[dannymoe69]

First let me start by saying that i have worked on cars since i was a kid, but have no real background in boat motors. so if i ask a dumb question, please keep that in mind.My father in law has a pontoon boat with a mariner 40 engine on it. it has electric tilt, choke etc. It has 4 spark plugs, bu i am not sure if thats 1 per cyl or 2 per cyl. anyway, he said he changed the plugs on it, and that the plugs didnt require gapping. the motor will not run it sputters and dies.. I did get it to run by spraying starting fluid into the carbs. it did start yesterday, and remnained at idle for hours, and i took it out and it went to 3/4 throttle. then i went to open it up and it stalled and i could only get a slow idle out of it to get it back to the dock. i took off the carbs and they seemed fine, floats seam ok as well. does anyone have any ideas for me?? anything would be a great help. i am on AIM at dannymoe69 and I can also be contacted at dannymoe69@yahoo.com. thank you very much...

[Norwegian Viking]

I have a similar problem with my Mariner Magnum 40,4 cylinder 2 stroke outboard engine. It starts and stalls after a second. I have also posted a question for help in this forum and had several answers under the topic Mariner Magnum 40. I will start to work on the problem on july 27.Maybee the answers I got can be of any help.PM

[Elmer Fudge]

do not spray starting fluid onto the carbs,try squirting some premix if you must.you probably need to have the carbs rebuilt.

[TELMANMN]

Drain all gas out of tank if not already done. Get some sea foam and add to new gas. If you can get it running, run it for 5 mins. then run it out of gas by taking the fuel line off(make sure in water or on a muff). Spray some sea foam into carbs and let sit overnite. If this still doesn't help get a good manual and follow the troubleshooting. Also do a search on this site for the problem.