I have a 2 stroke 90 hp merc and it has been idling rough lately but runs good at higher rpms. I checked spark and gas and both were great. While I was checking gas, I noticed the motor was blowing exhaust back towards the fuel pump when it "coughed" during idle. I put a better clamp on hose to see if it would stop blowing back by. This stopped the exhaust from blowing by the hose but as it was getting dark I noticed red (flame?) coming back through towards the fuel pump (where the hose hooks on the piece is see through plastic). I use the boat for work and would like to get the rest of the season out of it before I get it repaired. First, I feel this is dangerous as I don't think I want exhaust blowing back towards the fuel pump. Can I run it for another month or am I right in thinking it is potentially dangerous? Second, am I right in thinking it's a reed valve problem? Thanks for your time in reading this and any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
