1988 125 HP Force Outboard Losing Power?

[deltanutke1518]

Hello everyone!

I just bought a 1988 Bayliner with a 125 HP Force Outboard. It has ran great until two days ago... I was at wot and then it suddenly lost power, down to about 50% I would say. I haven't had a chance to take out the plugs and check them but I am going to. The carbs looked a little dirty (some residue on the throttle flaps). This has never happened before and this is my first time owning a boat (I've had experience with my parents boats), so I am a little in the dark here. Also sometimes when I am putting it into gear (forward or reverse) it will stall. I've read that it might be a fuel problem, or could be the carb jets. So I went out and got some SeaFoam. I am going to wait to put it in till I hear what some of you have to say. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Unbalanced]

Re: 1988 125 HP Force Outboard Losing Power?

You'll need to do some diagnosis yourself to determine the problem. You could just need to de-carbonize the motor, but ther are other things you should check as well.

Check the compression - post the numbers for each cylinder.

Check the timing at WOT in water.

Do you have spark on all cylinders?

Do any of the spark plugs look different? What do they look like? Wet, dry, oily?

Check your tank and fuel filters.

Remove the fuel pump and inspect/replace the diaphram.

Good luck and post what you find.