I have a 1997 25hp Johnson, model number J25REUM. It starts and idles just fine but when put into gear and given a little throttle it tends to spit and sputter quite a bit. I suspected a dirty tank or bad gas so I bought a new tank and filled it with fresh gas. I cleaned the fuel filter and changed the plugs but it still does it. I ran the motor in a trash can today and noticed quite a bit of oil in the exhaust which makes me think one of the cylinders may not be firing all the time. I found a wire coming off of one of the coil packs that had a small bare spot and it was grounding out on a bolt. I covered this with electrical tape but it hasn't seemed to help. Any idea on what may be causing this?
