Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

[Jerryflorida]

I have a mercruiser 1987 4.3 while we were out yesterday one of my bellows went and water entered the motor compartment. my bilge pretty much handled the water till we got near the dock then the motor died.

I connected the hose today to check out the motor and my idle is rough and surging. i can rev it up no problem and it goes in and out of gear.The idle is very rough like the motor wants to jump out of the boat .But still has great throtle response.Seems like it is trying to smooth itself out but then starts rumbling again.

I checked cap and rotar all dry and not bad.

I had a new coil and wire handy so i put that on no change.

so my question is could the water in the compartment slosh around and got something wet.when i noticed the water it was 1/2 way up the oil pan.

i checked the oil no water in it.

pulled plugs they look fine a slight black gray color dry.



It ran fine till it stalled on us near the dock.

my question is What could have got wet or shorted out to cause my idle problem.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..Thanks in advance.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

my question is What could have got wet or shorted out to cause my idle problem.

Ayuh,... The Fuel maybe,..??

What about the Bellows,... Have you pulled the drive yet,..?? What are ya Waitin' for,..??
If you're in the Saltwater,... Your parts are wasting away,....

 

[Jerryflorida]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

i started to today but have to get a couple tools tomorrow.Just wanted to make sure motor was ok.

before we went out the tank was empty and i filled it it is still full.

it was running great up untill the water issue and i tried to check all the harnesses for water.

is there something i should look for that could be shorting out?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

The motor dying should have no effect on the bilge pumps.Quality batteries should keep the pumps running for a few hours.
Notice, I said PUMPS,plural.minimum 1500gph each.
Were the batteries under water?
Like bondo say`s ,pull the drive asap.

 

[Jerryflorida]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

Ya my bilge pump stayed running.And boat started right back up but it is idling bad .

At idle it is surging like it wants to smooth out but then just continues rumbling

Should i wait a couple days for the wiring to dry out.

Or is there something else i should check other then what i already did?

None of the wiring seems wet.This is strange.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

Should i wait a couple days for the wiring to dry out.

That's exactly what I would do...before throwing parts (and money) at it!

Keep us updated....

 

[bhammer]

Re: Bellows went yesterday.Mercruiser 4.3

Isn't the normal color of spark plugs supposed to be a light tan color? Maybe you have more than one issue??