99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

[TommyRox]

I have a 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I and am the new owner of the boat. I notice that after running it there is always a black soot coating all over the stern. I assume this is some sort of exhaust residue but have a suspicion that this is an indication that the motor might running too rich. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

TommyRox

 

[Don S]

Re: 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

have a suspicion that this is an indication that the motor might running too lean.

It's the exact opposite, it's running way too rich.
First thing I would look at is the choke to make sure it's open all the way when warm. May also be the flame arrestor being dirty/clogged up.

 

[TommyRox]

Re: 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

Don thanks for the info - I goofed - meant to put rich...corrected. I will check those out and see what I find - thanks for the reply

 

[catchandfryfisherman]

Re: 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

My 96 model bayliner did the same thing when I first got it and
the dealer could not fix it so I advanced the timning to 5 dig. btdc and had to lean out the carb and the problem went away.
lossen up the bolt holding the dist. down just enough so you can turn the dist. and with the motor running turn it counter clock wise till the motor Idles the best and then turn off the motor and try to start it back up and if it cranks hard or kicks back turn the dist back clock wise just a little and try starting again and keep backing it off till it starts easy and then let it warm up and turn the carb adjustment csrew in clock wise till rthe engine starts to run bad and then back it up just till it starts running real good and leave it alone. You have fixed it. Good luck.

 

[catchandfryfisherman]

Re: 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

Don't forget to tighten the dist. lold down bolt back down when all done. good luck to you.

 

[TommyRox]

Re: 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern

All it was a was quick adjustment on the carb and purring like a kitten and no soot - thanks for all the replies!