Hard Starting Problem

[belairboater]

We took the boat out for the first time over the weekend and it ran like a champ. We headed back to the ramp to load up the boat and while sitting at idle, waiting for our turn, the engine shut off. Immediately after that, it would not start. I was dumbfounded and checked everything. After waiting for about 15 minutes, I tried it again, and it fired right up. I went to put it in forward and as soon as I gave it the least bit of throttle, it stalled. Now, it is idling, but as soon as you put it in gear, it stalls. We got it on the trailer and pulled it home. I spent the next few hours checking everything. Fuel, spark, timing, changing the water separator filter, etc. It seems to run fine. We take it back to the lake and drop it in the water. So far, so good. Take it out, run it at 34 mph up and down the lake. We stop to do alittle fishing and as soon as I idle down, it stalls and is very hard to start. When I get it started, it now idles but when you put it in gear it stalls unles you play with the throttle and immediately go to full throttle and get on plane. Once on plane, it runs fine again. It has a Rochester carb that I just ordered the rebuild kit for and will be tackling that this weekend. Is there something I am missing? Has anyone else had the same problem? :smt013

 

[MXer478]

Sorry to hear about your issue. Hope you get it resolved.

I see you're from Baltimore. Belairboater....... wouldnt happen to be from Bel Air, Md would you? I'm from there and my family lives there. Very pretty place.

 

[gmurtic]

Hi!
Seems you have a carburetor problems...
Maybe adjustment of air mixture would help, but my guess is it needs cleaning and float adjustment.
If you have black exhaust smoke or you can smell fuel in oil, that is definitely it.
Regards, Goran

 

[rondds]

i'm not that great at stuff like this but could it be vapor lock? is it only hard to start when hot? also, do you have an alpha one drive? dont they have a switch that momentarily shuts the engine off when you place the boat in gear? :huh:

 

[dpvandy01]

i'm not that great at stuff like this but could it be vapor lock? is it only hard to start when hot? also, do you have an alpha one drive? dont they have a switch that momentarily shuts the engine off when you place the boat in gear? :huh:

Not a gear head either but vapor lock seems to me to be more of a warm/hot weather issue, we get it often with the squads at my fire house. How old is the fuel in your tank?? A dock mate at my marina had the same issue with his 1995 250DA last season, I'll talk to him in the morning and advise....

 

[NateRW21]

Do you have points ignition?

Might need to have your points replaced...

 

[belairboater]

Well, I think I have narrowed it down to the carb. The points were just replaced and adjusted so I don't think they are the problem. This morning I pulled the carb off and started the rebuild. Two things I noticed right off the bat: the gas in the bowl was extremely dirty! The second thing was the fuel filter and spring were installed backwards. The filter was installed first with the spring behind it. So I fixed that, replaced the float, cleaned the inside, replaced the gaskets, and put everything back together. As soon as I log off, I am going to reinstall the carb and see how she runs.

 

[rondds]

wow! you're doing a carb rebuild yourself!? that takes guts. you must be good. i've heard that is an incredibly tedious job.

 

[belairboater]

Honestly, it wasnt that bad. I have this bad habit of buying boats, bikes, and trucks that need some engine work, so I have had alittle experience working on the engine. The kit that I ordered came with instructions and they were pretty straight forward. I got a quote of several hundred dollars for the rebuild at a marine shop. I ordered the entire kit online for less than $50 and it took about two hours. Seemed like a no brainer. The one thing I like to do is take several pictures during the teardown so incase I forget how or where a part fits, I can review the pictures. Plus, it looks pretty cool in my photo album when I finish the whole project.

 

[fc3]

Rochester 4bbls are an easy rebuild as long as you are careful with your measurements. How old is your fuel? If it's from last season, you could also have fuel problems.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Gunn]

wow! you're doing a carb rebuild yourself!? that takes guts. you must be good. i've heard that is an incredibly tedious job.

If you've ever done anything mechanically related, then you can tackle a carb rebuild. If you can read instructions, you can do it. If you can take things apart, and then put them back together in reverse order, you can do it!

Like he said, I too take pictures of the teardown as you can never be too careful. But I've never needed to reference the pictures on the rebuild. Just don't let it sit apart for the winter!

 

[rondds]

frank, do you know if i have rochester 4 barrel carbs?

 

[mrsrobinson]

frank, do you know if i have rochester 4 barrel carbs?

You probably do. Our 1995 454's are Rochester 4bbls, very common/popular carb in the late 80s - mid 90s. Find a photo online and compare to yours.

 

[unlvrebel]

Well, I think I have narrowed it down to the carb. The points were just replaced and adjusted so I don't think they are the problem. This morning I pulled the carb off and started the rebuild. Two things I noticed right off the bat: the gas in the bowl was extremely dirty! The second thing was the fuel filter and spring were installed backwards. The filter was installed first with the spring behind it. So I fixed that, replaced the float, cleaned the inside, replaced the gaskets, and put everything back together. As soon as I log off, I am going to reinstall the carb and see how she runs.

Well??? Did it fix your problem? What's the verdict?:huh:

 

[fc3]

What MrsRobinson said. Odds are its a Rochester. The carb body is usually stamped on the side with a logo or name.

To the best of my knowledge, Merc never used Carters, they used Holleys only on the high performance engines. Most of the carbs used were Rochesters, until they went out of production with GMs switch to EFI. When the Rochesters went away, Merc switched to Weber.

Best regards,
Frank C