Guidance is appreciated!!

[Jestertattoo]

Oh boy where to start. The skinny. 1989 4.3 liter Mercruiser, Alpha 1 Drive. The boat is a 1989 18ft bluewater open bow. I got this boat from a friend who no longer could handle the pressure of putting it in the water. Long story really.

The journey begins. we got the boat and had lots of fun in it for the first year. then life got busy and the boat sat. covered and winterized when the weather got cold. boat sat for about 1 1/2 years. summerized and winterized. so this year time to summerize and get back to having fun. the boat just would not start.

Investigation. not getting fuel. i started with the fuel pump, it was bad. the pump was original and internally was filled with mud. my thoughts lacquered up old gas that got new gas and turned to mud.

I trolled the forums and did my research..
1) I replaced the fuel pump with a new pump,
2) I emptied the old gas out of tank
3) added fuel water seperator
4) added new fuel line
5) replaced carb inlet screen filter
6) tried to start again. Failed!!
still no gas to carb. starts with starting fluid but not getting gas. I troll the forums and I did my research. time to rebuild Carburetor.
The carburetor is a 2GC rochester 2 barrel with a stamp of 3304-9565. i purchased rebuild kit and new float. watched several videos and I rebuild and adjusted carb. Put everything back together and and turned the key after a few cranks it started.

After starting it is idling really rough and billowing BLACK smoke with a carbon residue out of the exhaust.. once again i trolled and found instructions for dialing in the carb. i tried everything. still no change. out of frustration i went to my local boat repair shop, to schedule a time to drop it off. they charge $ 120.00 an hour to diagnose or screw me out of money. not to mention they cant look at for 4 weeks. initially their thoughts are just a bad carb. Timing, Compression. So here I am seeking advise. I just do not want to take it in when i can do the work my self just need the proper guidance.

1) is this a fuel issue? where do i start. Compression test? Timing? all of the mentioned.
2) what carb should i put on it, what other options are there besides Rochester. I have read a lot of mixed reviews not many Rochester fans. but after all the research Rochester is the main one that keeps popping up to put back on it.

Thank you in advance, I enjoy reading every ones journeys about the hull in the water to throw money into.

Don

 

[Bt Doctur]

sounds like the float levels are a bit off and it flooding a bit

 

[tpenfield]

I would see if you can get the engine to run longer and make sure the choke is off. You can do a lot in 4 weeks and not pay nearly as much.

 

[achris]

Standard troubleshooting for an engine.

Engines require certain things to operate properly... Basically they need the correct fuel/air mixture to be compressed and then fired at the right time.

So, in this order.

1. Compression tests.
2. Check spark plugs, replace if needed.
3. If points, replace, along with condenser and rotor. Check and adjust, if needed, points cam dwell angle.
4. Inspect distributor cap, rotor and leads, replace if necessary.
5. Check spark quality (needs to be a nice BLUE spark drawn over 1/2").
6. Set timing. Check timing advance is working correctly.
7. Check/change fuel filters and check that the fuel system is not sucking air.
8. Check fuel pump pressure.
9. Check for full opening of the carb. Also ensure choke is opening fully when the engine is warm.

When all of these items have been done, THEN move to the fuel system....

Chris.........

 

[Jestertattoo]

Wow sorry for the long wait for a reply!! busy busy!!
what i found is i adjusted the carb float incorrectly. so i readjusted the float to the correct dimensions.
while i was doing that i changed plugs,cap and rotor, and also i changed the ignition sensor that was inside the distributor.
when i changed the sensor i marked the distributors location and preceded to pull out to gain access to sensor. swapped out the sensor and the distributor rotated and i thought i was aligning the distributor back to where it was suppose to be. what i learned is that i did not pay close enough attention to where the key way in the shaft was pointing. the motor tries to start, it turns over and chugs slugglishly like it really wants to start but dies. on top of all that some how my repair manual ended up in the recycling. I know from research that 8 degrees BTDC is the timing. but i need to know where to start from scratch,( where do i start so i can get started and what the proper timing procedure is