I just picked up a 1996 90HP johnson on loan. The boat was running fine a month ago, but has been sitting in the water ever since. When I first picked it up, I couldn't get it running... later realized that the water drain on the fuel filter was open. After that, the fuel bulb would not stay full. The motor will occasionally start and run for a few seconds, belch lots of smoke and then die. <br /><br />I put it in the water and ran it at medium throttle... went for a few minutes, running smooth, but then died with no warning. I have tried swapping the fuel system including tank and hose all the way to the motor... same thing... every several tries, it will catch, run ragged for several seconds, and then either die or settle down to a smooth idle for a second before dying. <br /><br />The motor has some sort of cooling line with a quick disconnect hooked up to the outlet, so I have been using this for cooling water... is this sufficient cooling? <br /><br />Where should I start checking? I am new to outboard repair... should I buy the shop manual and work my way through it, or are there some simple tricks I should try, or should I give up and get in line at the mechanic? I was really hoping that it was a fuel problem (the line was looking cracked), but I've checked most everything there.<br /><br />Thanks for any suggestions.<br />mike
