'86 125 force Stalling problems pls help.

[86cobra]

Hey I'm new to the whole boating thing and I went out and bought a 1986 Bayliner Cobra W/ a 125 force. The boat and motor are both exceptionally clean and were kept indoors since 86. The Guy I bought it from purchased the boat from the original owner last spring.

So I took it out for a shakedown run (previous owner said he had no problems with it) And some issues arose.

When i first got it into the water it ran great, I let it warm up, and hit a top speed of about 47mph. One strange thing i noticed it when i was priming it, the bulb never got hard. After about 10 minutes I was cruising around at 85% throttle, and it just shut off. Started right back up and ran fine. 5 mins later I dropped anchor, shut off the motor and raised it out of the water. I fished for about an hour, then i pulled up the anchor, lowered the motor and started it. When i moved the throttle forward and it went into gear, it died. This happened about 5 more times. Sometimes it would die without even putting it into gear. Finally i raised the prop out of the water (water inlet holes still submerged) started it, put it in gear, gave it a little throttle, and lowered the motor into the water. it kept running.

Ran fine for a bit, then shut off at about 90% throttle. Wouldn't crank for a minute (seemed hard to turn over) then cranked and started fine, but died when put in gear. I had to start it the same way i did before (prop just out of the water, put in gear, give a lil throttle, then lower prop into water). I then cruised to another fishing spot, and shut off the motor for about 30 mins.

Next i had to start it prop out of water, I chugged along at about 5 mph for a while, just enjoying the scenery , then I throttled up and was cruising along at about 35 mph for a minute or so (boat didn't seem as fast) when it died again. Cycled the key and the overheat buzzer was going off. Finally after a few minutes i got it started and the buzzer was off, but now the motor felt like it was running at half power. It wouldn't go above a couple thousand RPM. (safety feature after overheat??) Anyway, I chugged it on to the trailer and that was it for the day.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined but have never worked on an outboard or a carbed engine before. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. The guy I bought it from said the prev. owner changed the water pump before it was sold to him. (about 1.5 years ago) I'm not sure where my problems are coming from (high speed stall, dying at idle, overheat buzzer, only operating at 1/2 power after overheat)

Please help!
-Jason

 

[maxum247]

Re: '86 125 force Stalling problems pls help.

Get a good manual it will pay for itself quickly!

Ball should stay tight if no air leaks in fuel line and the ball is good.

Look for trash in the gas tank, clean the pickup tube, and screen in the gas tank.
Then start with fuel connecter at the gas tank and work your way to the engine and make sure the fuel line isn't getting air and that the fuel filter in the gas line is clean and all clamps tight. If no filter in the gas line put one in and change it often, got mine at napa $4
Or you can get a fuel /water seperater set up for around $80 or so that will do a nice job of keeping things clean.
Rebiuld the fuel pump, not hard to do and cost less than twenty dollars.

Pull the fuel bowls off the carbs and see how things look, may need to clean and redo the carbs get the gunk out, doesn't cost much to do!

You can also get Quicksilver Power Tune to decarb the engine.
Cleans carbon deposits from the cylinders and free's stuck piston rings if there happens to be one.
Got mine from the local Mercury dealer. Follow directions on the can!
Put in new spark plugs after decarbing the engine.

Did you notice if the engine was pumping water when the buzzer went off?
Was there any white steam mixed with the water if it was spraying out?
Good Luck!

 

[86cobra]

Re: '86 125 force Stalling problems pls help.

Thanks maxum... I ordered a repair manual from amazon... should be here in a couple days. I tried the bulb again today, it gets hard for a second at first, then goes soft within about a second of getting hard, then wont get hard anymore... its just squishy even if you keep pumping

I ran the motor in a tub of water today for about 10 seconds and noticed no water coming out of the tell hole near the top of the motor. I suppose that explains the strange overheating problem I experienced toward the end of my trip to the lake.

So I will order a water pump, check the carbs out, get the decarb kit, and probably order a new primer bulb. I'll also trace all gas lines and check for leaks.

Anyone know why the motor was running at half power after the overheat buzzer came on? Does it have a rpm limiter when it gets too hot?

 

[maxum247]

Re: '86 125 force Stalling problems pls help.

If it isn't pumping water well and heating up that would cause a power loss in the engine and make the buzzer sound, make sure it's pumping water good any time you run the engine, check for water peeing out the releif holes in the leg like you would check the rear view mirror in your car when driving down the road.
It's probably time to change the impeller and check that the thermostat is working correctly!