Re: Force Tracker series 75, dead cylinder
First off: "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see"
Double check that spark is good on that cylinder and then check the reeds yourself, looking for broken petals. Remove the manifold to check them--it's not a difficult job. Those square tipped reeds were known to break more frequently than the older style round tipped reed petals. Check that the rubber coating on the vee block is not damaged. Also make sure the bolts holding the vee block to the plate are not loose.
There is a baffle on the front of the carb. It is mounted in a specific position. There is also a cast in baffle on the manifold where the carb bolts on. Lastly there is an internal baffle inside the manifold.
I was tempted to remove them, but closer inspection and a bit of applied logic made me decide to leave them alone.
Because Mercury changed the location of the vee blocks in order to use a single carb (Cheaper than three) All three of these baffles are there to help uniformly distribute air/fuel to each cylinder. If a P.O. removed them in a misguided effort to gain more horsepower, it may have negatively affected the airflow pattern.
That's the only reason I can think of for lack of fuel to one cylinder in a single carb three cylinder engine.
