Wreck Rider
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2003
- Messages
- 98
Interesting weekend of engine failures, I'm asking for help in diagnosis please! (1975, 84 hp, V4, powershift II, model 85ESL75E, running 50:1)<br /> 
<br />Saturday we zoomed out to a remote SCUBA site in Lake Ontario, the engine ran perfectly first time in the water after 3 weeks on the trailer, just like it did many times this season. After an hour at anchor it started up perfectly and got on plane but within a minute sounded like it was missing and running rough, we headed for shore but the situation got immediately worse so shut it down. After looking and seeing nothing unusual we tried to start but found the flywheel would not turn at all, starter was engaging the flyweel strongly but not turning. By hand it felt completely solid.<br />-<br />Back on shore we checked the gas for oil (colour was perfect), pulled the plugs (all had correct gap), put some 1+1 gas/oil mix in each cylinder and waited. After 30 minutes of waiting the starter motor slowly edged the flywheel around (1 tooth per try) and then freed it up.<br />-<br />During a water trial that afternoon it ran like a top at all throttle settings including idle, power was exactly as expected.<br />-<br />Next day it ran well for about a minute on the way out to another remote site in Lake Ontario then started missing and lost some power. Not wanting to repeat the 8 hour adventure we had getting home on Saturday we motored back into dock. Back home we drained and flushed the carb bowls, checked flow through the fuel pump, checked the fuel line was holding pressure, sprayed the coils and plug wires with WD-40, checked connections at the power pack were tight, realized there was no air filter, checked choke and throttle butterflies were moving freely - everything looked fine (except the missing air filter). Water trial confirmed loss of power and intermittent missing. Tried switching between our two fuel tanks and pumped the primer during operation but saw no pattern.<br />-<br />Does anyone recognize this performance problem? And was the Saturday seize-up related somehow?<br />This boating season has been fantastic, sure would like to have another next year without spending an arm and a leg on a new motor. Thanks in advance.
<br />Saturday we zoomed out to a remote SCUBA site in Lake Ontario, the engine ran perfectly first time in the water after 3 weeks on the trailer, just like it did many times this season. After an hour at anchor it started up perfectly and got on plane but within a minute sounded like it was missing and running rough, we headed for shore but the situation got immediately worse so shut it down. After looking and seeing nothing unusual we tried to start but found the flywheel would not turn at all, starter was engaging the flyweel strongly but not turning. By hand it felt completely solid.<br />-<br />Back on shore we checked the gas for oil (colour was perfect), pulled the plugs (all had correct gap), put some 1+1 gas/oil mix in each cylinder and waited. After 30 minutes of waiting the starter motor slowly edged the flywheel around (1 tooth per try) and then freed it up.<br />-<br />During a water trial that afternoon it ran like a top at all throttle settings including idle, power was exactly as expected.<br />-<br />Next day it ran well for about a minute on the way out to another remote site in Lake Ontario then started missing and lost some power. Not wanting to repeat the 8 hour adventure we had getting home on Saturday we motored back into dock. Back home we drained and flushed the carb bowls, checked flow through the fuel pump, checked the fuel line was holding pressure, sprayed the coils and plug wires with WD-40, checked connections at the power pack were tight, realized there was no air filter, checked choke and throttle butterflies were moving freely - everything looked fine (except the missing air filter). Water trial confirmed loss of power and intermittent missing. Tried switching between our two fuel tanks and pumped the primer during operation but saw no pattern.<br />-<br />Does anyone recognize this performance problem? And was the Saturday seize-up related somehow?<br />This boating season has been fantastic, sure would like to have another next year without spending an arm and a leg on a new motor. Thanks in advance.