I have a 1993 Trophy 2003CC 20' center console boat powered by a 175hp Mercury outboard. I have owned the boat for about 4 years now and use it for fishing, island hopping, tubing, etc near Sandusky Ohio in Lake Erie. I take relatively good care of it; every season it sees new gear oil, spark plugs, carb de-gunker, fogged and stabiled before storage. I typically run some sort of synthetic blend oil, Pennzoil or West Marine brand. Just put in new thermostats. I have never rebuilt my carbs or sync'd them. I just put a brand new SEI outdrive on it this season, turning my existing 14x19 Michigan Wheel Apollo SS prop. It will plane out at 3200-3500rpm, and with half a tank of fuel (40gal+/-), and just myself or 1 other passenger I can get 45-48mph out of it (gps) trimmed out at around 5400-5500rpm. Loaded with fuel and 4-5 passengers, I drop to around 5100rpm and 40mph. In my opinion, I need a prop with just a tad less pitch- I'd also like to go to a 4-blade as well.
At the beginning of this season, I had an issue with the fast intermittent alarm going off within 30 seconds of the engine starting, either on muffs or in water, before the engine was even warm. I traced it back to the oil reservoir tank on the powerhead. It was 7/8 or so full, but something must be up with the float switch- unplugged it and beep went away.
It has always loaded up some after extended operation at low rpms, putting around the dock, idling, etc. Now, it's the worst its ever been. On Sunday, I had 5 guys out fishing, flying back across the bay, come up to the ramp docks, and it stalled out. This is not that unusual as of late. It wants to chug pretty bad unless I set it in neutral and with a fast idle. (It typically idles at around 600rpm or so.) After a little bit of throttle, some choke, and a few seconds of cranking, it'll fire right back up with the 2 stroke smoke. It's never left me stranded, but it sure is a pain in the nuts sometimes.
Could it be that I need to rebuild my carbs and re-sync them? Go to idle jets that'll lean it out just a bit? Re-prop? Is there a way I can dial back the oiling system a bit?
Tonight I'm going to put a new fuel filter in it, and clean the carbs out as good as I can with spray.
Any ideas? Sorry for the long winded post, but I appreciate the help!!
At the beginning of this season, I had an issue with the fast intermittent alarm going off within 30 seconds of the engine starting, either on muffs or in water, before the engine was even warm. I traced it back to the oil reservoir tank on the powerhead. It was 7/8 or so full, but something must be up with the float switch- unplugged it and beep went away.
It has always loaded up some after extended operation at low rpms, putting around the dock, idling, etc. Now, it's the worst its ever been. On Sunday, I had 5 guys out fishing, flying back across the bay, come up to the ramp docks, and it stalled out. This is not that unusual as of late. It wants to chug pretty bad unless I set it in neutral and with a fast idle. (It typically idles at around 600rpm or so.) After a little bit of throttle, some choke, and a few seconds of cranking, it'll fire right back up with the 2 stroke smoke. It's never left me stranded, but it sure is a pain in the nuts sometimes.
Could it be that I need to rebuild my carbs and re-sync them? Go to idle jets that'll lean it out just a bit? Re-prop? Is there a way I can dial back the oiling system a bit?
Tonight I'm going to put a new fuel filter in it, and clean the carbs out as good as I can with spray.
Any ideas? Sorry for the long winded post, but I appreciate the help!!
