75hp Mercury took a dump

[Gimmyabeer]

Please help!!!! I just bought a used '85 bass tracker with a 75hp Mercury. I took it out today for the first time. After tooling around a little, I opened her up. She was flying, we were grinning from ear to ear. Then she bogged down bad, I slowed the throttle down and then she died. It wouldn't start after that. I don't know crap about boat motors and convinced my wife that I made a good deal by buying this boat. She's gonna kill me!!! Tell me what to do.
Thanks,
Tim

 

[ejthomp]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

I think you'll need to take it to someone that knows more than crap about outboards. Tough to help if you don't knw the basics. Your trouble can be anything....simple to disasterious..

 

[BonairII]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

First off, Calm down....it's probably something minor. 2nd: Probably not the smartest thing to take out a boat and have no idea at all how the motor works.

Get yourself a service manual. It's gonna save you a lot of hassle.

Post the model number of your motor....and the pros here will be able to help you.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

2 stroke motors are extremely simple, they only need three things to operate.

Compression, all cyls should read close to the same. The actual # isn't near important as how close they are to each other as a cheaper gauge may not give an accurate # but will still give a consistant #.

Fuel, the carbs must be clean, the fuel pump must work, the hoses and fittings must seal and flow. Any restriction in the fuel system will cause the motor to run lean and melt down, ruining the pistons.

Spark, it must be a bright blue arc, hot enough to jump a 7/16 inch gap with a sharp 'crack'.

Verify this few things and repost your findings and we can proceed from there.

 

[Gimmyabeer]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

Haha, I am calm. Just a little dissapointed I guess. I'm at work now, and the boat is at my brother's (he has the room for it). When I get outta work, I'll head over there to get the numbers off the motor.
Thanks

 

[Gimmyabeer]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

One of the guys I work with said that it sounds like my throttle just needs to be adjusted. He said if it ran fine until you opened it up, that maybe it's allowing to much fuel into the carbs and it's flooding it. I don't like this guy much, so I really don't pay too much attention to what he says. What do you guys think?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

One of the guys I work with said that it sounds like my throttle just needs to be adjusted. He said if it ran fine until you opened it up, that maybe it's allowing to much fuel into the carbs and it's flooding it. I don't like this guy much, so I really don't pay too much attention to what he says. What do you guys think?

Take advice from some other dude at work that actually knows more about engines than either your or the guy that said the throttle needs adjusting. That is NOT the problem. How about some basics: Like 1) you did have oil in the resevoir? 2) You did have fuel in the tank? 3) Did the engine overheat? 4) Was there a good stream of water from the tell tale (assuming you know what that is and what it is telling you). 5) Do the oil and overheat alarms work? 6) Did the engine die like you shut the key off or did it sputter a bit before quiting? 7) does this control box have a "kill switdh" that might have been bumped to the KILL position. All of this stuff is pretty basic and can be checked with a good pair of eyes. Pull the plugs and see what they look like. If you don't know good from bad, Google "Reading Spark Plugs".

 

[Gimmyabeer]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

Yes to oil and gas, Haha ( I'm not a complete idiot ). There was a good stream when I had it opened up, not so good at idle. No alarms. It does have a kill switch, but it's covered. You can't bump into it. Like I said, the engine bogged down, I throttled back, she sputtered and stopped. I'll check the plugs. The guy I bought it from said he replaced them last season.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

The guy said --- is always cause for caution. The guy probably said the engine is mint, runs good but could use a tune up! NEVER take a sellers word for anything. And ALWAYS insist on an on-water test if at all possible. Sputtering and dying generally is caused by a fuel delivery problem. So check the fuel for water, make sure the fuel pump is working, and make sure the engine is actually getting fuel from the tank. If this is a portable tank, the vent must be open since you cannot suck fuel from a container closed to the atmosphere. Lastly, the carbs may be in need of a rebuild as they have become clogged with gunk. What does the fuel filter look like? Any evidence of water or debris in it (if it is a clear plastic type). Again -- no tools needed here. Just investigation. Mix some fuel & oil in a spray bottle. Spray some into the throat of each carb and see if the engine fires. If it does and then dies, that indicates fuel delivery issues. Spray again, and when the engine starts, squeeze the primer bulb to see if you can keep the engine running. If it does, the fuel pump is suspect. If not, then the carbs are suspect. If the engine doesn't respond to the fuel being sprayed into the carb, then spark is suspect.

 

[oldman570]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

Not opening the vent on portable gas tanks is very common and makes one feel like a one legged man in a ***** kicking contest. Lost a few myself. Simple things one forgets.
Oldman570

 

[Gimmyabeer]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

I was checking it out yesterday and I'll be damned... The vent was closed on the tank. A big sigh of relief. We're going fishing this morning as soon as these storms pass through. Thanks for everything, and I'm sure I'll be needing your help in the future.

 

[sixstring531]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

Not trying to hijack the thread....


I just got a 99 Tracker Pro Team 185 w/ a 99 Merc 75 and last weekend it ran wonderfully. It doesn't have a portable tank, but I was interested to know if there are any vents I should be aware of that need to be opened or closed when I'm running it or not.

Thanks!

 

[BonairII]

Re: 75hp Mercury took a dump

Your permanent tank probably has a vent tube somewhere, but won't need to be touched.