305 running lean.

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
Well my memorial day splash was a BUST! Just put in new tank, floor, stringers and motor beds in my 77 sea ray, rebuilt the transom assembly and all, but the motor was running good on the muffs so I let it be, took the family to the lake for the big splash and she started right up, pulled off the trailer and died. Great.. 10 men around me and all were either new boaters or a holes no one threw me a rope so, I swam it in 50 yards. Got it on the trailer after so Hella fight in strong wind and got her home. Put her on muffs start run for a few and die, she was shaking and rattling and rocking all along (misfiring). So I started at the plugs they all looked brown and old a few had some pitting in the center so I replaced them, wanted new wires but it's memorial day. Regardless she fired up and ran a lot smoother, but you could smell it running lean, I dunno how to describe that smell, it's like gas fume and burnt toast mixed together, kinda sour and will make you cough bad if you breath it, so I let her idle for a while and when she warmed up she died, so I started her up again and gave it a little gas, still misses a little here and there but it's smoother still. As it ran I lit a cigar and blew smoke around the carb and the seal of the air intake it wasn't pulling it in anywhere so yay for that, I also smoked around the valve covers and heads. This seems like a carb issue the motor say for 2 years in the garage, I'm pretty sure I thought I'd knock out the floor in a few months and neglected to fog and stabilize the fuel in the engine. Stupid me. Looks like I'll be pulling the carb and cleaning and jetting it tomorrow along with having a tarnish on my fun boat trip record with the admiral. This is a mercruiser 228. Anyone have any different ideas? Mostly I just needed to vent to a crowd that gets it.
 

flipbro

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Messages
830
New filters . Cap rotor. Check plug wires are on correct position. Timming. Get some carb cleaner blast the carb just a few spots to start.
 

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
So yesterday i started up the motor on muffs and it was running fairly smooth so i blasted the top of the carb and cleaned up the linkages let it get warm then all pf the sudden it just died. Went to start it back up, and it started to backfire through the carb. It seems like a timing issue at this point, i ran a compression test to rule out any burnt valves, 150 all across the only plug that was showing any lean wear was the #1 cylinder, what would cause a motor to jump time like that? It has 550 hrs on it. Its hard for me to think the distributor is worn, already
 

alldodge

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Mar 8, 2009
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40,582
Pull the fuel filter, dump the contents in something clear so you can see what's there, like a gallon ziplock. Then smell the gas and does it smell like gas?

I dunno how to describe that smell, it's like gas fume and burnt toast mixed together, kinda sour and will make you cough bad if you breath it,
 

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
The motor ran good untill i took it to the lake, but it died just off the trailer, the tank is new in the boat as is the filter
 

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
Timing checked and reset, she purring like a cat in heat now. Thanks guys. And the smell was lean :) raw gas smells like pine cones and trout on a stringer mixed together ha ha ha
 

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Oct 5, 2013
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Ohh you wanted to know what the gas really smelled like, good gas, no water or old and sour, i thought you wanted a joke :)
 

alldodge

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Ohh you wanted to know what the gas really smelled like, good gas, no water or old and sour, i thought you wanted a joke :)

Yep, that's what we wanted to know. Wanted to rule out bad gas as an issue. Good to hear your back up and going
 

nateo

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
352
idle and timing adjustment. never drink the gas yourself no matter what anyone tells you.
 

henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
Ahh and were back to square 1 after a day on the water. So today we hit the lake she started up and purred nicely, kicked off the trailer and barely made it to the dock, it get in gear and do ok around 2000 rpm but not open up, she was trying but would miss, so i set the timing on the water and vroooommmm took a 30 minute ride. My boy had to stop and take a leak and...... then dead in the water. So back to the distributor retarded the timing and cranked up, then had to advance it running to get back on plane vroooommm another 30 minute ride home. Back at the dock she died in neutral so i paddled my happy butt up to the dock and hauled her out. I think its very safe to say this distributor is either worn out, or isnt the right one for my 305, it was real loose in the hole. Ill order a new one tonight, i sold my other boat when i got home so yay for that anther thousand to throw into my fiberglass formed hole in the water, on the bright side the admiral was very impressed with my wrenching on the water, and she loved the cabin in the searay
 

NHGuy

Captain
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
3,631
Look at that Davis Unified Ignition, DUI. Simple, powerful, easy. Or just get a Mercruiser distributor with a good bushing and plug it in to your existing stuff. Probably less money, and keeps it OE.
 
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henleyhale

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
136
I looked at them, i toyed with the idea earlier today, but honestly i HATE electric ignitions on my vehicles, its nice to work with a real distributor once in a while, and my young son will be exposed to points and condensers at some point, which wont happen on the vehicles i keep now, unless the wife decides we are building her a classic hot rod.
 

NHGuy

Captain
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May 21, 2009
Messages
3,631
Yah, double edged sword. Classic versus easy. I like old stuff too. Really want a hot rod at some time.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Distributor loose in the hole?????????? The only way that can be is if the clamp is loose. If you were fiddling with the timing and not tightening the bolt it is no wonder timing kept changing. By the way, according to your description of exhaust smell, you had a very rich, burn your eyes condition. Not lean. What you probably had was a choke that was stuck shut or partially shut causing the rich condition.
 

nateo

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
352
Also you need to make sure that your idle air fuel mixture screws are set properly before adjusting the timing. Timing needs to be set at a specific rm too. Once you have it tightened up make sure you tighten that sucker down good. and remember, don't drink the gas.
 
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