1980 175 Merc drama until warmed up

Coloradolakeboy

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
197
1980 175 Merc V6 moved to Colorado 5500 ft elevation from the midwest 600 ft elevation.

Changed prop from 21 to 19 helped a bunch. It would stall out around 2000rpm
Changed plugs and new bulb.
Have not changed the jets yet.
Pulled front cover to look at carbs and they are clean.

Last weekend it started right away at the boat launch. Tied up to park the truck/trailer. Went to start it back up and then the drama started. Start and die. Rough idle and a couple die outs at low speed. Restarts pleased the crowd with a ton of smoke. Ran it at 2000 rpm for five minutes with no problems and then W.O.T with no problems. Turned it off for the kids to swim for an hour and she started right back up with no problems.
What can I do about the cold start problem?
 

j_martin

Admiral
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
7,474
Re: 1980 175 Merc drama until warmed up

1980 175 Merc V6 moved to Colorado 5500 ft elevation from the midwest 600 ft elevation.

Changed prop from 21 to 19 helped a bunch. It would stall out around 2000rpm
Changed plugs and new bulb.
Have not changed the jets yet.
Pulled front cover to look at carbs and they are clean.

Last weekend it started right away at the boat launch. Tied up to park the truck/trailer. Went to start it back up and then the drama started. Start and die. Rough idle and a couple die outs at low speed. Restarts pleased the crowd with a ton of smoke. Ran it at 2000 rpm for five minutes with no problems and then W.O.T with no problems. Turned it off for the kids to swim for an hour and she started right back up with no problems.
What can I do about the cold start problem?

It'll help to have the high altitude jets in it so it doesn't flood out.
 

hl

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
237
Re: 1980 175 Merc drama until warmed up

I had a similar problem. I found the guy who had the boat before me installed the fuel filter backward. Changed the filter and the problem stopped.
 

Coloradolakeboy

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
197
Re: 1980 175 Merc drama until warmed up

HL, sometimes it is just the most simple stuff. I spoke with a local mechanic today, he suggested checking the thermostat. Our water temps here are still a bit cool. The engine may be slow to warm up with the current thermostat. I get my OEM manual tomorrow!
 
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