I have a 1984 Mercury 25XD, serial #6453715. I purchased the motor last year with a jon boat. Let me state that this is my first boat & motor.
I had it on the water twice and it ran fine (as far as I know of boat motors). The third and last time on the water, it started dying when opening up to full throttle. Finally figured out we could run back to the dock as long as we didn't open it up. The motor has sat the last several months awaiting the time and weather to work on it.
First thing I did was order a manual, a dvd, and read tons of forum posts about boat motors. I had a friend get me a carb kit since I believed this was a fuel issue. I rebuilt and cleaned out the carb and attempted to restart the motor. I could not get it to stay running for anything. I then replaced the fuel line from the filter to the carb to see what the gas was doing. When I tried to start it the fuel line would be sucked dry and not pull any more gas. When shut off, air would rush from the carb into this line. I figured the pump/ant-siphon had gone bad so I got another one. I replaced the old pump line and the fuel lines in the motor. The motor will now start and run for varying lengths of time (much better than before).
The issue now is that it still seems to be starving for gas. Sometimes it runs great at idle, other times it will die when I push the choke back in. Several times it will run well enough to put into gear and open it some, but it will die as soon as I return it to the neutral position.
Where do I go from here? What should I check next?
I also noticed today while looking over the engine that there seems to be a bolt missing... What is this and would it have any effect on the engine's performance?
Thanks for any help or info. These forums have been a great source for me trying to learn how my engine works and how to fix it!
I had it on the water twice and it ran fine (as far as I know of boat motors). The third and last time on the water, it started dying when opening up to full throttle. Finally figured out we could run back to the dock as long as we didn't open it up. The motor has sat the last several months awaiting the time and weather to work on it.
First thing I did was order a manual, a dvd, and read tons of forum posts about boat motors. I had a friend get me a carb kit since I believed this was a fuel issue. I rebuilt and cleaned out the carb and attempted to restart the motor. I could not get it to stay running for anything. I then replaced the fuel line from the filter to the carb to see what the gas was doing. When I tried to start it the fuel line would be sucked dry and not pull any more gas. When shut off, air would rush from the carb into this line. I figured the pump/ant-siphon had gone bad so I got another one. I replaced the old pump line and the fuel lines in the motor. The motor will now start and run for varying lengths of time (much better than before).
The issue now is that it still seems to be starving for gas. Sometimes it runs great at idle, other times it will die when I push the choke back in. Several times it will run well enough to put into gear and open it some, but it will die as soon as I return it to the neutral position.
Where do I go from here? What should I check next?
I also noticed today while looking over the engine that there seems to be a bolt missing... What is this and would it have any effect on the engine's performance?
Thanks for any help or info. These forums have been a great source for me trying to learn how my engine works and how to fix it!