1988 Bayliner Trophy bass boat, several questions/issues

[bgsou53]

Hello,

1988 Bayliner w/ Force 125hp outboard Model: 1254x8c


I recently bought a 1988 bayliner bass boat with a force 125hp outboard. after having electrical issues beyond my ability to figure out, I purchased another identical motor after checking compression and seeing the motor fire. I swapped the motor, it immediately fired up and seemed to idle great. After getting it out on the water the first time quickly started working through some small problems that cropped up, had 2 wires from the trigger break off, no problem, repaired, seemed to go pretty well, but maybe not as fast as I'd expect a 125hp to go (roughly 35-40mph).

Aparently, the gas gauge was incorrect and I proceeded to run it out of fuel, filled it up with 50:1, got it out on the lake and it ran like garbage. Quickly assumed when I ran it out of fuel I must have sucked some junk into the carbs, proceeded to remove the carbs, soaked them in white vinegar for about 24 hours, alternating spraying them down with carb cleaner in every orifice and gentle compressed air a few times, reassembled them (I re-used old gaskets as they seemed pliable still and haven't ordered new parts yet)

After cleaning and assembling and installing the carbs, fresh 93 octane fuel with 50:1 mixture, motor once again fired and idles well albeit high, however when going WOT the engine sputters and is sluggish now, eventually it -might- clean up and come up on plane go fine until the next time you bring it back to idle. Other new symptoms include a steady drip of fuel from the upper carb, and also a milky colored substance on top of the bottom carb, makes me think of aerated fuel, but maybe the drip and the white substance is one in the same problem?

Another problem which explains the high idle is my throttle cable has about a half inch of play on the engine side of the cable, when you bring the shifter to neutral it doesn't return the assembly that turns the trigger as well as the carbs back fully to an idle position. I don't feel like this is causing all of my issues, but if anyone might be able to assist me in finding the correct throttle cable to replace this one or some other method of getting rid of the play in it would be fantastic.

Anyhow I'm sure you're all scratching your head wondering what I've gotten myself into haha, its a project, just looking for a place to start and if anyone is so inclined, a parts list haha.

 

[healey8390]

How did the trigger wires break off? We’re they in a bind? Brittle?

When you put the carbs back on did you do a link and sync? Are both carburetor’s butterflies strait out and parallel to each other at wide open throttle?

Edit: The top speed May be a tad slow depending on the size of the boat. However if the Mercury Force engines are like the Chrysler/Force engines they’re not as powerful as like horsepower counterparts.

That’s not a knock on either. I’m a huge Chrysler guy because that’s what we had when I was younger... To me a Force, whether it a US Marine or Mercury just is an updated Chrysler...

 

[jerryjerry05]

You should hit 40 in that boat all day.
While you do need 50-1 you don't need premium, do some research?
Read the first 5 posts in the Force Forum.
It'll tell you how to get the slop out of your linkage and a BUNCH of other tricks to help your motor
run good.

 

[bgsou53]

How did the trigger wires break off? We’re they in a bind? Brittle?

When you put the carbs back on did you do a link and sync? Are both carburetor’s butterflies strait out and parallel to each other at wide open throttle?

Edit: The top speed May be a tad slow depending on the size of the boat. However if the Mercury Force engines are like the Chrysler/Force engines they’re not as powerful as like horsepower counterparts.

That’s not a knock on either. I’m a huge Chrysler guy because that’s what we had when I was younger... To me a Force, whether it a US Marine or Mercury just is an updated Chrysler...

The trigger wires broke just below the rubber coating where the wire meats the terminal end, They were not bound up at all so I'm assuming just from age/vibration they broke from being brittle. I plan to buy a box of the terminals and one at a time replace all the ends just to verify I have good contact on all of them.

As far as the carbs, I did adjust them so both butterflies are at a 90 degree angle when the shifter is WOT, but like I said before they don't close quite all the way due to slack in the throttle cable not bringing the throttle assembly back all the way.. when I get the throttle cable sorted out I assume I'll need to readjust everything. But I haven't done anything with it yet.

 

[jerryjerry05]

You don't set the butterfly's to horizontal for wot.
They can actually go past horizontal for wot.
Do the link and sync that FrankA put out.

The wires are too thin and just break.
As SOP I change ALL the wire connectors.

 

[bgsou53]

Thanks for the information so far, I have limited time on a nightly basis to work on it so at least for tonight I was able to get the throttle cable adjusted so when returning to neutral the timing tower/idle screw returns to contact the block, I'll go through and follow FrankA's link and sync instructions.

Any ideas what the steady drip of fuel coming from the upper carburetor could be caused by? Its hard to tell but it seems like its coming out of the air intake side of the carburetor. Not sure if its related but both of the plastic covers have a bit of this white-ish fuel, The whiteness eventually goes away making me think its like frothy or aerated.

 

[jerryjerry05]

The float needs adjusting.
Or the needle is defective? Rubber tip? must be smooth, same for solid tip.

Look inside the seat for damage to the rubber seat.
Some cleaners/soaks actually damage the rubber in the carb/seat.
Sometimes the rubber comes loose and needs to be re-set.

 

[bgsou53]

Just when I finally feel like its running good, disaster strikes, and by that I mean me:

Finished up with the link & sync last weekend, moved onto timing. Timing checked out, but when removing the temporary ground I used to ground the plugs out while checking static timing I forgot to tighten the bolt back up that grounds the panel to the block, when I took the boat out the bolt eventually rattled out completely and the engine died.

Once I got it home I quickly found the ground dangling and reconnected it, though it still would not start. Knowing how sensitive the electrical systems can be I proceeded to check for spark with a spark tester and fuel disconnected, I found that I had no spark on cylinder 2, and a visibly weaker spark on cylinder 4 than 1 and 3. Before I jumped to any conclusions knowning I had some issues with crappy connections and wires breaking off completely at the terminals, I went through and put new spades on every single wire, one terminal at a time as to make sure not to mess up their locations.

After doing this I gained spark on cylinder 2 again, roughly the same as 1 and 3, but did not gain anything on cylinder 4. Still I thought 3 strong sparks and -some- spark on 4 I figured it would at least start even if it didn't run well. I can only get it to very briefly sputter and stall. I have double and triple checked that all wiring is where it belongs.

I am at a loss, seems unlikely to have a completely separate failure at the same time, but I'm open to suggestions?

 

[bgsou53]

I should also point out that prior to whatever failure(s) happened, the boat was running as good as I've seen it so far.

 

[bgsou53]

Any advice? ordered a DVA tester and a spark tester (the one that you can test how big a gap a spark will jump)