hey hows it going? its that time of year again where we pull our boats out of storage and get them ready for fishing season. a few years back i scored big and picked up a 1978 glasply cuddy cruiser with the infamous merc 470. ive worked through almost every system on that boat, new 12v system, new manifold/riser assembly, new fuel system, its more like what havent i done. oh yeah i got the boat for 750$ from the origional owner with only 180 hours.....origional hours at that. but.... alas, im going insane trying to figure some of the final bugs. ive been reading and i cant tell if its a bad coil, or vaporlock.... but when i bought the boat, there was a full tank of fuel. 55 gallons of gasoline sat in the tank/carb for over 10 years.... i scrapped the hoses and tank, and i have since ran 3 tanks of fuel with additives thru the system.
the scenario
early in the morning, i go start my boat up at the dock.... she fires first crank and purrs like a kitten. i usually let it run for 30 minutes or so- so the heater gets the cabin nice and toasty, and as we have coffee in the cabin, the engine silently just sputters out.
what that means, after warming up, and idling for 30-45 minutes, it dies. but only at the dock, ive had it run at idle in the driveway for hours...
after leaving the marina, and running 30minutes out to the fishing spots, as i throttle down and go to a few 100rpm above idle, it just sputters out and dies.... takes up to 20minutes to restart...
i used to think it was a case of a bad low idle jet and a bad coil... but...
after that, i can usually run around for a few hours before i have any more problems, but on long hauls like 20 miles or so i dont have a single problem.... untill about 3/4 of the way thru the haul... then, the engine just boggs down and wont run on the high idle jet for 30 minutes or so... only the low idle.... after that 30 min, i can usually bump it up and make it back to the marina, but the moment i have to go on low-jet, for the no wake zone.... the 470 dies...... and usually wont start again untill the next day. the exact moment i hit the no wake zone and throttle down accordingly.... gotta do the rest with the kicker.......
but...... if im going to put it on the trailer, i can keep the engine running even as im pulling the trailer out of the water....
my boat hates mornings.... it hates no-wake zones.... and hates marinas....
i just gotta work this out because i sold my kicker to break even on car payments...
i work as a marine diesel mechanic/boatbuilder/classic vw mechanic.... so youd think i could figure this out... but i swear these 470s have a mind of thier own
im thinking a 2nd blower, and some serious venting on the dog house might fix this
the scenario
early in the morning, i go start my boat up at the dock.... she fires first crank and purrs like a kitten. i usually let it run for 30 minutes or so- so the heater gets the cabin nice and toasty, and as we have coffee in the cabin, the engine silently just sputters out.
what that means, after warming up, and idling for 30-45 minutes, it dies. but only at the dock, ive had it run at idle in the driveway for hours...
after leaving the marina, and running 30minutes out to the fishing spots, as i throttle down and go to a few 100rpm above idle, it just sputters out and dies.... takes up to 20minutes to restart...
i used to think it was a case of a bad low idle jet and a bad coil... but...
after that, i can usually run around for a few hours before i have any more problems, but on long hauls like 20 miles or so i dont have a single problem.... untill about 3/4 of the way thru the haul... then, the engine just boggs down and wont run on the high idle jet for 30 minutes or so... only the low idle.... after that 30 min, i can usually bump it up and make it back to the marina, but the moment i have to go on low-jet, for the no wake zone.... the 470 dies...... and usually wont start again untill the next day. the exact moment i hit the no wake zone and throttle down accordingly.... gotta do the rest with the kicker.......
but...... if im going to put it on the trailer, i can keep the engine running even as im pulling the trailer out of the water....
my boat hates mornings.... it hates no-wake zones.... and hates marinas....
i just gotta work this out because i sold my kicker to break even on car payments...
i work as a marine diesel mechanic/boatbuilder/classic vw mechanic.... so youd think i could figure this out... but i swear these 470s have a mind of thier own
im thinking a 2nd blower, and some serious venting on the dog house might fix this
