Mercury 500 Thunderbolt 1973 50 hp - Starts, Idles Great, Dies when put in gear

[Jbird12]

My 73 Merc 500 starts up no problem and runs great for 15 20 minutes but once I put it in neutral then try to put it back in gear it dies. Then, to get it started I have to pull the choke(starts then dies the second i release the choke). Then it starts up fine with no choke and will idle perfectly but as soon as i put it in gear she dies. The bulb is hard enough and i think it is getting fuel... Cold it starts and runs fine but once shes warmed up i can't put her gear. Any ideas? Should i try adjusting the idle screw? I have heard Fuel Diaphragm and maybe the carb and timing are out? I am knew at this but don't mind getting my hands dirty i just need an idea of where to start. Thanks guys any help would be awesome.

Serial no. 2952250

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: Mercury 500 Thunderbolt 1973 50 hp - Starts, Idles Great, Dies when put in gear

I am having the same problem with my 1979 merc 40. I just finished pulling the carb and fuel pump, soaking in chem dip, then doing full rebuild kits on both. I also replaced all fuel lines. Mine was running great, then i would put it in gear and take off, and it would run great, and then I would put it back in neutral and it would die, then fail to start again. I would wait for 30 minutes to an hour before it would even try again. I'm going to check back in and see if anyone has suggestions for us.