MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

I have posted two other posts about this engine here in which I decided to repair the engine. I ended up only needing to replace the rings, and I have just finished. I got the engime back together and mounted on the boat, but I cant quite get it to start. It seems like just as it is kicking in the starter cuts before it actually starts, but I am not sure. The timing belt was a bit of a chore, as there was no mark to indicate tdc to align the distributor, but I pulled the plug on #1 and got the piston to tdc as best as I could and slipped the belt on with the arrow on the distributor cog pointimg toward the crankshaft (as per the service manual). I looked at the position of the distributor vs the position of the piston and it looked right. I hooked it up and after taking care of a couple of snags (a split fuel line and a dead battery) and doubling the oil in the fuel I tried to start it. The videos are what I got. Anyone have any ideas?
Video 1: http://youtu.be/JVRKxbnhr6M
Video 2: http://youtu.be/yuUztzex-54

Here is my previous post BTW: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=574554
Here is a picture album of my work so far with the boat: https://plus.google.com/photos/100505445322883170247/albums/5745379227576870641

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

Try lubing the shaft that the pinion slides on. Mine was doing the same till I lubed it. I assumed it was not engaging the flywheel completely.

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

The starter kicks out because the motor fires. However, the motor does not fire enought to catch and run. Choke the crap out of her, and it may catch.

On the other hand, I am concerned that you did not time her properly. Do you have the punch mark on the fl\ywheel? If so, set her to TDC, as best as you can and set the cast arrow on the distributor pully to point to the punch mark. Now install the timing belt.

You really need a timing decal to properly set the timing.

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

The aluminum plates that go around the engine and partially cover it had a sticker on it. I ended up using my visual method I described above to get the piston to TDC and made a scratch mark on the flywheel across from the "TDC" mark on the sticker. I then turned it to a gap in the little lines labeled "Max Spark" and pulled the bottom of the distributor off. It looked like the rotor was pointing to the terminal that led to the spark-plug on that piston, so I guessed that I had done it right. When I was removing the flywheel assembly I ended up having to remove the flywheel from the keyed shaft sleeve, so there is a 1 in 8 chance I put it back right, but I still couldn't find a mark anywho. The only thing i may have done wrong is that when I had it set it to TDC, I pointed the arrow toward the shaft and not the mark like you said. Should I adjust it that way then? Where exactly is the punch supposed to be? The very edge or further in? If you have a sample picture that would be very good for me, as in the service manual it looks completely different from my setup (it had the sticker on the flywheel and a metal arrow thing pointing at it)

And thanks for the lube sugestion. I remember it being a little gunky. I will try cleaning and oiling it when i am up that way next week.

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

The older Mercs had timing marks on the cowling support. Newer ones had a plastic timing pointer. The difference in accuracy is small. The punch mark on the flywheel served to locate the timing decal. The black dot on the timing decal was placed on the punch mark.

You could take a piece of paper tape and make a new timing decal. The circumference of the flywheel represents 360 degrees. So if you measure the circumference, and divide the inches by 360 degrees and measure accurately, you can mark the paper tape with 5* BTDC, TDC and 21*BTDC. Those are the only measurements you will need. Now stick the tape onto the flywheel, and time her up.

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

Thank you! I am much closer! I lubed up the starter and re-checked the timing. The timing was off. After carefully reading the service manual, I realized the piston does not need to be TDC, but in line with the distributor and crankshaft. I cranked it and after a lot of playing around it seems right. The engine sounds more like it is starting, and I can even get it to start up by manually increasing the throttle. I can get it to rev for a couple of seconds, then it quits. The only things I can think of is A) the fuel pumps are not doing their job or B) the sensor in the distributor/ some other ignition part is not working right. What should I be checking, how should I narrow the problem? Thank you!

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

Pumping the fuel primer bulb will rule out a fuel pump malfuction. You need to make sure the spark is consistant. Put a timing light on her and see that it flashes when cranking and running.

Not sure I understand your timing discovery. #1 piston must be at TDC, and timing pully arrow should point at punch mark. That will get timing close. The piston stays at TDC for several degrees as the crankshaft moves. Merc is trying to set tht timing pointer such that TDC is only for a single degree.

At least set the #1 piston to TDC and mark the flywheel where the timing mark on the cowling support indicates. That will be pretty close to accurate.

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

Set the throtle idol adjustment screw approximately within 1/16th of an inch before contacting the caburetor lever adjust the cable to that position and then set the timing and air mixture screws for best idol after starting it. Caburetor screws should be set 1 1/2 half turns out for the basic start and adjusted acordingly for best idol after wards. You may want to consider having an extra spark plug or two for the cylinder that was repaired as gunk and junk may foul the plug on top of the added extra oil added for break in lube. Wiping the plugs to get her going will more than likely be nessecary

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

She started! I kept pumping the bulb while starting it with the throttle up and it roared to life and stayed there. I was able to bring the throttle back down to idle and she purred like a kitten. I started bringing the throttle up and down about the range of the idle-up lever. I know there is a break-in procedure, but i am not sure what is good. I also assume that it should be under load and not in a tub. I was not getting anything out of the tell tale but a drip, so I shoved some wire in it and it started going well. Two other things I needto know: how do I get the plug wires off of the distributor cap? I tried to pull the coil wire out, but i think it broke rather than coming off properly, so it is just shoved in. I want to replace the wires, and i get a good discount on auto parts, but i cant get them off to match them. Lastly i need to know how to winterize this thing for outside. I live in norhtern utah, andit gets really cold. Thank you all for your help!

Re: MERC 1350 outboard repair, almost there!

Spark plug and coil wire screw into dist cap. They are solid stranded stainless steel wire. If the insulation is good, likely the wires are good. Replacements are pricy.

Winterizing is easy. Add stabilizer to the fuel, run the motor until it is warm, and spray some fogging oil into the carbs. After she smokes a lot, turn her off and let her drain. Replace gear oil and hit grease fittings.