1988 85 HP stalling under load questions

[cjac2879]

Some of you may remember me from last summer.. If not here is a rundown of my problems.

Bought a 88 bayliner last summer... ON the ears she runs fine (few minor sputters at higher idle), put her in the water, and again idled fine, took her out into a no wake zone, at 4 MPH ran fine, as soon as I try to open her up, she stalled, continuously, till she flooded out and wouldnt start again.

We ended running out of time before winter, and just winterized it, and put it away.. We just uncovered it, and triedto fire it up... First 3 times, we got nothing other than cranking.. Took the cover off, fiddled with some wires, tried once more for the hell ofit, and fired without hesitation.. She runs great on ears (minor sputter at high idle), and we have yet to try water again this season.

Now for my question, What I got from some of the good people here last summer was that it could be the check valves, or dirty carb.. I know nothing about outboard motors, but am good mechanically, how hard is it to do either of these jobs myself, or how long would it take a professional to do either of these, so I have a good ballpark figure at what it will cost to repair.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for all your input

Chris

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Pretty simple to clean the carbs and replace the fuel pump check valves. I wouldn't even want to venture to say how much it would cost to have a certified marine mechanic do it if you could find one willing to work on a Force motor.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

I was afraid to tackle my hesitation probs but the "manual" and these good folks walked me thru it. Zoom zoom

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Basics:Compression/spark test.Ethanol is messing up a lot of motors.It's delaminating the inside of older hoses causing clogs in the carbs and fuel filter.Check for soft hoses and junk in the filter on the motor.Check the diaphram. J

 

[cjac2879]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

ok, im going to try decarbing it first, and see what happens after that..

I read the carb thread in the maintenence section, does that work well with the force carbs? Are the similar?

Also is there a thread somewhere for the check valve replacement..

Thanks again guys

 

[cjac2879]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

So today i went out and did a decarb with the seafoam, while on muffs... 1st time through it took a while to smoke, but eventually had moderate smoking, with some coughing later in the 15 min run.. waited 15 min. Second time through, the engine, ran smoother, with moderate to major smoking, waited 15 minutes, third time through, engine ran smooth, few coughs, minor to moderate smoke.

After I did the decarb, i put the gas line back onto the gas tank, and ran it again, still had minor smoke, more than before the decarb, and ran smooth on low idle, ran smooth at high idle, with 1 cough in a few minutes, but when I back it back down from high to low, it kinda jumps a little bit, is this normal, or a clue as to what ails it???

I might take her to the lake next week to see if the decarb worked, although expectations are low..

Few questions....

When i took off the gas line, i noticed some brown/black goopy material hanging off the hose from the inside, could this be causing my issue. The factory "filter" on the pump is clean..

My next plan is to do a comp check, replace fuel lines/primer bulb, and am looking to rebuild the fuel pump.. Is this a difficult process, is there a thread here regarding it.

Would it be worth my while to try and run the engine out of a portable gastank to eliminate any water inthe gas?

I dont think i have a major issue with this motor, i just think I have a fuel issue somewhere, and am trying to check the least expensive things first.

Sorry for all the long posts, i am the type of person who hates to let things beat me, and I wanna do all I can to solve this myself, and not break down and bring it to the mechanic

 

[further]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

I'm no expert but I rebuilt my fuel pump last year (I have the same exact motor) with help from all the folks on this forum and a manual and its not very difficult at all. I would recommend picking up a manual (i have a clymer and OEM service manual i got on ebay - both are very good) and following it for the rebuild. It will explain it in very good detail with photos. The only rough part was getting one of the 3 check valves out. 2 are easy, and the other you have to pry or use a dremel tool to get out. If you have a concern about water in the gas, install a fuel water seperating filter between the tank and bulb. I put one in at the end of last season. Also a good idea, based on all the good insight from the folks on this forum to install an inline filter between the carbs and fuel pump.

Last season i also had an issue with the motor running fine on muffs but when I put it in the water under load, it would only sputter along and bog down and stall when giving throttle. we figured out that the carbs were not properly adjusted and synced, and the fuel recirculation system had to be cleaned out (there are a few screens in there that got clogged up) # 35 in this diagram http://www.crowleymarine.com/mercury-outboard/parts/1254_11.cfm

I have yet to put it back in the water this season, but will this weekend. Good luck with yours and let us know how it goes.

 

[cjac2879]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

I finally bought a compression gauge and am gonna check it tomorrow morning. I have a basic idea how it works, my fear is with the spark... How do I stop the igntion packs from firing.. I read on here somewhere that I can pull the safety lanyard, will that work? Can I just disconnect the wires that feed them from the bus bar next to them?

 

[cjac2879]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Did a compression check today, and I got 128PSI on all 3 cylinders, I believe that is in the good range, so now I am gonna move towards the pump and lines.. NExt week I am going to run it off a portable tank with fresh gas to rule out water in the gas, then i am gonna pull the pump off and check the diaphragm (do i need to replace a gasket if I pull the pump off), then replace all the rubber gas lines to rule out corrosion.

When I pulled the plugs after running it for a little bit today, the middle plug was really wet and black... Any ideas

 

[cjac2879]

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

Re: Few 1988 85 HP questions

So over the last week, I replaced all the gas lines between the pump and the carbs. I ran it off of a portable tank, with clean fuel, and it ran a little better, but not perfect (see video), my next step is to replace/rebuild the fuel pump.

When I took the plugs out today (i cleaned them before I ran it, and they are new before winterized), the top and bottom plugs look clean, the middle plug was really wet and oily (fouled??).. Is my understanding correct that if I had a bad diaphragm, it would cause the 2nd plug to foul alot easier, and could this be the reason for the rough running you hear in the video? I am planning on removing the pump to look at the diaphragm tomorrow depending on your answers.

Here is a link to a video of the engine running http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n1A6h7jZMw and below are the pics of the spark plugs.

Thanks again

 

[cjac2879]

Re: 1988 85 HP stalling under load questions

bump

 

[thompy]

Re: 1988 85 HP stalling under load questions

pick up a spark tester after you rebuild the pump, the plugs look wet to me

 

[jason32038]

Re: 1988 85 HP stalling under load questions

Sounds like you're running on 2 cylinders.