Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

[boatin-on-cherokee]

85 Skeeter boat with Mercury 150 XR2 outboard. I was out on the water and on plane when the engine just idled down, and ended up idle'ing back to the dock. I have worked very hard to try to avoid taking to shop, and listed below are things that have been replaced.

1. new plugs
2. new fuel line and primer bulb
3. cleaned carbs - 'best I could by myself with several cans of GUMOUT and a air hose'
4. drained fuel out of tank and replaced with fresh gas
5. was told by a mechanic that all cylinders were firing - not 100% sure on that though

I am trying to determine if it is a 'fuel' issue or a 'electrical' issue. Can someone please let me know if I have eliminated the fuel issue? Are there any opinions out there that I should take it to the shop, especially after the work that I have done on it myself? The boat will start and idle just fine, but when I try to bring it out of the hole, it just bogs down and does not plane out. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MaggieRose]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

Check the main jets on those carbs. Screws located on the bottom and each side (6 total). If you have any varnish in those babies you will not get the power you are looking for. If you remove both screws on each set and the jets are clean, you should be able to see right through them.

 

[boatin-on-cherokee]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

Thank you so much for your reply. I am unsure about the location of the screws to take out to check the jets, and do the carbs have to be taken completely off to do this?

Could you provide a lil more detail?

On the other hand, I did take the face plate off and used a air compressor and carb cleaner and got the barrells 'I think' pretty good.

The main fuel comes from one side and up to the filter cup, and then branches off to a 'T" connection, one fuel line goes to top, then middle, then bottom. I took each line off one at a time and blew air through them and gas came out of the small brass tips located at the bottom of each barrell and also the larger holes "are these larger holes the main jets??????????? " located at the middle/top of each carb.

Was that wise to do? It doesn't seem to be clogged, cuz if it was - no air would come through right?

 

[j_martin]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

The main jets are on the sides of the carbs, 2 in each carb. They are the lowest of the brass screws.

Blowing cleaner and air through the lines and down the horn just redistributes whatever dirt is there. You really need to take the carbs off, disassemble them, clean and adjust them to be sure they're good.

What you describe sounds like either a totally plugged up fuel system, but it could be something electrical and goofy, like a slight electrical leak between the kill wire and ground, or a broken ground wire on the stator. You'd have to do some formal troubleshooting with a dva to sort that all out. It could be something as simple as a broken timing link.

hope it helps
John

 

[boatin-on-cherokee]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

Thank you again for your response, but I have finally broke down and took her to the shop this morning. I am assuming that the problem was way "WAY" beyond my knowledge.

Thanks to you whom responded to me.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

One test you didn't do was to have someone squeeze the primer bulb when the engine is bogging. If it picks up you have a fuel pump problem or a restriction in the fuel tank/line.

 

[boatin-on-cherokee]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

Gotcha there, that is one thing we did while out on the water with the throttle down. I had replaced the fuel line from the tank to the motor with a new primer bulb, also I emptied the tank and put fresh gas in.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

Just curious, how much your new throttle cable cost?

 

[Gevans17]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

My 135 had same symptoms. Ended up being 2 different problems. First, I found a clogged carb jet. Then later, found another cylinder had no spark. Ended up having to change a switchbox. Buy yourself a spark tester..lay it on each plug wire to see if it is firing. Best $10 I ever spent.

 

[1979Merc]

Re: Mercury XR2 150 wont plane out....am I missing something?

boat-in-cherokee,
What did the mechanic say? What was the problem and the repair? I motor acting similar and I thought I could learn from your experience.
THanks.