87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish? 3-5 minutes to plane out? on a 12ft boat?

[chosos]

I am a new owner of an 87 Force 50 attached to a bayliner bass stryker. The boat is ~12ft. When we had it wide open on the lake today it felt sluggish. we had incredible difficulty getting on plane with 3 adults in the boat. we had moderate trouble with 2 adults (170lbs each). With 3 adults, we had to fill the live well and have one of the adults sit on the bow. With 2 adults, we had to lean forward and eventually it'd hit plane.

From 2/3 full to WOT, there is almost no increase in RPM. We tried adjusting the linkage and it didn't seem to make any difference.

I have new plugs, new points, a newly rebuilt carb, new gas, new fuel pump diaphram.

I am entirely open to ideas. I can't tell you the RPM's as it doesnt have a tach. The compression was within spec. I don't recall what is was, but we checked it back when we were working on the motor the first time around to get it running (new diaphram and points).

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Do a compression/spark test.Timing set ?
The fuel system clean no water?Vent line clogged.Run it on a different tank.
Post your results.

 

[chosos]

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Do a compression/spark test.Timing set ?
The fuel system clean no water?Vent line clogged.Run it on a different tank.
Post your results.

Compression is within spec. I dont recall what it was exactly, but we checked it a month or two ago and it was fine. Also, spark is there. Is there a way to check spark quality? I know it gets spark, because the motor starts and runs great. We only have an issue with power. I also know I set the point gap correctly with new points.

Timing is the next thing we're going to try next weekend. We didn't jump right on this, because it runs clean at idle. It also sounds like it runs clean through the powerband - no hiccups, burps, etc. If the timing is off, would it still run clean?

The fuel is brand new. and the carb is recently rebuilt, so I know the fuel in the carb is new. How do I check for water in the fuel system beyond that?

I only have the 1 tank. It will be difficult to run on another tank. How firm should that bulb be where I pump the fuel from the tank? I also tried pumping it while the motor is running to check the check valve at the fuel pump. How firm should it be while running?

 

[chosos]

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Re: 87 Force 50 WOT problem? - sluggish?

Also - totally unrelated. When we put the motor into reverse, sometimes the motor would shoot out of the water and slam back down. sometimes it wouldn't. I'm pretty sure the lock was engaged. do the reverse locks wear down? is it a common fail part?

i think it might be my check valves in the fuel pump. when running, i can still squeeze the fuel pump bulb, albeit slowly. it never truly gets rock hard to the point where i cant squeeze it. is that normal?

if i need to replace the 3 check valves, does anyone happen to have a part #? I'm also going to double check the prop #'s. are the stock prop #'s listed in my clymers?