hi all: i have a 2003 mercury 40 hp 2 stroke. it is the one with 3 cylinders and oil injection. I have had this motor for 2 years now with no problems however on sunday when i went to go fishing my day was ruined rather quickly. I launched my boat and it fired right up. however after idleing away from the ramp i went to open it up and the motor only would reach 3000 rpms. This is far below the 4900 that it usually runs at. my first thought was that it might have some junk in it so i tried to run it for a few minites in front of the ramp but even at wot it would only reach 3000. although it would occasionally hit full power for a second or 2. Not wanting to risk getting stranded i pulled it out of the water and replaced my plugs but that had no effect. So now i am lost. i dont know if it is a fuel or a fire problem and the fact that it starts and idles fine is making this a hard one to figure out. I would really appreciate any info or help on this especially from anyone who has had similar problems. cause right now i really dont want to put it up for 3 weeks when the fishing is finally starting. thank you
