Hello all,
I recently purchased a used Mercury 2001 90HP four stroke and a Sea Pro 175 FS boat. So far, the engine has always started right up and generally runs well, with the following exceptions:
- When I gun-it to pulling up a skier, the engine will often sputter and die and so I'm finding myself having to go easy on rapid throttle advances.
- I suspect I have the factory aluminum three blade prop on the engine and I notice I can only get to about 5,100 RPMs at max throttle (boat weights around 1450 lbs, and I think the engine is around 385 lbs). With a full tank of gas (20 gallons), only me in the boat (175 lbs) and no other gear to speak of; shouldn't I be able to get more RPMs out of the engine? Speedometer shows around 35 MPH. Boat is 17.4' long deep v.
- The throttle linkage is a bit loose on the high speed so that if I take my hand off the throttle, the throttle level will back down to lower settings. I've looked around for the mechanism to tighten the linkage but can't find it.
- Occasionally, when first started up and for some seconds, I'll get a steady warning sound in high idle. That's the overheat warning I believe. But, the engine is cold, and I can see water coming out of the pee hole. Moving the throttle to idle immediately shuts off the warning sound. And/or, if I restart the engine, the sound will not come on again at any throttle setting.
Appreciate any advice and comments. So far I'm really enjoying the boat and engine. Just want to get as much information as possible, and ensure I'm not doing anything that will hurt the engine.
Cheers,
Craig
I recently purchased a used Mercury 2001 90HP four stroke and a Sea Pro 175 FS boat. So far, the engine has always started right up and generally runs well, with the following exceptions:
- When I gun-it to pulling up a skier, the engine will often sputter and die and so I'm finding myself having to go easy on rapid throttle advances.
- I suspect I have the factory aluminum three blade prop on the engine and I notice I can only get to about 5,100 RPMs at max throttle (boat weights around 1450 lbs, and I think the engine is around 385 lbs). With a full tank of gas (20 gallons), only me in the boat (175 lbs) and no other gear to speak of; shouldn't I be able to get more RPMs out of the engine? Speedometer shows around 35 MPH. Boat is 17.4' long deep v.
- The throttle linkage is a bit loose on the high speed so that if I take my hand off the throttle, the throttle level will back down to lower settings. I've looked around for the mechanism to tighten the linkage but can't find it.
- Occasionally, when first started up and for some seconds, I'll get a steady warning sound in high idle. That's the overheat warning I believe. But, the engine is cold, and I can see water coming out of the pee hole. Moving the throttle to idle immediately shuts off the warning sound. And/or, if I restart the engine, the sound will not come on again at any throttle setting.
Appreciate any advice and comments. So far I'm really enjoying the boat and engine. Just want to get as much information as possible, and ensure I'm not doing anything that will hurt the engine.
Cheers,
Craig