Timing 1979 Rude 140

I Can Not Make Heads Or Tails Out Of The Directions From My Repair Manuel To Set The Timing On My 79 Rude 140,did Not Feel Safe With It. Don't Want To Overhead Or Ruin This Rebuild.i Trust You Guys More Than My Inturpetation Of The Manuel On This. I Rebuilt It .,it Has Around 2 Hours On It. Also Need To Ask,someone Told Me I Could Leave The Boat On The Trailer And Strapped Down And Back It Into The Water,hold It Full Throttle And Set Timing,would You Recommend This?? What Is The Correct Steps And Technique For Setting The Timing And Throttle Cable And Gear Shift Cable And Idle Rpm's And Syncing It All Togeather? Also What Is The Maximum Rpm For Ths Engine? The Settings Are Total Off,tryed To Adjust Everything To Get To Idle Before I Found Out It Had Low Compression,its Now Rebuilt And The Settings For Everything Are Out Of Wack. It Ran With No Missfire And Smooth,ran Cool,but It Would Not Wind Up,it Felt Like The Timing Was Way Retarted.it Should Respond Quick And Wind Up,its On A Light,17 Ft Tri Hull.

Appriciate Any Help..

Re: Timing 1979 Rude 140

Strapped down to the back of the boat on the ramp is how I set my high speed timing. Just pick a steep enough ramp so that you don't suck up any sand/dirt/mud/octopi/elvis. You can do all the low-speed portions of the link & sync in a barrel or on the muffs (at least you can on my model). Since the procedures vary a bit from engine to engine, maybe you could start with what part you're not understanding and move on from there.

Re: Timing 1979 Rude 140

'Cuz I'll tell you right here and now - getting an elvis clog out of your water passages can ruin your whole afternoon. Especially if it's the fat elvis.

You don't even want to know.

Re: Timing 1979 Rude 140

The first thing you need to do is set the timing pointer. You need a piston stop tool to do this. Then, you need to perform the sync and link. This is a very specific procedure and if unclear, get the original manual to do this. Make sure the carb butterflys will open and close completely with the control box throttle handle. I have timed my boat on the trailer before. It works- just make sure the lower unit is in the water just enough that all the water intake holes are under water when revving the engine. You need to get the engine up to around 5000 rpm and check it there. Another option is to use a test wheel. It will let you run it in sitting in the water at the dock-same thing. The idle needs to be set when the boat is floating in the lake. You need the normal lake water backpressure to make sure the idle get set at the right rpm- 650 in gear. If you don't feel comfortable with all this, have some reputable person do this for you. These 140's were spec'd to operate between 5250 and 5750 rpm. I would look to prop it to run the 5750 rpm.

Re: Timing 1979 Rude 140

Thanks for the info on the timing for the 79 rude 140,I decided to have a pro do it for me. Thanks for the info..
have another problem, alternator hits and stays around 13.57 at a idle and crusing, but wide open throttle it charges a little over 18 volts,all the battery connections are clean and tight,I know enough to know that this is going to boil my battery and possibly start blowing ignition modules or power paks. what could be causing this??

Re: Timing 1979 Rude 140

Your engine does not have a voltage regulator. They came out in 1980. An unregulated rectifier will always charge, and it will charge at voltages like that when the battery is charged up. What you are seeing is common and while not a fatal problem, I was also concerned that voltage would cook the battery dry. Keep an eye on the water level in the battery. All of this charge is directed to the battery and not the rest of the ignition system. If you are really concerned, add some voltage draw, like a power amp on the radio...or invest in a regulated rectifier.