1989 3.0 ENGINE RUNNING PROBLEM

[gregguy64]

Hi, new member here, hope someone will have some advice for me. Bought boat last fall, they ran it for me before I bought it. Brought home, ran it, fogged engine,winterized motor etc. last month, tried starting, good cranking, no start, changed out points etc. to electronic, now starts, but idles rough and slow, then dies in 10-20 seconds. I'll change out to fresh fuel today and see what happens. I can't seem to find a way to give it some gas while starting. will only crank in neutral. I'm guessing its auto-choke, as there is no switch, and there's no throttle button on shifter to rev her up, in neutral, like in my manual has. Is it a timing problem, idle needs adjustment?, bad gas?, It came with 1/2 tank, which I stabilized before winter, any other ideas. oh yes, plugs, cap rotor, wires are very new, Tested coil, it's good. Also new fuel pump, filter. Any help would really help. Cheers.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Your throttle, if it doesn't have a shift disconnect button, will instead wriggle outwards, towards you, disconnecting the shift cable and allowing you to throttle up to start.

I would consider doing a carb rebuild now that you have ignition handled. And be certain of your fuel filters. Add a cannister filter if your boat doesn't have one.

WHen you purchase a new to you boat you need to go through everything. Outdrive should be pulled, drained, separated and the water pump inspected. Look at the oil carefully for metal or water. Check the gimbal bearing, should be silky smooth. Check u-joints, they should be tight, grease them. Check EVERYTHING. Once on the water you are at the mercy of any missed mechanical issue you could have repaired.

Being me, I would also do a compression check. I want to know a baseline for any motor I buy.

Good luck, hope you enjoy your boat.

Rick

 

[gregguy64]

.Hi Rick, thx for the quick reply, don't understand what wriggles out towards me, allowing me to give it a bit of gas. When does this happen? It only cranks in dead center neutral, if I push foreward the throttle, its still stalls. motor really shakes before stall.
Last owners gave me the bills proving whole stern drive rebuilt, new fuel pump, filter etc. and engine set-up last year.they gave it to me with 1/2 a tank in September. I did stabilize it, but, Don't know when they put in their 1/2 tank of gas?. Said they only ran it twice in 2016. Not even sure where the tank is, intake and breather go into the floor. tried to siphon, but can't reach the reservoir yet. I'll keep trying. So you don't think its dead gas?
Would cranking up the carb idle screw help? There is a big canister filter beside the fuel pump, I'll check that out. So sounds like its some kind of fuel problem right? Carb rebuild sounds scary, but thx again for your insights. Much appreciated, Greg.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Wriggle the control handle itself while pulling towards the middle of the boat. It will release the shifter cable portion and allow you to add a little throttle when starting. You will know it is disengaged because it will throttle up without pressing the lock button. All boat controls have this feature and all marine carbs have no high idle screw for the choke - nobody wants the gears to be able to be engaged with the idle at 1500 - break the dogs on these type of gears.

 

[alldodge]

Post a pic of your throttle handle

 

[gregguy64]

Thanks Rick, for the shift dis-connect info. Worked fine, but didn't help engine stalling. WE moved the distributor around a bit, and it did run a lot smoother, but still dies. I might have messed up on the pertronix ll install. My coil says to use with external resistor, but there are no white 3-4" cermamic resistor blocks. Also they talk about a resistance wire, and the workaround. I'll have to figure out which one it is. The pos. term. on coil had a purple/yellow stripe wire, + a pink wire, and now the new red pertonix ll wire. The neg side has a green wire, and the new black pertronix ll wire. the purple/yellow or pink wire must be ignition source. I was going to look into that, until I now have bigger problems.
My so called mechanic/shoemaker friend who was helping me try to diagnose things, kept cranking the engine, until now my starter started screaming stuck, and had to dis-connect the battery to kill it. Now thats fucked, and has to be replaced. I'.m pissed. Doesn't look like fun removing it. It just had a new solenoid installed last May.
Guess that's what happens, when you buy a $2500, 28 year old boat/trailer.
Thank-you again for all your help. If and when I finally get it in the water, I'll give you a shout, and let you know what was wrong. Cheers, Happy Boating.

 

[alldodge]

Using the pertronix ignition you don't need an external resistor coil, need one with internal resistor.
The purple wire feeding the distributor should be a resistor wire, can verify with an ohm meter.
The Purple/Yellow comes from the starter and supplies full 12V during starting.
Don't know about the Pink or green wire, but the green may have replaced the gray one going to the tach

Here is what you should have started with