1965 Merc 450 45 hp does not run right

[ottsixx]

A friend of mine has a 1965 Merc 450 45 hp that has been sitting around a while and now he is trying to make it run and has it in a stock tank and tells me as long as it is in neutral it runs just fine but as soon as he puts it in gear it just takes a nose dive and will not run,any of you fellas have a clue as to where he might start looking for the glitch...........

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1965 Merc 450 45 hp does not run right

You need fuel, ignition and compression. Start with the basic checks. Do a compression check. All four cylinders should be above 100psi and within 5% of each other. Check for spark on all four cylinders. If you get compression and spark, that leaves fuel. Remove and clean the carbs. Check for pinholes in the fuel pump diaphram. That motor will "sound" like it is running quite well on less than four cylinders, so it is likely not running as "fine" as your friend thinks it is...