Engine just died

[al windybank]

I have an early 80s Mariner 4-cylinder 50hp that I bought 2 weeks ago with little knowledge of the history. Took it out last weekend and ran it slowly round the habour for 1-2 hours to check it over. Once I felt it was running well I went to take it out on the sea and she just died while idling in gear and refused to restart. The plugs looked dirty but not that bad. Could this be because I ran at low revs for 1-2 hours or is it likely to be more serious?<br /><br />Any thoughts welcome

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Engine just died

>Check the lanyard switch to see if engaged.<br />>Check for spark to each cylinder<br />>Check for fuel getting to carbs (check if primer ball gets hard when squeezed)<br /><br />Is the primer ball sucked flat?<br />Is the tank vent open?<br /><br />*you must determine if its a fuel or ignition problem before further troubleshooting.....

 

[al windybank]

Re: Engine just died

Thanks for the help. When I got the boat back in the garage I cleaned the plugs and it started ok on the muffs. I have spark at each cylinder and there is plenty of fuel around. In fact if I pump the bulb until hard then fuel drips from the carbs (I'm not sure if this should happen?). The fuel vent was/is open on the tank and there was plenty of fuel in the tank.<br /><br />This was only the frst time out since I bought the boat. I have been doing some other jobs on her this weekend but I plan to take her out again next weekend. Unfortunately, because of the conditions I need to be fairly sure about the engine if I go outside the harbour and the harbour is limited to 4 knots, hence the idling for 1-2 hours.<br /><br />Any ideas welcome.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Engine just died

I assume you had fresh fuel on your aborted cruise. Old fuel or water in the fuel could produce the symptoms. If you are running off permanent tanks in the boat, I think I would suspect water contamination (condensation). A Raycor filter will help, and keeping a portable tank on board with fresh gas is also some insurance if the main tanks are suspect.

 

[al windybank]

Re: Engine just died

The guy I bought the boat off ran it up on what I now suspect was 3-year old fuel. I emptied out all the old fuel first and cleaned the tank. I ran on newly mixed 50:1 with a quality marine 2-stroke oil. The enigne has started ok since. Should you be able to idle for a long time without expecting some problems?

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Engine just died

You should be able to run all day at low speed (<2000 rpm) w/o any problem if you have the right spark plugs. I routinely troll w/ a Johnson 140 for six to eight hours, although typically have a several hour high power run which blows out most of the carbon. Outboards generally want to run some time at WOT to keep them clean inside.

 

[Bry21317]

Re: Engine just died

Windy,<br />The leaking of gas from the Carbs when you squeeze the bulb, isn't supposed to happen. I found this out on this forum. Mine did the same thing, so I was told I should rebuild the carbs, and did so. Now I don't have a drop of fuel coming out of the carbs and she is purrrrrrring now, better than ever before.<br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />Bryan Cox

 

[al windybank]

Re: Engine just died

Thanks for the help.<br /><br />I won't get down to the coast/boat for a week or two, but I think I'll rebuild the carbs and try again.

 

[beachcraft]

Re: Engine just died

Hi,<br /><br />You might need to clean out the carburator bowl. It happened to me last time. I have some sand in the carb bowl. I cleaned it and no more gas spilling.<br /><br />BC