insanity looming over non starting boat

[biggjimm]

After you find a timing light, get it all hooked up & ready to go with the distributor bolt loosened a bit so you can turn it & have someone start the engine & get the light on the tab & as soon as it idles down check the mark & If it's not close to where it should be you can probably turn the distributor & keep it running & get it set correctly & then proceed to your fuel problem & get your idle & mixtures set & re-check timing. You can jack with the carb & choke all day & if it's far enough out of time you'll never get it to idle. Have you tried turning the distributor when it is running to get it to idle?

 

[sweebs]

yeah I left the distributor clamp bolt loose enough so I can still (just barely) turn it by hand without breaking out the wrench to loosen the bolt. I have adjusted it back and forth slightly to the point where the engine feels and sounds the smoothest. So I know it's not the same as proper timing but it's definitely as close as can be without light. Harbor Freight has timing lights for 20 bucks and the harshest reviews simply state that the light isn't the brightest, but should work fine. Think I'll head across the river to Davenport tomorrow and pick one up. Beyond that I'm thinking there's no way around from having to give rebuilding the carb a 2nd effort. I just can't imagine that there isn't something amiss with the carb when it dies when trying to throttle the engine up, it's just not even close

 

[biggjimm]

Have you double checked your spark plug wires? Make sure theres not a couple crossed. Sometimes if you get that certain two wires crossed it'll run half way decent & present itself as other problems. Hopefully you can get a hold of a timing light & make sure the timing is correct & then you've eliminated the "guess work" on that part of the equation & that should make narrowing down you're fuel problem a lot easier.

I'm like a lot of other guys & think probably your problem still lies in the carb. I haven't seen the pics but you talk of how "cruddy" it was & I've had those cruddy ones take more than a couple hours in the carb dip to soften that junk up & then compressed air is pretty much a must have to make sure all those little ports are clear. By studying the carb casting & looking at your gaskets you can usually figure out where each little passage goes & then make sure it's open by blowing a little air thru it & verifying that it's actually coming out the other end of the port. Rebuilding them is not rocket science but making sure those passages are 100% clear is what makes the difference between a sweet running engine that is a joy to operate & one that won't idle & coughs & spots & drives you nuts.you're about there though, keep plugging away & your efforts will pay off in the end.

 

[sweebs]

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here's a couple before shots

 

[sweebs]

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[Super_Spook]

These symptoms sound similar to my 65HP Evinrude that I got running this spring. First time I rebuilt the carbs it wouldn't idle very well and would die when I gave it some throttle. It started up fine when it was cold (IE it was choked) and was hard to start once it was warm. I thought I had cleaned/re-built the carbs fine. Not my first time doing it to say the least. But, after tearing all 3 down and then Ultrasonic Cleaning them, that was the ticket. I would suggest looking into the small Ultrasonic Cleaner when you are getting your timing light at Harbor Freight. The one I use is from there. If you do go this route, also be sure to blow out all the passages with compressed air as well.

 

[NHGuy]

Did I read somewhere in there that you didn't get a spring? Had to stretch out the old one that had broken? If that's the case it won't work right. Each piece needs to be right and each orifice needs to pass the right amount of fuel and air.
You really will be fine with a Harbor Freight light. And use it right away. If you guess wrong and have too much timing in there it can damage your rebuilt motor. If it sounds like a coffee can with marbles bouncing around, that's the tipoff. Don't allow that.

