that's easy. I picked up a water fuel seperator kit (thanks Don) and will install that inline tomorrow as well. Any thing else you guys could think of would be great. I plan on rebuilding the carb over the winter.

 

[macr6]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Also I can't run a vacuum test because I can't run it at full throttle

 

[Don S]

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

Re: *** UPDATED *** OK, head gasket fixed, timing set.. NOW WITH PICS!!!

I talked to a mechanic down at the boat shop while picking up a water/fuel separtor. He said since I did the head gasket that the valves could need adjusting.

When you replace a head gasket, you would have to readjust the valves after taking them apart, are you saying you didn't????? How did you get by that? Did you follow a manual......... of any kind?????