85 merc stalls out in drive

i have a 1973ish 85 merc on a 1974 sangster the boat sat 4 five years and i picked it up 4 a good deal knowing it would need a little tlc. Motor wouldnt stay goin on the ear muffs so i got the carbs professionally rebuilt took it out sunday everything worked great 1st half hour.turned the boat off 4 an hour started up fine but when i went to put it in drive it stalled out kept trying to put it in gear and same thing after half hour of this it finally went but stuck at about 10 mph tryed to go faster but just kept sounding like it was flooding out finally after playing with throttle it took right off to around 30 mph. Cruised round at this speed 20 min no problems.turn off the boat same thing again got it back 2 my lift without a tow.ive read lots of stuff on here but am new to boating and iboats but know a little bit .engine runs great out of the water but cant load or drive test unless im in the lake maybe the carbs r running lean?maybe my throttle or throttl cable? shifter cable? idont know but dont wanna take it out of the lake.any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Re: 85 merc stalls out in drive

abbrad1980 said:

...everything worked great 1st half hour.turned the boat off 4 an hour started up fine but when i went to put it in drive it stalled out...

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It sounds like you and I are having the same problem. Here's a description of my experience.

My plan for now is to start through the suggestions in the "Awakening a sleeping outboard" thread in the FAQ's since I figure all of that ought to be done anyway. A friend at work suggested to me that it might be the water pump. I noticed the water pump is mentioned in the suggestions to bring a boat out of storage too.

Hopefully one of us will get a response and get some better direction as to what is happening and how to fix it. In the mean time keep me posted if you learn anything new about it.

Re: 85 merc stalls out in drive

Any luck yet?

Re: 85 merc stalls out in drive

a have an 83 mariner that sat up for 10 years and i had the same problem after the carb rebuild. Turns out it was the ethanol in the gasoline eating away the old unapproved fuel lines. Pieces of rubber were sticking in the carbs causing the float not to seat therefore flooding the carbs. I pulled the carbs off and blew out the orifices with compressed air or you could use carb cleaner (make sure to use red straw). And i went to NAPA and bought some new small engine alcohol resistant fuel line and replaced the old stuff. also make sure the tank and fuel filter are clean. Also try a new Primer Bulb since the older ones are susceptible to alcohol as well. Another Culprit could be Carbon Build up in the engine. It comes in a can and you just spray it in the carbs while the motor is running. Works wonders at taking a load off an older engine. This is just what has helped me but it could be numerous things.

Re: 85 merc stalls out in drive

i have a boat guy coming out sat to try 2 put idle up think it may simply be idleing 2 low ill keep u posted

Re: 85 merc stalls out in drive

it turns out the idle knob on shifter had 2b cranked up a bit everything seems good now never even knew about that idle knob