I picked up a little 3.6 Merc last fall that would not start. I found the compression to be only about 30 lbs. I took the motor apart and found broken rings. After honing, cleaning, new rings, bearings and reassembly, it fired right up. I ran it at different speeds in a barrel for about an hour total. This weekend it was finally warm enough in northern Ohio to put it on my inflatable for a spin around a local lake. Now I have two questions. One, I had to put my hand over the carb. in order to get it to start. It did not seem to matter if the chock was on or off. Two, While running around the lake, I increased the throttle about every 5 minutes until I hit wide open. Now, when I cut the throttle back after wide open, the motor would die out and I would have to start the motor with my hand over the carb opening. I could idle back at 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 throttle without any problems. I shut the motor off and it would restart without my hand over the carb. at the 3/4 or less throttle. The engine ran and sounded great at all speeds. It would run wide open without any problems until I throttled back. Any thoughts on the way too long of a question?
