Merc 140: perfect idle - cuts out when in gear

[Scorpion168]

I just bought a 1984 Chris Craft with a Merc 140. In the driveway hooked to a hose it runs great. Starts first time at the lake today - then as we put into gear the engine dies. Restarted and warmed at the dock for a few minutes - put into gear and dies. It will limp along in gear at idle speed, but as soon as you give it a little gas - it dies. At one point it wouldn't start for an hour - finally started and limped back to the dock. I changed the fuel filter on the water - no change. The old fuel filter looked okay. The plugs look clean. Help.

 

[k4ubr]

Re: Merc 140: perfect idle - cuts out when in gear

there is a shift switch that can cause this problem. if the boat sat for a will the cables can get stiff and slow the shift.. there is 2 shift cables and one throttle cable. most times its the cable going to the drive that sticks.