broke distributor?

[jaymasta]

hey guys I think my distributor broke, or something similar Iam not sure what you call it on a boat motor, but thing that is under the fly wheel that I am assuming controls the timing as it is linked up to the throttle arm, and wires come out of it and go to a black box, which has wires to each spark plug, anyways I was out fishing and went to start my motor to head in for the day and it was idling at like 2500rpm, and I could not get it to go down, anyways i hit the choke button a few times which flooded the motor a bit to drop the rpm enough to put it into gear and headed back to shore and the engine ran and sounded great, but it was a good 20-30 min boat ride back, when I got to the dock I took off the cover and the plastic piece that conects the throttle to the thing under the flywheel had broken off so there was no connection at all it, appeared that it broke off near WOT area, anyways just wondering what this piece is, and what might be involved in fixing it, and if I might have messed up my engine by running it so long with no timing (if this is what it is), my engine sounded perfectly normal when running, and started up fine, also I have a few trips planned over the next week, giving that I start my motor up and GO and then stop and shut off would it be ok to run the motor in this condition or should i be canceling the trips and getting the motor fixed properly?

the motor is a 1975, 650 65hp with 120 compression

 

[Laddies]

Re: broke distributor?

That part is the advance arm off the trigger and will require removing the flywheel to replace the trigger

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: broke distributor?

that is your trigger
sounds like u were too advanced
just fix the links and ur ok

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

that is your trigger
sounds like u were too advanced
just fix the links and ur ok

oh ok, well the pieces are broken so I'll have to replace them, but is it ok in the mean time to run the boat without this piece working, what kinda damage would i be looking at?
what exactly does the part do, because my motor appears to be working perfectly normall besides the high idle?

 

[Laddies]

Re: broke distributor?

NO

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

NO

why not? whats the reasoning, or what could happen or will happen?

 

[Plainsman]

Re: broke distributor?

It has been my experience that if NO is mentioned, it is wise to follow that advice. Laddies knows his stuff.

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: broke distributor?

Let's be realistic... you asked if is ok to drive a boat whose motor is stuck at 2500rpm. Only throttle control you have at the moment is to manipulate the choke in an attempt to flood it. I'll assume you can steer ok.

To put this into perspective, do you think it would be ok to drive a car whose throttle was stuck at 2500rpm, and the only throttle or stopping control you had was to drag your feet Flinstone's style? Sure you could steer, but to call it safe would not be wise.

Fix the motor, and boat safely. It is for your own protection, and those around you. You could be boating near me, or my family.

 

[akwalker]

Re: broke distributor?

It has been my experience that if NO is mentioned, it is wise to follow that advice. Laddies knows his stuff.

Ditto, well said.

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

Let's be realistic... you asked if is ok to drive a boat whose motor is stuck at 2500rpm. Only throttle control you have at the moment is to manipulate the choke in an attempt to flood it. I'll assume you can steer ok.

To put this into perspective, do you think it would be ok to drive a car whose throttle was stuck at 2500rpm, and the only throttle or stopping control you had was to drag your feet Flinstone's style? Sure you could steer, but to call it safe would not be wise.

Fix the motor, and boat safely. It is for your own protection, and those around you. You could be boating near me, or my family.

your extremely negaative...to put this in the RIGHT prospective
only when it is idling in neutral it is spinning at 2500rpm, I just need to get the rpm down to put it into gear so that it didn't clunk and hurt the transmission, and I have full throttle control I don't know where you got that the only throttle control I have is to flood the engine, once it is in gear it sits around 1000rpm and chugs along at 2-4km/h
which is pretty much normal just a littel higher, like I said before the whole operation of the motor is the same except when in neutral....and to your flinstone comment or whatever, did I say that my whole gearbox broke and cound't pull it all the way back into neutral anyways?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: broke distributor?

