Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

[O.T.Water]

Hi All, need advise. Bought this boat with an empty tank. Installed a water/fuel filter and a new feed line. It wouldnt prime with the ball, so I sucked fuel to the ball, yuck! Pumped it hard and went to the river. Fired it up and ran for a few hours then died. Empty ball, so I sucked it to the ball again, fired it up and ran a little while and died. Empty ball again. Towed in. It was rough out and I'm wondering if the pickup screen got clogged. Any Ideas? Maybe a good tank cleaning! Thankx O.T.:redface:

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Sounds like check valves in the primer ball. Replace it.

However, with a new-to-you boat, there's a half dozen things you should do before putting it in the water. I probably would not have launched if I couldn't prime the motor with the ball.

I'm not a Force expert so I can't offer advice specific to your engine - just read your thread and wanted to put you somewhere towards the right track.

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Jeff, 1/2 dozen other things, I'm all ears and don't mind working. Ty, O.T.

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

You may also have a check valve in the primer ball that is bad. Easy enough to fix. Buy a new one.

If that doesn't fix the problem, then you most likely have some blockage in the tank. I assume it's a built in tank. If you can get to the part of the tank where the fuel gauge sending unit is located, you can remove it and look into the tank. Just follow the wires to the tank. Most fuel sending units have a round cover and are held in place with 5 screws.

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Yes, built in tank and I do have an access to the sending unit. Good idea to do that before pulling the tank if it's not necessary. Thankx

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Jeff, 1/2 dozen other things, I'm all ears and don't mind working. Ty, O.T.

Any new-to-me 2 stroke outboard gets the following treatment

1. Compression test
2. Water pump impeller replacement
3. Gear lube check / refill / new fill and vent seals
4. Carb rebuild
5. New spark plugs gapped to spec
6. Check link-n-sync and adjust as necessary
7. Fuel line inspection (under cowling and to the tank)
8. Fuel tank clean out.

This rules out pretty much everything that can go wrong on the maiden voyage except for ignition problems, which will be pretty apparent after you've taken your first cruise out of the idle zone (if they exist).

I've also never put a boat in the water for a test run without 2 secondary methods of propulsion - trolling motor with a fresh batter AND a pair of paddles.

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Got it, 6 of 8 were done. Gonna check the fuel tank and replace the impeller. Brought a jumper box with me and 1 paddle, so I'm almost there. I think I got my BoatsUS tow fee back on my first day, it was a 5 mile tow. The service was well the purchase.:redface:

 

[further]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

You may also want to change out the fuel pump diaphram and check that the check valves in the fuel pump are working properly and change out if not.

 

[john from md]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

If your engine shuts off and the ball is soft, try starting it and see if you can keep it running by pumping the ball periodically. If you can, the three check valves in the fuel pump need to be changed.

John

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Thanks all for the replies, I've read so much about the valves and diaphram in the fuel pump that I'm gonna replace them just for the halibut!

 

[john from md]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

Blame it on the alcohol they put in the gas. On the earlier engines, the poppet in the valve is made of a material that swells from the alcohol. The newer valves have a different material in them and don't swell.

John

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

John, on the fuel pump pics at crowleymarine.com, do I need to order all the gaskets I see and the 3 valves. I have also looked hi and lo for the serial number and can't find it. I'm thinking this engine has been rebuilt and the labels were removed or destroyed when it was painted. Are all the fuel pumps for that year the same? I also want to do an impellar, should I just order the kit $87.00 that contains the housing and all? Gonna do a telltale this weekend. O.T.

 

[john from md]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

The fuel pumps were the same from 1984 to 1989, maybe even later but I am only sure about up to 1989.

For the fuel pump housing, you need one round gasket for the center check valve. The other two do not get gaskets.

For the fuel pump diaphram, you only need the diaphram and the one gasket that goes between the fuel pump housing and the fuel pump base. Since you are not removing the base, you will not need the gasket under it.

As for the water pump, I would pull the housing and see what it's condition is. If it just has minor pitts, and the stainless plate is not grooved, I would just replace the impeller and the gasket.

The big kit comes with housing and shaft seal, stainless plate impeller, gasket and four new bolts. BTW, I usually find them on ebay for somewhere around $62.

John

 

[O.T.Water]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

John, I really appreciate the input, Gonna do the impellar, fuel pump and telltale Saturday and hit the water Sunday. I'll let you know how I do. O.T.

 

[further]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

This is the water pump kit I bought for my 1988 85hp and it worked great! Only issue is that it took about 10 days for shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORC...0331752QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear

 

[john from md]

Re: Maiden Voyage Breakdown 1988 Force 85

That is a very reasonable price for the whole nine yards.

John