Re: older merc,Funky thorttle
sounds to me like the motor is flooding out...mine is doing something similar..but not as bad...its not dieing its just loading up on gas until I get her revved up. Sounds to me like you should do a link and sync first thing...set your idle screws, just sounds to me like a fuel problem...if you look up link and sync you'll find it. If you had tilt and trim I would say keep the motor up until right before you try to take off..this will allow the engine to idle a little easier, when you put the motor under you it will have more a little added pressure on it and will tend to load up worse. Not all the way up by no means...just up like you would be on plane...you can hear the difference when you are idling around...if you do much idling I would recommend doing it everytime...as the older motors tend to load up when just putting around. When you do link and sync it will include instructions on timing, idle adjustment and throttle adjustments...if your carbs are in good working shape that should fix your problem...I'm going to have to rebuild my carbs...not that I wouldn't anyways...that way you know what you have and don't have to wonder if a float is stuck or an air passage or jet is stopped up. Hope this helps.