Jester0826
Recruit
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2007
- Messages
- 4
Hey guys, I'm a definite outboard motor newbie. I just "inherited" a mercury 3.3 after my uncle deemed it dead. Turns out it's nowhere near dead, just a little injured. Before I mess with it too much, I'd like to get some basic quesitons answered since I've never messed with an outboard before, and I don't have a mamual (yet). Sorry if the questions get a little lengthy.
First: I'm trying to figure out the year of the engine so I can find a certain part. The engine serial number is 0D912056, and the cover graphics look like it's straight out of the mid-90's.
Second: The main injury of the engine was that it was seized/stiff. It was next to impossible to pull the starter cord, so my uncle thought it was dead. I took the starter off and just gave a nut on the top of the shaft a good tug with a longhandle 17mm wrench and got the entire engine-to-prop shaft turning again. I'm afraid I might have been a little rough to the innards, so is there some sort of oil/lube that should be somewhere in there to keep things running smoothly? I heard that walmart gear lube is supposed to be in there somewhere.
Third: So I got the engine and prop turning again with a bit of elbow grease. The motor started fine and everything was dandy. Unfortunately, I'm an engineering student :redface:, so I had the dorky desire to open up the tiny carb and see how it worked. I managed to lose the tiny, sharp, hexagonal, ribbed, springloaded, pin-looking part. Now the engine floods after a few mins of use, and fuel will actually fill up the carb so much that gas leaks through the seals and drips to the ground. Since then, I've found out that the part's called the "needle", and it controls the fuel intake into the carb. I've found several types of needle&seats for sale on iBoat, but I have no idea which one is the right one. Are they pretty much universal, or do I need to know the specific part number or engine year to buy one?
Fourth: I'm also clueless when it comes to carburetors in general. It looks like the 3.3 carb is basically a small reservoir of fuel with a donut-float inside. The fuel comes in through a valve on the top (off-center). The float pushes a "needle" into the valve (is this called the seat?) to close it off and keep a constant level of fuel. The fuel vapor is sucked up through a tube coming down from the center of the top. Am I correct about this
? Does the needle sit on the top of the float, wedged into the seat? I need to know so I can put it back together later.
Thanks for any help. I know this was a beast of a post, I'll limit my future posts to single questions.
First: I'm trying to figure out the year of the engine so I can find a certain part. The engine serial number is 0D912056, and the cover graphics look like it's straight out of the mid-90's.
Second: The main injury of the engine was that it was seized/stiff. It was next to impossible to pull the starter cord, so my uncle thought it was dead. I took the starter off and just gave a nut on the top of the shaft a good tug with a longhandle 17mm wrench and got the entire engine-to-prop shaft turning again. I'm afraid I might have been a little rough to the innards, so is there some sort of oil/lube that should be somewhere in there to keep things running smoothly? I heard that walmart gear lube is supposed to be in there somewhere.
Third: So I got the engine and prop turning again with a bit of elbow grease. The motor started fine and everything was dandy. Unfortunately, I'm an engineering student :redface:, so I had the dorky desire to open up the tiny carb and see how it worked. I managed to lose the tiny, sharp, hexagonal, ribbed, springloaded, pin-looking part. Now the engine floods after a few mins of use, and fuel will actually fill up the carb so much that gas leaks through the seals and drips to the ground. Since then, I've found out that the part's called the "needle", and it controls the fuel intake into the carb. I've found several types of needle&seats for sale on iBoat, but I have no idea which one is the right one. Are they pretty much universal, or do I need to know the specific part number or engine year to buy one?
Fourth: I'm also clueless when it comes to carburetors in general. It looks like the 3.3 carb is basically a small reservoir of fuel with a donut-float inside. The fuel comes in through a valve on the top (off-center). The float pushes a "needle" into the valve (is this called the seat?) to close it off and keep a constant level of fuel. The fuel vapor is sucked up through a tube coming down from the center of the top. Am I correct about this
? Does the needle sit on the top of the float, wedged into the seat? I need to know so I can put it back together later.Thanks for any help. I know this was a beast of a post, I'll limit my future posts to single questions.