Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

brownhunter

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I have a 1968 6ph on a 13ft alum. it was running weird yesterday at 5000 and 38 degree water. when we leaned to the right it would on its own have higher rpms when we leaned tot he left the motor on its own would have lower rpms, meaning it would go slow. I could not go any faster then 3mph even at full throttle. but in neutral it would have high rpms. we were trolling and when i stopped the boat for a fish, the motors rpms would go up! what is wrong? why would the boat being leaned on one side or the other have anything to do with how the motor runs?
 
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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Carb float bowl level maybe? You might want to adjust the float level.
 

geoffwga1

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Check your shear pin.It could be that it has gone but the burred ends are acting like a kind of weak clutch and depending on the rotation of the prop when you lean one way the load on the prop increases or decreases with the depth.It happened to me once years ago with an old 1 1/2 Seagull that I had.Took me months to figure it out,
Geoffwga1.
 

boobie

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

What do you mean by "yesterday at 5ooo " and how much weight was in the boat??
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

I meant 5000ft lol. there was a bit of weight. but being in those conditions weight, elevation temp it has never done this before. Its not the shear pin. i have removed the float bowl before, how should i adjust it?
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

me and another guy, a puppy some fishing gear. so it wasnt any more then usual.
 

F_R

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Interesting question. I can't think of any valid reason why leaning the boat would make the motor slow down---Except if the BOAT slows down for some reason, of course the motor will slow down too. If you apply the brakes to the cart, the horse slows down.

But I don't think that is the answer.

The rest of your question is as old as the hills. "Will only go x miles per hour". "Revs up fine in neutral". Classic statements, meaning it is running on one cylinder. Outboard mechanics hear it almost every day.
 

kfa4303

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

I agree. I'm thinking it may be a spark issue :/ Perhaps when it is leaned to one side a wire is shorting out causing you to drop a cylinder. In any event it's easy enough to remove the flywheel and take a look. You may as well inspect or rebuild the carb too. Here are some handy links. They're for slightly different models than yours, but all of the steps are the same. You should be able to get any parts you may need right here at iboats too. A "tune up kit" with points and condensers is about $20 and so is a carb kit. Cheers!

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...on 3 HP 1952-1967 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...hnson 5.5 HP 1954-1964 Carburetor Tune-UP.htm
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Thanks guys! I did pull the plugs and one was worse then the other. I cleaned them up and ran it while spraying carb cleaner in it for about 5 mins. Should I do a compression test as well?
 

F_R

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Quit dinking around and troubleshoot the problem. Yes, of course a compression test should always be the first consideration. Once you have established that, remove and ground one spark plug wire, then see how it runs. Repeat, grounding the other wire. Chances are, one won't make any difference, but it won't run at all with the other one grounded. THAT is the good one. Now, figure out why the other one isn't firing. Hint: The carburetor won't make it run on one cylinder because it feeds both cylinders equally. A ruptured fuel pump can can do it though. Most likely, you have a spark problem---coil, points, condenser, wire, (or plug), etc.
 

kfa4303

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Don't use carb cleaner on your motor either. While it may get it running, it actually damages the engine's internals by removing the oil that has been mixed into the fuel. Without it, your motor has little if any lubrication which may lead to and overheat or seizure. Good luck.
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Quit dinking around and troubleshoot the problem. Yes, of course a compression test should always be the first consideration. Once you have established that, remove and ground one spark plug wire, then see how it runs. Repeat, grounding the other wire. Chances are, one won't make any difference, but it won't run at all with the other one grounded. THAT is the good one. Now, figure out why the other one isn't firing. Hint: The carburetor won't make it run on one cylinder because it feeds both cylinders equally. A ruptured fuel pump can can do it though. Most likely, you have a spark problem---coil, points, condenser, wire, (or plug), etc.

Fuel pump is good. Compression is good both at 90. Now what?
 

sutor623

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Like he said bro, pull one spark plug, ground it to the frame with the wire attached, and start the motor at LOW RPMS. See if you have a nice spark, and if it runs. Repeat on other plug. Either the plug that is out will not spark, or the plug that is in will not allow the motor to start. Then go down the chain. Replace plug with known good plug, try again. Keep moving down the chain until you are under the flywheel.
 

steelespike

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Disregarding the leaning issue the motor should at least make displacement speed, about 6 mph.
The carb needs a high speed jet for the elevation.It would be smaller Your dealer should know
what it is.
If the coils haven't been changed they are probably beginning to fail.
They are the weak point of all the smaller E/J motors of that era.
If you and your buddy aren't too beefy with the right jet and careful tuneup there is a slim chance the boat might plane
at 10 or 12 mph. maybe with only one aboard but you might be surprised.
 

Mas

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Is the fuel tank full? Lean to one side may cause the pick-up to suck some air??

Mas
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

I checked the compression and the spark, and ran the carb cleaner. All is good. Thats all I have done to it.

Ok I used it on Saturday, ran peferct!! Elevation 3,000ft at the lake. Took it out Sunday at 5,000ft. It would run at higher RPMs, unlike b4 when I 1st posted, when the motor was only doing about 2mph. But again when the boat was leaned to the right it would go slower RPMs but not when we leaned to the left. Also when my gf came to the back of the boat with me the motor again bogged down to slower RPMs.

Why does it do that?


.
 

nwcove

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

as far as moving weight aft goes.....the deeper the prop the more " bite " it gets, thus making the motor work a bit harder, and you are also plowing more water. leaning right and slowing down is still a mystery? is the motor in the center of the transom...or offset to the right?
 

boobie

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Put a guy in the boat by himself that weighs about 140 lbs and let him run it and see what happens.
 

brownhunter

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Put a guy in the boat by himself that weighs about 140 lbs and let him run it and see what happens.

Why would I do that? what would the tell you? I weight 180. The motor was in the center.
 

boobie

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Re: Weird,,,,,,,boat leans motor slows down?????

Was just curious. It may tell you something.
 
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