The way to get the engine revs down so you don't hurt the lower unit is to fix the problem! If telling you not to run it is being negative, what was the purpose of asking the question? You seem hell bent on operating it in an unsafe manner anyway. Did you ever hear of engine run-away? Two stroke motors when allowed to rev very high can sometimes run-away -- meaning you can't shut it off even by turning the key off. Guess what happens? Hint -- what new engines are you interested in!.

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

ya I know I have to fix the problem and I will get it fixed eventually although my original question was, would I damage my motor if I ran it in this condition, as I have a few boat trips planned becuase I have relatives coming out to visit this coming week, and it will not be fixed before then...

 

[MikeV4]

Re: broke distributor?

Yes, you WILL damage your engine.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: broke distributor?

Guess it doesn't matter how many times he's told don't run it and the reasons why. He will run the thing and then grumble when he gets the bill for a lower unit rebuild.

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

Guess it doesn't matter how many times he's told don't run it and the reasons why. He will run the thing and then grumble when he gets the bill for a lower unit rebuild.

actaully I haven't been given a single reason why not to run it, everyone has just said not to and ended it at that no one has explained what will happen, or what damage will occur, and that is what I was wondering. its like if someone has an oil leak in a car and they ask if they should they run it or not, you guys are all just saying nope sorry somethings broken so it MUST be fixed before you run it or your will destroy it, when the real answer would be yes you should get it fixed soon, but in the meantime its fine to run it as long as you monitor and maintain your oil level....

 

[robpoe]

Re: broke distributor?

But it's not like a car that's leaking oil.

The way Merc set these motors up (i.e. with a timing advance) was for a purpose. If you run your engine with too much of a retarded timing, you risk damaging your engine when the spark comes too late, and the piston/rod assembly is in the wrong place for a fireball..

So you risk overheating internal engine parts, bending or breaking vital engine parts.

But hey, its your boat. Enjoy it I have a '68 Merc 650 for sale when you need a new engine..

 

[Silvertip]

Re: broke distributor?

One more time. There are two timing scenarios you are dealing with. With the lever broken the timing is stuck in one spot. You can have too much timing or too little timing at any throttle setting depending on where the linkage is actually broken. That's why you can't control engine speed. In a previous post I mentioned engine run-away. Lower unit damage has also been mentioned. And the possibility of an accident with another boater has also been mentioned. What more do you want? Oil leaks in cars come in many varieties. If its an oil pressure sender that's leaking, you will get about one mile before you have a siezed engine. If its a rear main seal that drips a bit you can go a long time but it will mess up your driveway and that of anyone you visit. If you broke your leg would you continue to try and walk on it because you are too "busy" to see a doctor? If you know you need glasses do you wait until you have an accident driving before you get glasses? Guess I answered my own question huh? And finally, I suspect had you been told its no problem running your engine (which apparently is what you want to hear), that you would have been back here in a heartbeat telling us what bunch of idiots we were! Do your guests a favor and tell them about the engine problem. Give them the opportunity to refuse riding in your boat.

 

[jaymasta]

Re: broke distributor?

But it's not like a car that's leaking oil.

The way Merc set these motors up (i.e. with a timing advance) was for a purpose. If you run your engine with too much of a retarded timing, you risk damaging your engine when the spark comes too late, and the piston/rod assembly is in the wrong place for a fireball..

So you risk overheating internal engine parts, bending or breaking vital engine parts.

But hey, its your boat. Enjoy it I have a '68 Merc 650 for sale when you need a new engine..

thankyou, thats all I was looking for, I didn't need everbodys editorial on various scenarios that could have happened but the facts on what could happen to the ENGINE if I run it...and iam really done with this thread as many of you have been extremely negative just based on the fact that yes I wanted to run my motor to go fishing with some relatives, and the fact is that there are many problems that can happen to engines and it can still be run safely and you don't risk damage, and yes I was hoping that this might have been a problem like that but it appears that it isn't in which case no I will not use my boat, and have already set up arrangments to rent a boat when my relatives are here....