Hello, All.<br /><br />I need some advice on getting a Chrysler 55 horse outboard running. I've been lurking around this board the last several days, and have tried several things, but it's still not running right. I've been going at it kind of hit & miss and wondered if anyone can tell me a more methodical way of finding the problem without spending a lot of money. Here are the specifics:<br /><br />Chrysler Model 557HF, S/N 6643 (from what I've read here this is a 1975 model, right? The guy that owned it before said it was a 1977 model. It's on a 1973 Charger 15' bow rider)<br /><br />When I first tried to start it (with new 87 octane 50:1 mix), it would fire off, but not run. It came with a different plug in each cylinder - one NGK B7HS and one Champion L82C - so I changed the plugs to Autolite 4092's gapped at .030. Advance Auto said these were the equivilent to Champion L4J. The old plugs didn't look too bad, but they were black and I figured it wouldn't hurt.<br /><br />Ok, It started after setting the idle mixture screw 1 turn out from seated. Had to back it out a little more to get it idling fairly well, but still a little rough. When throttled up, it stayed at "idle speed" until full throttle, where it run about "half speed", I would guess a couple thousand RPM (No tach on this boat) but missing badly. Pumping the bulb didn't seem to help. It did idle, although roughly, for several minutes, and started very easily.<br /><br />The carb looks extremely clean. I pulled it off and the bowl is shiny inside, and all the jets and stuff look clean. I sprayed some carb cleaner in it just to be sure. The float is level when you hold the carb upside down, too. and the float/needle valve seems to work ok - float up, no fuel, float down, fuel flows.<br /><br />Noticed that the fuel line was leaking a little around the coupling for the tank, and was very hard/dry, so I replaced it with a new fuel line and bulb.<br /><br />Yes, the tank vent is open. I even loosened the cap to be sure it was venting enough. I took the check ball out of the tank line, too. (See, I've learned a lot just lurking around here.)<br /><br />Started it up again, and didn't see any difference.<br /><br />Went to NAPA and picked up a can of Deep Creep. Put the old plugs back in it, but it wouldn't keep running long enough to treat it. Put the new plugs back in it, started it up, let it run for a couple minutes, sprayed about half a can in it before it died. Let it set 15 minutes, started it up. (smoke everywhere) I ran it until the smoke cleared, and it didn't seem to be doing any better, so I Deep Creeped it again. When I tried to restart it it wouldn't run long enough for the smoke to clear. Kept restarting and restarting, and finally got it running at about "half speed" again with the throttle wide open by hitting the choke every now and then. It would slow down then pick back up. After doing this about 8-10 times it kept running by itself.<br /><br />When it finally died after running about 5 minutes like this, it wouldn't start. It would fire off, but not keep running, just like when I first started. Full circle. It was geting dark, and I didn't want to disturb the neighbors anymore, so I quit for the night. Since it was getting dark I did look at the coils and spark plug wires for arcing, but didn't see any. The coils do have a little crack around them, just below the "shoulder" at the output end.<br /><br />Tomorrow night I'm going to pull the flywheel and clean/set the points. I don't have a timing tool, but read a post here that the correct position of the piston is .300 BTDC for setting the points, and I have a service manual on it for getting the point gap. Seems like I remember reading .020, but I'll check before doing it. How hard is it to get the flywheel off. It looks like you put a nut on the shaft and pop it with a hammer, but I'm guessing that it's not going to be that easy on a 30 year old motor. And do I really have to get some valve grinding compound and lap it before reintalling?<br /><br />I don't know what else to do. I don't have a compression guage, but may be able to find one. <br /><br />One more thing - on the advice I've read here, I've ordered a new water pump impeller, even though it's running water out the back when it's running.<br /><br />This is my first boat, but I used to be pretty handy with cars - about 25 years ago. I don't know much about 2 cycles. What do you all experts out there think I need to be looking for? Any and all help will be greatly, appreciated. Sorry for the long post, I wanted to try to give everyone as much information as I could.<br /><br />Dave
<br /><br />I sure would like to get this thing running this weekend. I've set aside the long weekend to work on the boat.<br /><br />Thanks again,<br /><br />Dave