mercury xr6 150 will not start

[JR12]

This engine has not been started for 2 years. I have spark. I am using new fuel, so bad gas is not a factor. I suspect that the carbs are gummed up and the floats are stuck becuase fuel is getting to lines attatched to the carbs. The engine will start with stater fluid but will not continue to run (bought from a marine store that is supposed to be lubicted and safe). I don't want to keep using thist starter fluid because i don't trust that it is safe for the engine. I am hoping someone can help me with my next step in diag..

 

[Sunfish12]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

You diagnosed your own problem, cleans those carbs. Pull them off the engine and do a complete dissassemble.

 

[JR12]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

THank you for your reponse. I never removed and cleaned carbs before, can you recommend a good service manual. Will I need to buy a rebuild kit or gaskets?

 

[Wingedwheel]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

Its always a good idea to put a kit in after a long sit thanks to the wonderful additives in the gasoline these days. What year is your outboard. I may have what you need on a PDF file. PM your e-mail and if I have what you need , I'll e-mail it to you.

 

[Sunfish12]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

Like Wingedwheel said, it's always good to buy a kit but alot of people try to take the cheap way out. Post how you made out.

 

[j_martin]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

I'd get the gasket kits, and if the carbs actually have bad metal parts in them go buy them. There's really not much that goes wrong except sunk floats (older foam ones) and dirty.

Kits are way expensive, and you usually don't need them.

 

[JR12]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

Thank you all for the imput. I pulled the carbs and cleaned them. The floats and valves seemed to be good, but there were passages that were slightyly clogged and dirty. The engine now runs, but stalls out after a couple of minutes. I suspect fouled plugs as I am getting fuel on them. I have a service manual on the way in order to properly adjust the carbs. I did not remove or move the adjustment screws, do I have to synchronize the carbs and what exactly does that mean?

 

[j_martin]

Re: mercury xr6 150 will not start

Thank you all for the imput. I pulled the carbs and cleaned them. The floats and valves seemed to be good, but there were passages that were slightyly clogged and dirty. The engine now runs, but stalls out after a couple of minutes. I suspect fouled plugs as I am getting fuel on them. I have a service manual on the way in order to properly adjust the carbs. I did not remove or move the adjustment screws, do I have to synchronize the carbs and what exactly does that mean?

I just pulled my carbs after 3 years running and put gasket kits in them, mostly to closely inspect them by way of preventative maintenance. They were clean as a whistle, nothing at all wrong. That's the way they should be.

Where did the crud come from that clogged the carbs the first time. Probably rotten hoses or a dirty fuel tank. If you don't solve the problem, it will just repeat itself. Fuel starvation is about the quickest way known to burn down this power head.

Adjustments and synchronization are in the book. The carbs have to be in step with each other, and properly timed with the timing advance of the throttle lever system. Any time you mess with any of that, you should go through the whole formal linkage adjustment and timing procedure, commonly called link-n-sync.

hope it helps
John