Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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He said it's like he's not getting power from a cylinder. He's going to have to go deeper into it. It's a 1970s 50 Johnson.

He has no idea what it could be and either do I. He completely rebuilt the carbs and that was $200, on a $750 boat. I just can't keep dumping money into this old boat.

He DID test the compression and both cylinders were good, clueless as to what it could be.

Note- He took it out after the carb rebuild and it actually ran in gear this time, but it wouldn't open up or plane out.
 
T

tedious

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Ki Ki said:
He said it's like he's not getting power from a cylinder. He's going to have to go deeper into it. It's a 1970s 50 Johnson.

He has no idea what it could be and either do I. He completely rebuilt the carbs and that was $200, on a $750 boat. I just can't keep dumping money into this old boat.

He DID test the compression and both cylinders were good, clueless as to what it could be.

Note- He took it out after the carb rebuild and it actually ran in gear this time, but it wouldn't open up or plane out.
Click to expand...

If it was running OK before the rebuild, chances are he got a piece of something, maybe a cleaning rag stuck in the high speed circuit of one of the carbs. Make him open them up and clean them again - and it shouldn't cost you anything.

Tim
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

tedious said:
If it was running OK before the rebuild, chances are he got a piece of something, maybe a cleaning rag stuck in the high speed circuit of one of the carbs. Make him open them up and clean them again - and it shouldn't cost you anything.

Tim
Click to expand...

Well, it wasn't running really at all before the rebuild. It would fully open up, but it got to the point where it would stall before it let me put it in gear.

This is becoming quite the boating nightmare. My first boat in 15 years and I've gotten to use it one day.
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Is it possible that there is a bad cylinder if it's getting good compression on the test?

I'm at a complete loss here.
 
jasper60103

jasper60103

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Was it spark tested?
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

jasper60103 said:
Was it spark tested?
Click to expand...

I don't believe so? If there's bad spark indicated, what are we looking at then? I apologize for being such an engine moron.
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

tedious said:
If it was running OK before the rebuild, chances are he got a piece of something, maybe a cleaning rag stuck in the high speed circuit of one of the carbs. Make him open them up and clean them again - and it shouldn't cost you anything.

Tim
Click to expand...

Well, it was running at full throttle and planing fine. He did a compression test before the carb rebuild. It was great I guess!? I'm so lost on this... about a phone call away from telling him to scrap it all, pay what we owe, and start from square one on rejoining boating after 15 years.
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Hmm... I'm quickly realizing that I'm replying only to my own posts now.

Anyways, no clue what could be holding the engine back now after the carb rebuild with good compression.
 
D

d.boat

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Tell your mechanic to be methodical. Compression, spark and fuel is all you need.... Post results of compression and spark tests.
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

d.boat said:
Tell your mechanic to be methodical. Compression, spark and fuel is all you need.... Post results of compression and spark tests.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure results of the compression tests, but he said they were 'quite good'. Spark tests, unsure of...
 
H

hibbert6

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Ki Ki said:
Well, it was running at full throttle and planing fine. He did a compression test before the carb rebuild. It was great I guess!? I'm so lost on this... about a phone call away from telling him to scrap it all, pay what we owe, and start from square one on rejoining boating after 15 years.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused - you say it was running and planing, but that it would stall when you put it into gear. In a boat, "into gear" means making the engine connect to the prop, either forward or backward. So if the engine is moving the boat, you are already in gear. If the engine is running, but not moving the boat, then you're in "neutral".

"Planing" means that the boat has gathered enough speed that the bow drops down, and the boat is running on top of the water rather than pushing against it. So, you have given us conflicting info, making it hard to help.

Please explain, again, how the motor & boat ran before the carb work.

Oh - most of the folks on this forum are either at work during the weekdays, or they're out boating. As for me, I'm a teacher, therefore constantly getting ready to go boating. :)

Dave
 
M

mrcj001

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Sounds like its dropping a cylinder........

Your mechanic should be able to test the ignition system to find the problem.

Its usually something simple
 
E

E_S_A_D

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

hibbert6 said:
I'm a bit confused - you say it was running and planing, but that it would stall when you put it into gear. In a boat, "into gear" means making the engine connect to the prop, either forward or backward. So if the engine is moving the boat, you are already in gear. If the engine is running, but not moving the boat, then you're in "neutral".

"Planing" means that the boat has gathered enough speed that the bow drops down, and the boat is running on top of the water rather than pushing against it. So, you have given us conflicting info, making it hard to help.

Please explain, again, how the motor & boat ran before the carb work.

Oh - most of the folks on this forum are either at work during the weekdays, or they're out boating. As for me, I'm a teacher, therefore constantly getting ready to go boating. :)

Dave
Click to expand...

Sounds familiar!
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

I'm in the education field myself. Anyways, I explained this poorly:

Day 1: Bought boat, took it to launch (very eager to go boating) and it ran roughly and was a cold start. It never reached 'full speed', I could tell.

