exhaust out of flame arrestor(I think?)

A buddy of mine just purchased a 1987 Glasstron bowrider with a 130 horse mercruiser/gm alpha one stern drive and we are having some engine problems with it. I am mostly concerned with a steady stream of what looks like exhaust pooring out of the flame arrestor. I am thinking maybe a sticking valve, but I am kind of new to boat motors. The other problem we are having is trouble with reaching full throttle. It seems to sputter out a little bit with some backfiring. Any help from you guys would be great.

Re: exhaust out of flame arrestor(I think?)

that exhuast you are describing is most likely from the crankcase breatheres and is pretty normal. I would check your oil level and make sure there isnt any water in it.

If water does get into the oil in small amounts it will evaporate off and a lot of "exhaust" will appear to come out of that area.

Is the "exhaust" coming out of the flame arrestor or the hoses leading up to the flame arrestor?

Re: exhaust out of flame arrestor(I think?)

On the other full throttle question, do you know the history of the boat? being an older boat, it is possible(likely) it has been a while since the carb was rebuilt or gone through.

Make sure you are running on fresh fuel, and if its old, work on getting it out and cleaing fuel system. Also, invest in an inline fuel/filter, seperator if there is not one on the boat.

If you just bought the boat and are unsure on the history, i would start with a full tune - up, and fluids change. Plugs, points, condesor, dist cap, oil change filters, timing, etc.

if your throttle problems are still occuring after that then I would repost with the exact symptoms and what you have done to date.

good Luck!

Re: exhaust out of flame arrestor(I think?)

Any unusual noise?
I would perform a compression test.....JK

Re: exhaust out of flame arrestor(I think?)

I think I would first double check that the plug wires are all where they're supposed to be and in the correct order, then I would check compression, then a leakdown test depending on what I found in the comp. test...