1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

[Rudog]

I have a 1987 mercury 150 H.P. XR2-Black Max.<br />Serial Number OB199396.<br />I just all of a sudden lost my hole shot and top speed seems to have dropped. Boat is a 1987 champion bass boat 176V. i purchased the boat from a local marina in march. Boat has ran fine the 4 or 5 times I've had it out. Just all of a sudden it fights to get up and out of the hole. Once I get up on plane it sounds normal but top speed has dropped from 64 mph to about 50 mph. also after runing at high throttle and returning to idle, the motor wants to die. after restarting it idles and runs fine. well maybe not fine sounds a little rough at idle. I have replaced the waterpump,and plugs. Had originaly put in a can of sea foam on first tank of gas. I ran some gas out of the tank into a pint jar to check for water and the fuel looks fine.(no trace of water. Could my primer bulb or fuel hose be faulty? Maybe a clogged vent? Thanks for direction.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

Welcome to iboats. <br /><br />Could be a carb problem or you may have lost spark to one cylinder. I'd approach the spark problem first. See if they all light up.<br /><br />Either problem would show-up on the sparkplugs. Carb clog - one or two would look different than the others, but there'd still be deposits on it/them. Spark lost - perfectly clean.

 

[rla0248]

Re: 1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

I used to have a 1984 Champion with a 1983 150 merc. It did the same thing you discribe.<br /><br />One of the switch boxes was bad and it was running on three cylinders only. I was really surprised that the thing ran as well as it did with only half of the cylinders getting spark.<br /><br />If the problem occurred all at once and not gradual, I would look to ignition first.

 

[Rudog]

Re: 1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

After checking fuel tank with kolor kut, it appears that there is some water in my fuel. I'm going to attack that problem first. Any suggestions the tank is 24 gallons and full(just filled). Rather not waste it at $2.84 Gallon.<br /><br /><br />Thanks for the replies.

 

[J BLANK]

Re: 1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND USED A PRODUCT CALLED HEET FROM A LOCAL WALMART- STORE THAT WORKED WELL FOR ME. I THINK SEAFOAM IN THE GAS MAY HELP AS WELL. I PUT IN 4 BOTTLES FOR ABOUT 20 GALLONS.

J BLANK

 

[Crest990]

Re: 1987 150HP XR2 -Lost hole shot

I'm with Willy on this one. The same problem happend to me two days ago. I've lost spark at one hole, and am trying to fix the problem. Hopefully, you can solve the problem by changing the gas. If not, check the spark.