79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

[187turtle]

I bought this boat from the 2nd owner. It was kept in the garage and is in great shape - very low hours. Last registered in 97'. Told it was maintained meticuosly (it appears so also)... I fired her up after appying a water source on the 1st turn of the key. Tanks are in great condition - no rust. I took the wife out on the lake and she ran great all day (5-6 hrs of off and on, accelerating, deaccelerating,forward, reverse). I took her out a 2nd time a week later and she fired right up , put her in reverse and then forward touring the lake for my buddy. Shut her off to fish and she would not start back up for long. Started and quit. Able to slightly accelerate without quitting in neatral. If put in gear she quit. We changed tanks just in case the level was lower than we thought. Checked linkage, spark, etc. Nothing. Tried extra battery no good. Tilted the motor forward to see if something was around the prop - no. Figured we would do a no no and fired her up out of the water and guess what she started right up. She revved perfect forward, reverse, in gear and neutral. Put her in the water she quit. pulled her out she started and ran. WIth a storm rolling in we gambled and revved her up and dropped the motor into the water - she started to fumble but caught and we rode to the dock. Any idea why she would run tilted forward but not straight up and down in the water?? I have just pulled the carbs to clean any tips? (3 tillotson carbs)...

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

Sounds like you lost a cylinder. You will need to do a compression test and a spark test. Pull you spark plugs out and look at the tips. Do they look the same or is one clean and another one dirty.

 

[JB]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

While you are at it tell us what engine you have.

 

[187turtle]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

Appreciate the response - might I ask how it could be a lost cylinder? I have a decent amount of knowledge of 4 strokes, but am completely new to 2 strokes... I guess the question stems from how the motor could start out of the water, be revved quite high, dropped into the water, and run quite fast almost 5 miles without skipping a beat? There was no gradual change when we shut the motor down to fish- it was abrupt (with no sudden noise or visuals?). We had cruised the lake at several speeds and slowed our approach to a cove with a final shut down to drift into place. Then no quick start up... Only a start and quit when the prop was engaged. Are you saying that the rings are/were improperly lubricated causing damage to the piston rings? Just a thought - I did notice that the sound deadening foam glued to the inside of the cover was missing in spots and was pretty much disenigrating to the touch. Could this have plugged a passage in one of the carbs and the lack of fuel and oil caused a failure? Leading to a motor with 2 active cylinders - which when revved high enough could actually be dropped into the water, almost quit but continue to propel because of the high revs against the water resistance? I will run a compression test in the morning... The motor is the stock original 3 cylinder "Chrysler Skier 700" model that came on the Striper Model at that time period.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

Near the carbs is a data plate that will read like 758H3 or similar. That number will tell us what size and year your motor is. From your original post it is impossible to determine if it is a 5 HP motor or a 150 HP.

If you loose a cylinder out of the water or with water muffs on the motor will sound fine and idle fine or even rev up to high rpm fine. When you put the lower unit in water the back pressure will kill the motor. The reason for the compression test or to look at the plug tips is to see if you blew a head gasket or worse actually have a bad piston or scored cylinder. Typically a clean plug tip would point to a blown head gasket.

 

[187turtle]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

Model#709H9A
70 HP
Compression test reads - top -120 consistently, middle -60 to 90 on 1st kick and builds to 119 on additional, bottom -120

The middle one leads me to believe worn rings, but does not seem excessive.

 

[187turtle]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

The plugs are new and all 3 seem to be in the same condition. These are the flat type and all have a slight film of what appears to be gas or oil. None more than the other.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

If motor ran for more then a couple of seconds out of the water chances are the impeller is shot. You might want to replace that once you get the other issue figured out. Is primer bulb staying hard? I would do a spark test on all the cylinders. Unless a needle was stuck shut and tilting the motor allowed it to open so the float bowl filled with gas. With motor as old as it is I would rebuild the carbs and the fuel pump. Rubber in those are probably like hard plastic by now. Compression numbers look good. Suppose to be tested on a warm motor so I figure number two would test better warm.

 

[187turtle]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

The primer bulb does not seem to stay firm consistently. At times it pumps hard. At times it feels like it needs pumped. When I ran the compression test I also checked to see if fuel would pump out of the line from the fuel pump. It did - in fact it shot quite far. I also noticed that all the carbs had fuel in the float bowls and in the fuel line - including the line to the top carb. Leading me to believe the pump has worked coorectly. I did notice fuel seepage at each fuel line connection. Perhaps do to worn clamps and lines... I will check spark, replace metal fuel cans, primer bulb and line, and clean the carbs. Hopefully that will make a big difference. Confuses me why it would start when tilted forward also...

 

[187turtle]

Re: 79 Chrysler Striper Tri-hull starting problems

I posted a message earlier, but it looks like it did not come through. The bulb seems to stay hard now, but did seem to be a bit mushy when the motor started to have problems in the lake. I am going to replace it and the metal tanks, all fuel lines, and rebuild the carbs. The fuel pump seems to be working correctly - when I tested for compression it seemed to pump fuel quite well. If my compression is reading good, can I say with reasonable accuracy that I am safe in clearing the head gasket, piston and cylinder failure department and move on??