Day 2: Would start and idle, but then not go into gear.

Day 2: Continued... Took it to Marina, they use an educated guess that the carburetors are fouled, as it sat for two years; albeit winterized. First did a compression check, which was 'good'.

Day 3: Get call from Marina- shifts into gear fine, but now won't plane up. Running which he thought was on one cylinder.

I'll be honest, I bought the thing for about $1000, as it was a 1970s. Supposed to 'run good'. That being said, I've had a 1950s engine (Merc) that ran until just a few years ago (bought it used).

So with compression being good, I'd hate to put another $1000 into a piece of anchor.
 
B

bob johnson

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Ki Ki said:
I'm in the education field myself. Anyways, I explained this poorly:

Day 1: Bought boat, took it to launch (very eager to go boating) and it ran roughly and was a cold start. It never reached 'full speed', I could tell.

Day 2: Would start and idle, but then not go into gear.

Day 2: Continued... Took it to Marina, they use an educated guess that the carburetors are fouled, as it sat for two years; albeit winterized. First did a compression check, which was 'good'.

Day 3: Get call from Marina- shifts into gear fine, but now won't plane up. Running which he thought was on one cylinder.

I'll be honest, I bought the thing for about $1000, as it was a 1970s. Supposed to 'run good'. That being said, I've had a 1950s engine (Merc) that ran until just a few years ago (bought it used).

So with compression being good, I'd hate to put another $1000 into a piece of anchor.
Click to expand...

compression is good and he thinks one cylinder isnt firing....you d think he would verify that there is spark....

forget the wont go in ghear, that shouldnt have anything to do with your top end rpm problems

step by step. you need to verify a few things...like:

RPM READINGS!!!

Propellor size

size of the boat

Verified spark to each cylinder

after that you are probably looking at linkage , timing, syncronization..and fuel delivery( what did they do to the carbs other than the canned phrase "cleaned"

new carb parts? gaskets, total dissasemble??

good luck

get back to us

hard to troubleshoot from afar with out basic readings


PS: a mechanic worth his salt should KNOW, not have to GUESS, that a 2 cylinder motor is firing on both cylinders or not

bob
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

bob johnson said:
compression is good and he thinks one cylinder isnt firing....you d think he would verify that there is spark....

forget the wont go in ghear, that shouldnt have anything to do with your top end rpm problems

step by step. you need to verify a few things...like:

RPM READINGS!!!

Propellor size

size of the boat

Verified spark to each cylinder

after that you are probably looking at linkage , timing, syncronization..and fuel delivery( what did they do to the carbs other than the canned phrase "cleaned"

new carb parts? gaskets, total dissasemble??

good luck

get back to us

hard to troubleshoot from afar with out basic readings


PS: a mechanic worth his salt should KNOW, not have to GUESS, that a 2 cylinder motor is firing on both cylinders or not

bob
Click to expand...


These are really helpful points. I'll mention it to him, perhaps. I'll keep everyone posted.
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Okay, so here's an update. As I mentioned, after the carb rebuild the boat will actually start and go into gear but it will NOT plane out or reach full potential. Like a cylinder is missing.

Speculation is that the points 'burnt out' or a new stator? How much would these be if so with install on a 1971 Johnson?
 
D

d.boat

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

Ki Ki said:
Okay, so here's an update. As I mentioned, after the carb rebuild the boat will actually start and go into gear but it will NOT plane out or reach full potential. Like a cylinder is missing.

Speculation is that the points 'burnt out' or a new stator? How much would these be if so with install on a 1971 Johnson?
Click to expand...

Still haven't answered the above question: is it getting gas to and firing on both cylinders? This is basic stuff!
 
Ki Ki

Ki Ki

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

d.boat said:
Still haven't answered the above question: is it getting gas to and firing on both cylinders? This is basic stuff!
Click to expand...

I honestly don't know what the mechanic has tried on this thing. He said he did a compression check which was great. He then rebuilt carbs, which stopped the problem of stalling out from neutral to forward. Now he's noticing that it's not planing out or seeming to go on both cylinders.

So I'm at a loss as to what it could be.
 
F

Fuzzytbay

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Re: Mechanic rebuilt carbs after stalling in gear, now runs but won't plane out.

First advice....find a new mechanic. If he/she can't do a basic troubleshoot on this motor, move on.
There is not much sence in giving you advice on what to try, if your just going to pass this info on to a mechanic. Go to the marina/repairshops, and look for a mech who is in his 50's at least, have that one look at the motor.
Just tell him the problem, and that the carbs were rebuilt. thats all, ask him what he thinks should be done, if he say's well we can replace this......move on, however if he say's I think its the electrical, but I'll have to test it out, pick him, at least he will troubleshoot it, not FRB (field block replacement, in other words put parts in till it runs, then give you a big bill).
 
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