 

[sweebs]

there was no power piston/spring in the rebuild kit and searching for one for a mercarb comes up with nothing available, the power piston spring just holds piston off power valve under high vacuum/low engine speed conditions and is over powers the vacuum at higher engine speeds/lower vacuum condition to allow more fuel into carb,,, I'm not even getting up to high engine speed in gear as the motor dies as soon as I throttle up. The piston was frozen with rust but after cleaning and lubing it moves nicely and the spring does pop it back up,, I just wish that would have been in the rebuild kit because other than the main jets, everything else is now new. Funny that Mike's carb parts said they were out of stock in the mercarb electric choke but did have them under the rochester 2g specifically stating 'works for most mercarbs' so that's the choke I have - a rochester choke. New Power piston/spring is available as well under the rochester name, and looks like same size. When/if I tear apart this carb again I'm going to measure the power piston and if it's same dimensions as the rochester, going to get a new one. I passed on the ultrasonic cleaner as it's $35 and I've already spend plenty on the rebuild and choke and new float

 

[Super_Spook]

Well, if you have good spark, you get the timing correct, and it still acts the same then its down to the fuel system. After sitting for 8 years gas does a number on the inside of the carbs. I'm currently rebuilding a 2GC on a Mercruiser 120 that sat for 19 years. There is some serious gunk inside. It's an easy carb to dismantlement and re-assemble. At least there aren't 3 of them :lol:

 

[sweebs]

timing set to 8 degrees BTDC, new fuel filter, new fuel line, fuel vent not clogged, anti siphon valve removed, cleaned, replaced, now can't even get engine to start. This summer is about over, and still haven't been able to get out on water. My tail is severely between my legs at this point and just want to quit, owning a boat so far has sucked (sucked all the money from my wallet too)

 

[sweebs]

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to close out this post most recently I took carb off boat, disassembled, recleaned everything, swapped out the spring needle for the solid one, readjusted float level and drop, reassembled, put it back on boat, powered up fuel pump with battery until fuel flowed into carb, turned the key, and BAM! fired up, adjusted idle speed to around 600-800 rpm, idled fine, revved fine, shut down, restarted fine. OK! looking good, took her to the river, and didn't die when I gently accelerated in the no wake zone of Lake Potter, idled out to the big river, hit the gas and nose in the air, quickly got on plane and I'm either tearing up from the wind in my face or the unbelievable feeling that she's actually alive and ripping through the water harder than I could have imagined! Thanks Gents for the words of advice and encouragement, and happy boating!

 

[Rick Stephens]

Ya hoo!

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Great news! Glad to hear!! :thumb:

 

[zealer]

Glad you got it going. Enjoy

 

[sweebs]

will have to figure out how to verify tach, would seem it's either off, or the prop is severely geared towards pulling versus speed, as I'm looking at 6000 rpm on the tach at full speed trimmed up a tad,, that seems awfully high and didn't keep her there too long, boat's speedo was reading about 45 maybe a little under that. next time out will verify with gps. Will have to go look at what size and pitch the prop is, it's aluminum 3 blade. beyond that, a little straightening is needed on the skeg as it's curved/gently bent towards the port side, but don't think it's affecting handling all that much (but can't help either).

 

[Rick Stephens]

Max is 4800 rpm on a 4.3. Over that and you'll toss something out the top sooner n later. I used a timing light with a good built in tach to take out on the water and confirm my boats tach was quite a ways off. You'll probably have to do the same since 6k is scary.

Rick

 

[sweebs]

I'm guessing tach is outta wack, I don't think it's really hitting that high rpm,, I did just find an interesting way to verify a tach:
http://pages.suddenlink.net/kmielen/C320Docs/Tach.htm

 

[Rick Stephens]

That's great.

 

[biggjimm]

Good to hear! Isn't it a great feeling to finally get a problem resolved yourself, especially when we're so close to throwing in the towel & calling the shop? I know it is for me. Recently had an outboard that wouldn't run right & after weeks of dickin around w/ it, & my father in law wanting to take it to the marina, I figured it out w/ the help of a few guys over on the Johnson forum & it was such a good feeling to finally get it figured out. Good job & go out & enjoy the rest of summer w/ your boat! Jim.

Oh by the way, thanks for posting that info on checking the tachometer. That's a really neat, simple method to verify your tach. That should be up in the sticky information or somewhere it can be easily found.

 

[bigbob_FTW]

Great feeling isn't it?