1988 80hp mercury outboard motor... have question need some help please.

[matthew24]

okay i have a 79 ozark boat with an 88 mercury 80hp outboard motor.. i think its 4 stroke because it takes just gas in gas tank....
anyway..
i get on the boat and start it and it does great. but it likes to cut out and die... when i check the prime bulb for the gas inlet to go to motor from tank. it has alot of air in it. and i think thats my problem.. because then it takes lots of pumps to get it started again... then it just looses power and quits... now it looks like a new line with prime bulb. so there shouldnt be any air holes... and the tank is about a 25 gallon or more not sure.. but for some reason it always leaves me stranded in the middle of the lake.. now i believe it is when the gas in less then half way is when it really starts to act up. but even when it is full it does the same thing... also the hose from outside of the side of boat to the gas tank. has alot of cracks but agian i see no air holes... whats going on exactly.. also when i am moving at a good speed with a good distance there is a loud beep that stays on consistantly until i drop it in nuetral and shut her off. then when i start it back up (if it lets me because of the problem with the air getting in the line every time) and shuts off and waits till i get up to a good speed (3400 to 4300 rpm) for a while then it screams again.. is that telling me the motor is over heating?
i am new to boating and i am only 24 so all the help and advice you can throw at me would be generaly appreciated.. i am going camping again from the 18th to the 21st. so i will try to make a little movie clip for ya and show you what is going wrong at that point... now if you noticed i tryed to tell you as much as possible so you can understand what i am saying.. thanks for reading and im waiting for some advice.lol names matt

 

[Charlie61]

Re: 1988 80hp mercury outboard motor... have question need some help please.

if it's 1988 80hp mer I do no think it would be a 4stroke you can go to maxrules ,it has list of motor it would help to have ser;number .if it has not been use for sometime it will need new fuel line and more. get a service manual will be your best thing if you have an had a boat before.
hope to see you on here again picture would be great

 

[ckangaroo70]

Re: 1988 80hp mercury outboard motor... have question need some help please.

If that is a 1988 I would tend to think that is a 2 stroke engine that requires oil mixed in the gas. Almost sounds like the engine is getting hot and trying to seize from lack of having any oil in the fuel. Unless you are certain that it is a 4 stroke engine...do not run that engine or it is going to be ruined if it isn't already. I don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have seen people post before who are confused when someone says they have a four cylinder engine. Four cylinders does not mean 4 stroke! For example..I have a 50hp Mercury 4 cylinder, but it is 2 stroke and it gets its lubrication from the fuel. If your engine is 4 stroke..then you should be able to locate an oil dip stick where the engine houses its own store of oil. Will probably be an oil filter on there as well. If these things are not there and you have indeed been running a 2 stroke engine on straight gas...that isn't a good thing at all. I am just hoping you have the date of the engine wrong and that it is newer then you say, because I just don't think there was a 1988 80hp Mercury 4 cylinder 4 stroke engine???

 

[Dave1027]

Re: 1988 80hp mercury outboard motor... have question need some help please.

okay i have a 79 ozark boat with an 88 mercury 80hp outboard motor.. i think its 4 stroke because it takes just gas in gas tank....
anyway..

It would be a 2 stroke and the reason the fuel tank takes straight gas is because it's oil injected. There should be an oil tank under the cowl on the right side of the motor.

 

[matthew24]

Re: 1988 80hp mercury outboard motor... have question need some help please.

Awesome thanks for the replys. Okay so it could be a 2 stroke. I know it takes just gas in gas tank. But the oil big container is inside the cover of the motor. Meaning under the outside cover. Now back the the stalling and dying problems, what would cause their to be air getting in my line?.. and I go camping tomorrow. I will take a picture for u guys. And I will try to make a little video and post ot for u to watch so u know what's going on. I am new to boats so bare with me as long as u can, thanks