First trouble of the year

[captcal]

Well, went out last night and went about getting everything ready to go.
Started the boat after a few tries...(Seems to be getting a crank or two longer).

Anyway, got her started and warming up...

Then ready to pull away. Tide was outgoing and I've got a boat behind me
as I make my way out of the slip. I'm now ready to go and I push off.

I put the boat in reverse and take her wide...Boat dies! I almost pooped myself...8PM at night...

She start right back up! and I tried reverse again. Looks like once given
gas and more RPMs while in gear she will choke...

I can push the throttle a little forward or reverse and she'll move but
anything more it seems like she's choking or something. It almost seems
like something is wrapped around the prop...I checked it though.

Thankfully I cleared the boats...Whew! It was close.

Needless to say, I'm still scratching my head as to what's wrong.

I can up the RPM when the drive is bypassed/disengaged. If I engage
forward or reverse I can't throttle up...I've got to pump the trottle
the keep the engine running.

Don't know if this is enough to go by...Any ideas

260HP Mercruiser(350 Chevy) w/ alpha 1 outdrive.

Don't know if its lack of gas, lack of air, definitely a lack of knowing what
is wrong...I can only get the boat moving a couple of knts.

-cal

[jkfirefighter]

i'm no engine mechanic but i've seen other boats do this in the past it seems to be a common problem with boat engines....sounds like a fuel problem to me, whens the last time it had a new fuel filter, float might be sticking in the carborator (spelling) and not letting enough fuel get in. Those are the things i would check. Might need new spark plugs as well.

[captcal]

Sounds like a cheap/easy fix... I'm about due for an oil change too.

Perfect weekend for that type of stuff...Whether is going to be something
nasty...

New spark plugs before the season...They should be OK...

--cal

[jkfirefighter]

I always check the simple things first before thinking complicated so i would check the fuel filter/carborator those are generally common problems with engines

[Rickski]

For what it's worth, I had a problem with a 351 CI Ford I/O a couple years ago. Turns out that there is a check valve in the fuel line that is a anti-syphon valve. A piece of crap got into the valve and wouldn't allow it to function properly therefore restricting fuel flow. I had troubleshot all the way back to the fuel tank, which was under the floor, before I found it. I replace the aluminum valve with a nice brass one. Ended up costing me 7 bucks in parts, but about half a day to trouble shoot back.

Just something to keep in mind as your troubleshooting.

[captcal]

When I disengage the drive and can Rev-Up the engine quite nicely.

But since its getting a little tougher to start...It sounds more and
more like the fuel is the issue... Don;'t know...But will soon...

--cal

[captcal]

After going it over in my head...I figured it'd have to be the
fuel filter... And so... I took the opportunity to change the
oil&filter too.

I've got to get a better pump-out system. I've heard of a
drill pump but haven't found one yet. I had this bycicle pump
thing and it sucks. After an hour or so and 4 quarts later
the pump was tossed! Looking for a good "Drill Pump"

While we were at it, I also had a new set of manifolds and risers...Threw them on too. I had an overheat problem last
year so I got another set. I was hoping to make it thru the
this season but they were still getting too hot...Couldn't
run top speed for more then 20-30 minutes...Too Hot!

Last year the impeller on the engines water pump snapped off. So that was a pretty cheap fix...I got the other stuff
at the same time...They had a special on the package.

Anyway, after about 4.5 hrs of repairs we didn't solve it at first.
We went out and tried getting underway. See testing while
tied fast to the dock wasn't enough or it seemed like it
was fixed.

We found that the choke wasn't working properly and was
letting too much air into the intake. The clip had fallen off
and still didn't work right afterward.

Top speed on the boat with fully trimmed outdrive in
perfect conditions was about 27knts. As the day progressed
we found that when I completely closed the intake(using my fingers) on the
two front air intakes on the carb the boat hauled ass! Its
a four barrel.

No trimming, trim tabs down fully we were topping out
at 28 knts.

Got to take off the Carb and have it rebuilt! So looking for
a shop to do that... All in all I'd consider finding this issue
the best part of the day... Should be able to get excellent
results with a rebuilt carb.

We still landed two keeper fish and about 36 others...

Oh, and we also crashed into the dock earlier in the day
with no damage to anything or anyone else's boats. Just
a bit embarassing. The fuse next to the ignition popped out
and turning it over did nothing... Combine that with the
choke problems and wha'la you;ve got a couple of googan's
crashing into boats at the dock...

Boy I was some lucking on Saturday. Had lots of help from
guys at the dock once they saw the trouble...Whew!

BTW, my parking ability up until then had been superb...
Never needed assistance until then... I'm glad they
all saw what was going on...

We weren't the only googan's on the water that night though. We almost got broadsided once and another
nearly ran over the lines out the stern.

Yes, we had our lights on! My anchor light is on top of
my radar arch and is full view 360 Degress.

Then the guy swurves to the left and nearly hits another boat. What a complete idiot... I like to think we just
had a bad day with catching a few nice fish and a little
bad luck.

--cal

[captcal]

Problems still persist, however, we've found the culprit of
the choking and gas starvation.

Took a lot longer to decipher but with a can of starter
fluid we found the leaks in the intake manifold.

new gaskets will solve the problem. Leaks on both sides.

Now I just need about 5-6 hrs to get her done.

Whew!

--cal

[Roccus]

Cal, a FYI, use a can of fogging oil instead of the starting fluid I'ts a hell of alot safer and just as or more effective... in a pinch 20 wt motor oil works too.....

the oils seals the vacume leak and you can actualy watch it ge sucked in so you can see EXACTLY where the leak is, just in case you have a cracked manifold

[captcal]

Ouch,

Murphy's law always presides over the most tedious of tasks.

Well, I needed to take off the intake manifold. Got all the bolts out and
all the hoses, the distributor, Carb, et al.

Trying to determine now how to get the manifold off. Apparently it was
somehow lipped under the maniold covers. So, they had to come off.

Four bolts on the manifold cover! 3 accessible. 1 behind the exhaust
risers... Screwed.

Now I had to take off the risers too.

The folks down at riverfront marina in amesbury were really nice.
Closing and they still helped me to get another two gaskets. Whew.

Oh yeah, Did I say it was a hot a hell out yesterday. I felt like a god damn
french fry!

Couple of tips is to center the timing mark on the camshaft to dead zero.
Mark the rotor in the distributor and that'll make timing the engine possible
without a light. You want to make sure the gear line up the same when
you take the distributor out.

The manifold bolts need to be torqued down in 5lb increments and
ordered appropriately from the center of the manifold to the outer
edges. I'll get the link for the instructions on specifying order on the
bolts. Started at 15lb went up to 40lbs.

I used permatex I think for manifold gasket sealer to aid in sticking the
gaskets. The engine cant be started until the sealer has had a chance to
set/harden. Heading up to the boat shortly to start her up.

Went up the boat yesterday and started in around 8Am. Got home last night
at 1Am. Whew.

Hopefully all goes well...

--cal

[JakeF]

Sounds like a fun job. Just got done doing that to my boat (4cyl) as well,,, as it sits awaiting a buyer. Got tired of saying to interested parties, "You'll need to change the manifold gasket." Runs beautifully now