69 merc 650 needs carbs rebuilt?

[Cariboo Milkman]

I posted last year about my problem with my 65 hp 4 cyl. not being able to get my 14 ' fibreglass runabout out of the water without long delay and sometimes not at all at our cabin at 3700 ' elevation. I tried repropping with a 15" instead of 17". Made little difference. I had a mechanic check compression and it was 115 straight across. I tried the boat today at a lake near sea level and it was much quicker to get to plane but still seemed to bog. When I let it idle for a bit and then throttled up it struggled even more to get to plane. When I got back to the dock and shut it off, I noticed a fuel sheen around the motor. I'm told the carbs are likely running too rich and need rebuilding, and taking it up to 3700 ' would obviously make matters worse. Any thoughts? I bought the boat last summer and don't know any history. How difficult is it to rebuild these carbs? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: 69 merc 650 needs carbs rebuilt?

I just did that and before I started I had the same worries as you do. However it turned out to be very easy. The worst was getting the carbs off and on the motor. Once off the hardest part was waiting for them to soak in carb cleaner. A manual would have been a good idea but being short of funds I got all the information (how to set floats and such) I needed right here in these forums. And the result,,,,motor runs fantastic now!

 

[michaud500]

Re: 69 merc 650 needs carbs rebuilt?

Ditto. These guys rock!