1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

[Dan Salvin]

This summer, I acquired a 1970 Starcraft with a 1971 Mercury, 40HP outboard. The boat ran fine all summer with the exception of some occasional stalling at very low speeds. My plan was to winterize it this year and rebuild the fuel pump and carburetor at the beginning of next season. However, unfortunately the boat sat for the last month and a half with no use and when I tried to take it out for one last trip this weekend, the engine would not start. It seemed to try to start but would never turn over. I am new to outboard engine and engine repair in general. I have the Seloc manual but am not sure what to do at this point. I can't get the engine started to run the gas out and winterize. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. - Dan

 

[macrat]

Re: 1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

does it have a pull start?

 

[pman7]

Re: 1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

If it started a month ago I would first suspect your gas delivery. Can you tell if your line from your tank to your motor is delivering fuel? Does the bulb on the gas line seem to be pumping fuel? Does the bulb eventually get hard when your carb/s gets full?

Sometimes the ball valve in the bulb can stick or sometimes one of the 4 hose clamped connections on your delivery line can be leaking and letting in air.


Of course I'm assuming that when you said it "would never turn over," you actually meant it wouldn't fire.

 

[red240z]

Re: 1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

If it does turn over pull the plugs and see if they are wet w/fuel. Since it just ran 45 days ago it sounds like a lack of gas issue.

 

[Dan Salvin]

Re: 1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

Thanks. The bulb does seem to be pumping gas through the hose but I am hesitant pump too much for fear of flooding it. Should that be a concern? How can I make sure the fuel line is ok (both the line from the tank to the motor and inside the motor). Yes, by not turning over I mean that when I turn the key, it would crank and try to start but never seem fire up. It does have a pull cord but I've never used it.

 

[keithmylum]

Re: 1971 Mercury 40 HP Won't Start

This summer, I acquired a 1970 Starcraft with a 1971 Mercury, 40HP outboard. The boat ran fine all summer with the exception of some occasional stalling at very low speeds. My plan was to winterize it this year and rebuild the fuel pump and carburetor at the beginning of next season. However, unfortunately the boat sat for the last month and a half with no use and when I tried to take it out for one last trip this weekend, the engine would not start. It seemed to try to start but would never turn over. I am new to outboard engine and engine repair in general. I have the Seloc manual but am not sure what to do at this point. I can't get the engine started to run the gas out and winterize. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. - Dan

Hey Dan do you still have this motor? If so I was wandering if you could tell me what size prop is on it. I just got this same motor minus the prop.No one seems to know what size prop goes on there. Thx