Oil tank cap stuck- how to open-and quicksilver question

[tsennett]

I have a 1990 Sea Ray open bow - old boat, new to me. Splashed July 4 weekend. Engine is 135 hp OB - Blackmax with the separate oil tank with two caps on it - one plain and one with the oil pick up. I tried to open the plain one, and it won't turn. I know the tank is pressurized, so I wondered if that would make this cap really hard to turn- or if there was some trick to it.

Speaking of tricks- I was having trouble figuring out how to start the motor- and by sheer luck discovered that the Quicksilver 3000 control has a detent or sweet spot just forward of vertical where the engine will start- and if you go any farther forward, starter will not engage. I didn't see anything in the manuals about this, and was not in a position to talk to the previous owner (long story). Is this a quirk of my particular control box or are all the quicksilver 3000s like this? I have a different quicksilver box on my pontoon boat (to a 1996 Force by MercuryMarine 50 hp) that does not have this tiny sweet spot - once you push in the neutral button the starter will engage with the throttle in any forward position.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Oil tank cap stuck- how to open-and quicksilver question

That motor should have an enrichener on it for cold starting. Maybe it is a "push in key to choke" control?

Oil tank is pressurized, however that should not prevent cap from opening. Maybe PO tightened it with wrench to help it seal?

 

[tsennett]

Re: Oil tank cap stuck- how to open-and quicksilver question

Chris-yes it is a push to choke- seems that on a cold start, you choke it on the first try, and if it doesn't start, don't choke on the second try and she will fire right up. No choke if she is warmed up.
What I was referring to on the "sweet spot" was a point on the throttle lever movement- just forward of vertical, when you push in the neutral button at the bottom of the lever, just as you move the throttle forward there is a barely perceptible feeling of the lever clicking into place, and that is the start position- past this position there must be a cut out because the starter won't engage.
As for the oil tank, I don't know what the PO may have done, but at this point I am free to blame him because I haven't really messed with the oil tank yet. I will give it a more vigorous go next time out and see if I can figure out why it is stuck - and my local marina is pretty helpful on stuff like this, which makes buying gas at their inflated prices somewhat less painful.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Oil tank cap stuck- how to open-and quicksilver question

Chris-yes it is a push to choke- seems that on a cold start, you choke it on the first try, and if it doesn't start, don't choke on the second try and she will fire right up. No choke if she is warmed up.
What I was referring to on the "sweet spot" was a point on the throttle lever movement- just forward of vertical, when you push in the neutral button at the bottom of the lever, just as you move the throttle forward there is a barely perceptible feeling of the lever clicking into place, and that is the start position- past this position there must be a cut out because the starter won't engage.
As for the oil tank, I don't know what the PO may have done, but at this point I am free to blame him because I haven't really messed with the oil tank yet. I will give it a more vigorous go next time out and see if I can figure out why it is stuck - and my local marina is pretty helpful on stuff like this, which makes buying gas at their inflated prices somewhat less painful.

I don't think that's anything that Merc (Quicksilver/Teleflex/?) engineered into the control. Sounds like the neutral safety switch is just out of adjustment.

You should not be able to start it at all unless it's in neutral or with the shifter/throttle in the throttle only position.

FYI, moving the throttle slightly forward while in the throttle only mode is pretty much standard for cold starting these motors. Squeeze bulb till hard, push in choke for 5 seconds, squeeze bulb again, wait a couple of minutes, advance throttle slightly and hit the key. When is tries to start bump the choke and it should catch and run without too much smoke.

 

[tsennett]

Re: Oil tank cap stuck- how to open-and quicksilver question

sschefer-
Thanks. I have no familiarity with this particular set of controls, so I don't know how they should behave if they are working properly! For the moment I seem to have found a way to start it reliably- and I can live with that! (Knocks wood). I will be checking with my neighbors at the the lake to see if anyone has the same controls and see how they behave (the controls, not the neighbors). Thanks again.