99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern - running lean?

[TommyRox]

99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I - soot on stern - running rich?

I have a 99 Sea Ray BowRider 180 - Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha I and am the new owner of the boat. I notice that after running it there is always a black soot coating all over the stern. I assume this is some sort of exhaust residue but have a suspicion that this is an indication that the motor might running too rich. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

TommyRox

 

[Kay Lee]

It's running too rich. If it is carbureted, which I believe it is, you may need a carb rebuild or at the very least an adjustment. The choke is the first thing to look at to see if it is opening fully after reaching operating temperature.

Larry

 

[TommyRox]

Thanks for the reply - I will have it looked at then...not very mechanically inclined unfortunately

 

[TommyRox]

Thanks for the info - I goofed - meant to put rich...corrected.

 

[We'll Sea]

Had the same issue with my boat when I bought it 8 years ago. After a few years it would cough occasionaly when I hit the throttle. New carb fixed both problems.

 

[TommyRox]

I have not had the boat very long but I I thought this was fuel injected but I guess you are right about it having a carb. Looks like it's pretty common and hopefully will not cost too much to have it fixed - thanks for all the replies.

 

[Kay Lee]

The 3.0's still had carbs in '95 and probably through '97 (oops, meant '07). I think they started offering FI a few years ago and FI might finally be standard on the 3.0 now.

Larry

 

[TommyRox]

Thanks for the info Larry I am gonna have it looked at today or tomorrow

 

[TommyRox]

Thanks for all the replies - my neighbor tweaked the carb and cured the issue - runs like a champ - woo hoo !