Optimax struggles

[Webman]

i have a 1999 mercury 225 optimax on a 21ft. triton. when i take off the boat struggles to get out of the hole. once it gets on top of the water it seems to run fine. I took ith to a dealer and they said it needed a new injector so i spent $1000 on that but it still does the same thing. any suggestions?

 

[Irv964]

Re: Optimax struggles

i have a 1999 mercury 225 optimax on a 21ft. triton. when i take off the boat struggles to get out of the hole. once it gets on top of the water it seems to run fine. I took ith to a dealer and they said it needed a new injector so i spent $1000 on that but it still does the same thing. any suggestions?

Has it always done this? If not, and the motor is tuned, new plugs, good compression etc then it may be the prop that has issues? How old is the prop, is it damged, wore out?
Ask in the prop section but provide your max rpm you can reach and max speed (preferably with a gps,) the max rpm the motor is rated for and anything else you can provide as far as history of the boat/motor. Good luck......Irv964

 

[Webman]

Re: Optimax struggles

The boat has not always acted this way, only the last two times I've used it. As for the prop it doesn't seem to have any damage but it is the origanal prop that came with the boat when I purchased it about 4years ago. I only use the boat once or twice a month on average. It's my first boat and until now I've no problems with it so when it acted strange I first thought maybe it needed a tune up or adjustment of some kind. Having paid for that I hope the actual solution is cheaper but I guess it costs alot to buy a boat and it also costs alot to own a boat. Thanks for the info I am taking back to the Merc dealer tomorrow and will ask about the prop, ect.

 

[bigdog27]

Re: Optimax struggles

I had (sort of have) a 99 225 Optimax on a BassCat. I had the same problem. BassCat told me that the 98 & 99 Optimax had a different exhaust system. And that I would always have a problem coming out of the hole, due to the heaviness of the boat!

 

[Webman]

Re: Optimax struggles

The thing that really gets me is that it has not always had this trouble. The mechanic has put a new injector ($1000.00) and a new pressure fuel pump ($300.00) each time he said it should fix the problem. However I ran it today and it still does the same thing. Maybe the answer is a new mechanic!??

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: Optimax struggles

is the motor updated
they had bad injectors on those years

 

[kenji69]

Re: Optimax struggles

I have a 1999 Optimax 225 on my 20'6" Ranger bass boat. It also had a slow holeshot, I changed the plugs a few weeks ago and it has improved greatly. The previous owner had a four blade Trophy prop and when I test drove it, it ran great. I wanted some better top end and switched it to a 3 blade Tempest Plus which increased my top end but my holeshot went to heck. The combination old plugs and 3 blade prop made for a slow holeshot.
Check the plugs, mine were pretty dirty. They are expensive, since the are the NGK iridium plugs. Take a look first and see.

Hope you have good luck with the motor.

Stan