9.9 runs fine without the cowl

[fairweatherfriend]

My 1996 9.9 MH 4 stroke Merc runs great and idles smoothly with the cowl off. When I put the cowl on the engine slows down until it dies. It seems to me that the engine is starving for air. If I remove the cowl before the engine dies, she picks back up and runs fine again. I can run without the cowl but I'd rather fix the problem. The cowl is clean inside and there is no rubbing and no restriction of clean air. I'm stumped.

 

[JB]

Re: 9.9 runs fine without the cowl

Sounds to me like you have an exhaust leak that is strangling your engine, FWF. It is also possible that something is blocking fresh air from getting to the carb.

I would look first for the exhaust leak.