1995 88SPL
Ok guys,
If you have been following my previous posts, I had an intermittent miss when idling for any period of time. I thought I fixed it after having the carbs rebuilt, and the plugs/plug wires changed. It would idle great on the hose for any length of time.
I then had a problem with my starter drive spring, replaced it, and took it to the lake in hopes of a good runnning engine.
As soon as I pulled it off the trailer, I backed into the marina, and idled over to the dock. While idling over, it began acting up! It was light outside, so I couldn't see any arching on the plugs/plug wires like I had previously seen. However, I did reach down and touch them and they did not shock me like they did when they used to arc.
My brother parked the truck, and came to the boat. I tried to motor out of the marina, giving it a good amount of throttle, trying to get it to 'jump' back into power like it usually does. After about 7-8 seconds of full throttle, it kicked in and took off like a rocket, purring like a kitten just like it always has at high RPM's. During those 7-8 seconds, it sounded as if it wasn't running on all cylinders, or was just getting choked.
From there, I did a 5min long steady full throttle run over to the area where I catch bait. I then proceeded to idle in the area for 15-20mins while cast-netting, without even a hiccup. I again took-off to head to my fishing grounds on another 5 min full throttle run. When I pulled into my fishing area, dropped down to idle, and eased into my spot, it began running rough again.
Just out of curiousity, I reached down while it was running rough, about to die, and pumped the primer bulb. It was semi-deflated. When I primed it, it jumped back to life and sounded fine again. If I would've done this earlier at the boat ramp, would it have worked? I'm not sure.,,wish I would've tried.
Again that evening, when setting up my drifts, the same thing would happen. As long as I pumped the primer bulb, it would idle correctly.
FYI: I previously had a similar issue, which was probably the same issue which I THOUGHT I Had fixed. Last year I had the same thing going on, I would have to pump the primer bulb to keep the engine running at idle, and sometimes even at throttle. I replaced all of the items below, and took it to the lake and had '0' problems. I only ran it once, and then put it away for the winter thinking that issue was fixed. I could be wrong.
-All Fuel Lines have been replaced. from tank to engine.
-Fuel lines on carbs were replaced when carbs were rebuilt.
-Check valves behind carbs are operational (pressure tested them with a syringe(sp?).)
-All hoses and hose clamps are tight. Hoses on fuel tank, filler, and vent are double clamped
-Fuel Filter is clean and free of trash
-Fuel is new with 50:1 mix (pre mix, non VRO)
-OMC Primer Bulb is new (had a new one on it, bought another one and tried it also, just in case)
Any ideas?
I'm thinking fuel pump?
Do these things have regulators?
What stumps me is that at full throttle it is running great. I would think that a fuel problem would be the opposite. I would think it would idle fine, and then full throttle would be pathetic. But, I'm not familiar with mechanical pumps. If I don't prime the bulb, and then give it full throttle...it runs rough but eventually kicks in...like it is starving of fuel but finally gets enough to get going. I assume this isn't good for the engine, so now that I know it is again a fuel issue, I will make sure the bulb is fully primed.
Does the pump work on vaccum? At low RPM's, could it be suffering, but able to keep up at high RPM's?
Any help is appreciated. Unfortunately, I still do not have a manual.
Thanks,
Shawn
Ok guys,
If you have been following my previous posts, I had an intermittent miss when idling for any period of time. I thought I fixed it after having the carbs rebuilt, and the plugs/plug wires changed. It would idle great on the hose for any length of time.
I then had a problem with my starter drive spring, replaced it, and took it to the lake in hopes of a good runnning engine.
As soon as I pulled it off the trailer, I backed into the marina, and idled over to the dock. While idling over, it began acting up! It was light outside, so I couldn't see any arching on the plugs/plug wires like I had previously seen. However, I did reach down and touch them and they did not shock me like they did when they used to arc.
My brother parked the truck, and came to the boat. I tried to motor out of the marina, giving it a good amount of throttle, trying to get it to 'jump' back into power like it usually does. After about 7-8 seconds of full throttle, it kicked in and took off like a rocket, purring like a kitten just like it always has at high RPM's. During those 7-8 seconds, it sounded as if it wasn't running on all cylinders, or was just getting choked.
From there, I did a 5min long steady full throttle run over to the area where I catch bait. I then proceeded to idle in the area for 15-20mins while cast-netting, without even a hiccup. I again took-off to head to my fishing grounds on another 5 min full throttle run. When I pulled into my fishing area, dropped down to idle, and eased into my spot, it began running rough again.
Just out of curiousity, I reached down while it was running rough, about to die, and pumped the primer bulb. It was semi-deflated. When I primed it, it jumped back to life and sounded fine again. If I would've done this earlier at the boat ramp, would it have worked? I'm not sure.,,wish I would've tried.
Again that evening, when setting up my drifts, the same thing would happen. As long as I pumped the primer bulb, it would idle correctly.
FYI: I previously had a similar issue, which was probably the same issue which I THOUGHT I Had fixed. Last year I had the same thing going on, I would have to pump the primer bulb to keep the engine running at idle, and sometimes even at throttle. I replaced all of the items below, and took it to the lake and had '0' problems. I only ran it once, and then put it away for the winter thinking that issue was fixed. I could be wrong.
-All Fuel Lines have been replaced. from tank to engine.
-Fuel lines on carbs were replaced when carbs were rebuilt.
-Check valves behind carbs are operational (pressure tested them with a syringe(sp?).)
-All hoses and hose clamps are tight. Hoses on fuel tank, filler, and vent are double clamped
-Fuel Filter is clean and free of trash
-Fuel is new with 50:1 mix (pre mix, non VRO)
-OMC Primer Bulb is new (had a new one on it, bought another one and tried it also, just in case)
Any ideas?
I'm thinking fuel pump?
Do these things have regulators?
What stumps me is that at full throttle it is running great. I would think that a fuel problem would be the opposite. I would think it would idle fine, and then full throttle would be pathetic. But, I'm not familiar with mechanical pumps. If I don't prime the bulb, and then give it full throttle...it runs rough but eventually kicks in...like it is starving of fuel but finally gets enough to get going. I assume this isn't good for the engine, so now that I know it is again a fuel issue, I will make sure the bulb is fully primed.
Does the pump work on vaccum? At low RPM's, could it be suffering, but able to keep up at high RPM's?
Any help is appreciated. Unfortunately, I still do not have a manual.
Thanks,
Shawn
