pachanga27
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2010
- Messages
- 48
Engine is a 2005 Mercruiser 3.0
Engine S/N is OW350193
Has an Alpha1 outdrive...
The boat and motor has approximately 30 hours on it since new in 2005.
I have searched the forum for a similar situation but have not found any to be what I need to know.
Boat is a small runabout - and I can't remember the make and model - as basically I am trying to help a friend get this motor to run again.
Storyline - after being properly winterized - that is - all water drained via the plugs and the hoses that are part of the "owner serviceable" packaged on this motor.. the boat and motor have been sitting for 20 months. A long time. The motor was not fogged. Nothing was wrong or not working when the boat was pulled from the lake- Just has sat in the owner's driveway covered up for the last 20 months.
Now obviously - the impeller should be replaced - but more on that later. The problem is that the motor will not idle upon cranking. Before the owner talked to me - he used starting fluid sprayed into the carb - whereas the motor would fire and run for a few seconds before stopping - basically it was running on just the small amount of starting fluid. He calls me and asks if I can help - and I thought I would try.
I checked the obvious things first, frayed or broken ignition wires, found out it has 2 year old gas in the tank.. checked the fuel filter for water, checked to make sure fuel was being delivered to the fuel filter under pressure while cranking at the carb where the solid line connects to the carb and has a small filter. Drained some of the gas that was being pumped (while the motor was being turned over into a glass jar) for any dirt, water, ugly stuff, etc) and other than the gas smelled like gas - nothing out of the ordinary. Asked if he used regular pump gas - he said non-alcohol gas was used. So I tried cranking it. Nothing - not a rumble or any cylinder firing. Took the spark arrestor off... looked into the carb throat... it was dry as the sand in the desert. Hmm.. no gas in the carb throat. Pushed the button in to allow me to pump the throttle handle a few times to see if gas was being shot into the carb throat. Nothing.. no gas. So basically my thoughts are that the fuel is being delivered to the fuel filter on the carb... there has to be a stoppage somewhere. Looking at the service manual (boatinfo.no) for the 4 cylinder 3.0 motors - it shows a float bowl which of course first thing I wanted to do was to drain the bowl but there does not appear to be any way to drain it per se. I wanted to check to see if there was gas in the bowl.
Next step - which I am betting is not the proper way to do it... I pour raw gas into the carb throat. put the arrestor back on. Cranked and it fired right up and ran for approximately 5 to 10 seconds - which tells me that the electrics are working - spark plugs..etc. I did it again - and lo and behold - it ran again for 20 seconds.. but died. Basically just running on the gas I am supplying. So.. after a few more times of this.. I sat back ..said time to regroup and understand what is going on and how to fix it. BTW .. I got drenched from the hoses that are used to drain the block as the motor would run long enough to pump water through the motor as it was running on a muff ... that was not fun. I did the tell the owner - that the impeller will need to be changed since it has sat so long.
Gas is being supplied to the in-line filter at the carb., the little screen filter was clean. No gas being shot in to the carb when the handle is used (to pump) the gas to the carb. I looked at the service manual diagnostic steps - I am wondering if the float and needle which regulate the gas once it hits the carb is stuck "closed".
My problem is that if this was my boat - I would be into that in a heartbeat... but - I need to really to understand more about this carb than just looking at pictures before I attempt this on another person's motor. There are other passages in the carb that regulate the idle mixture that may be clogged with deposits as the gas evaporated over the 20 months.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how I can check or correct this issue without removing the carb?
Engine S/N is OW350193
Has an Alpha1 outdrive...
The boat and motor has approximately 30 hours on it since new in 2005.
I have searched the forum for a similar situation but have not found any to be what I need to know.
Boat is a small runabout - and I can't remember the make and model - as basically I am trying to help a friend get this motor to run again.
Storyline - after being properly winterized - that is - all water drained via the plugs and the hoses that are part of the "owner serviceable" packaged on this motor.. the boat and motor have been sitting for 20 months. A long time. The motor was not fogged. Nothing was wrong or not working when the boat was pulled from the lake- Just has sat in the owner's driveway covered up for the last 20 months.
Now obviously - the impeller should be replaced - but more on that later. The problem is that the motor will not idle upon cranking. Before the owner talked to me - he used starting fluid sprayed into the carb - whereas the motor would fire and run for a few seconds before stopping - basically it was running on just the small amount of starting fluid. He calls me and asks if I can help - and I thought I would try.
I checked the obvious things first, frayed or broken ignition wires, found out it has 2 year old gas in the tank.. checked the fuel filter for water, checked to make sure fuel was being delivered to the fuel filter under pressure while cranking at the carb where the solid line connects to the carb and has a small filter. Drained some of the gas that was being pumped (while the motor was being turned over into a glass jar) for any dirt, water, ugly stuff, etc) and other than the gas smelled like gas - nothing out of the ordinary. Asked if he used regular pump gas - he said non-alcohol gas was used. So I tried cranking it. Nothing - not a rumble or any cylinder firing. Took the spark arrestor off... looked into the carb throat... it was dry as the sand in the desert. Hmm.. no gas in the carb throat. Pushed the button in to allow me to pump the throttle handle a few times to see if gas was being shot into the carb throat. Nothing.. no gas. So basically my thoughts are that the fuel is being delivered to the fuel filter on the carb... there has to be a stoppage somewhere. Looking at the service manual (boatinfo.no) for the 4 cylinder 3.0 motors - it shows a float bowl which of course first thing I wanted to do was to drain the bowl but there does not appear to be any way to drain it per se. I wanted to check to see if there was gas in the bowl.
Next step - which I am betting is not the proper way to do it... I pour raw gas into the carb throat. put the arrestor back on. Cranked and it fired right up and ran for approximately 5 to 10 seconds - which tells me that the electrics are working - spark plugs..etc. I did it again - and lo and behold - it ran again for 20 seconds.. but died. Basically just running on the gas I am supplying. So.. after a few more times of this.. I sat back ..said time to regroup and understand what is going on and how to fix it. BTW .. I got drenched from the hoses that are used to drain the block as the motor would run long enough to pump water through the motor as it was running on a muff ... that was not fun. I did the tell the owner - that the impeller will need to be changed since it has sat so long.
Gas is being supplied to the in-line filter at the carb., the little screen filter was clean. No gas being shot in to the carb when the handle is used (to pump) the gas to the carb. I looked at the service manual diagnostic steps - I am wondering if the float and needle which regulate the gas once it hits the carb is stuck "closed".
My problem is that if this was my boat - I would be into that in a heartbeat... but - I need to really to understand more about this carb than just looking at pictures before I attempt this on another person's motor. There are other passages in the carb that regulate the idle mixture that may be clogged with deposits as the gas evaporated over the 20 months.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to how I can check or correct this issue without removing the carb?
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