1989 Force 125 stalls

[manzi]

Hope you all can help. 1989 Force 125hp. M#1258W9B; S#1188. Purchased 1989 Wellcraft Sport 18 CC in 2005 with this engine. Ran ok most of the yr. At end of '05 season, engine would bang into gear. Brought to ex "Force" dealer. They said rpm's too high. They rebuilt carbs. Now, engine will start fine in the starting position, but when moving shifter to idle position, engine dies. I have to shift very quickly to get into gear when trying to start in neutral. It will not stay started in neutral and will not stay started in trolling position. After first time in water this year, I replaced the fuel pump diaphragm. Primer bulb would not get hard prior this repair, but does now. Force dealer says it may be bad fuel, nost likely water contamination. I only had about a quarter of a tank of gas over winter. They also said the 10% ethanol in the gas may be causing a problem. I do have a water/gas filter. Engine runs very smooth at top end, although I can only get about 4400 rpm max. <br />Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help.<br />Ken

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 1989 Force 125 stalls

Have you tried choking the motor when it starts to die? Sure sounds like dirty carbs. Try the choke thing first. If motor still dies you might want to go to a spark and compression test. If choke test improves the performance the carbs sound like the culprit even though they have been rebuilt.

 

[RRitt]

Re: 1989 Force 125 stalls

what rpms is it attempting to idle at?<br /><br />did it ever go more rpms with same boat/engine/prop combination?<br /><br />have you taken the time to decarb and then check compression? It would be nice to know that the block is fully capable of producing top horsepower and that the prop hasn't been changed before starting to look into other things.

 

[manzi]

Re: 1989 Force 125 stalls

Guys,<br />Thanks for your input. I will address eurolarva first. Choking the motor would restrict air and cause a rich condition, right? This would indicate not enough fuel at idle. Could this be a symptom of float level? Compression was done at time of carb rebuild. I do not have numbers but mechanic said it was good for it's age, though not perfect. <br />RRitt. It is attempting to idle about 800 rpms. I have had two different props but not sure if the pitch was different. Neither prop would go above 4400 rpm. I need to do a decarb. I'm not so worried about the max rpm's as I am about the stalling.<br />Again, thanks so much for your time and input.<br />Ken