1987 Mercury 20hp Outboard Issues! Help!

[BowdenZ]

Hello,

I am having issues with my 1987 Mercury 20hp motor bogging down. It randomly occurs and I cannot seem to understand why. Sometimes it happens right off the bat and will not get to full power and some times it will all of a sudden bog down when the motor is running at full power.

I have taken apart the carburetor a few times and soaked it over night. Then sprayed it out with carb cleaner to get in all of the crevices. I have also replaced the fuel filter to make sure that nothing is getting into the carb.

Not too sure what to try next and I am open to ideas!

Thanks you in advance for any help.

 

[ThomW]

Is your gas tank clean? Fresh gas? Have you tried running off a different tank? When you cleaned the carb, was it gunked up at all? Did you see anything strange in the carb? Specs, flakes, bits of deteriorated hose?

 

[BowdenZ]

ThomW I did fully clean the fuel tank. There is usually a little gunk in the carb. I think new hoses would probably be a good idea. Thanks for the help!

 

[Jet tracker]

I ran into this issue on mine one time and if your fuel lines are old not just the one from tank to motor but one going to the carb also there could be a piece that is clogging it up but not loose enough to plug up a filter or get into the carbs