I have an arrow ski boat with a 74 115 horse mercury in it. it has 3
carbs and from the looks of it i have carb problems. how much should
it cost me to get this fixed?

"new boater....kinda" wrote in message
...
I have an arrow ski boat with a 74 115 horse mercury in it. it has 3
carbs and from the looks of it i have carb problems. how much should
it cost me to get this fixed?

'Bout a bazillion drachmas

"Captain A. Gore" wrote in :


"new boater....kinda" wrote in message
news:0d9316bf-0256-4c38-8cd7-510e0dd8dfa3
@a7g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
I have an arrow ski boat with a 74 115 horse mercury in it. it has 3
carbs and from the looks of it i have carb problems. how much should
it cost me to get this fixed?

'Bout a bazillion drachmas




Clear off the dining room table and cover it with newspapers.

Take the carbs off and don't lose the linkages.

Take the float bowls off and clean out the obvious gook and other junk
with carb cleaner AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. Soak the carbs in carb cleaner
for a few days to let it melt that shellac that's clogging up the jets.
Use a fine wire to ream the crap out of the jets. Be careful not to
make the holes larger though.

Now clean as new, reassemble it all and thank the wife for the dining
room table usage.

Put the carbs back on and let the primer pump fill the bowls back up.
If there's spark, she should start right up. 2-stroke engines aren't
rocket science.

If it still won't start, remove the flywheel with a puller and inspect
the stator the magnets whirl around to make all the power. Curse
Mercury when you find the totally unprotected soft iron core of the
stator has rotted into rust and shorted out your magnetism that makes
the power. Buy an aftermarket stator and coat all the exposed soft iron
surfaces with heavy axle grease to protect it forever under the
flywheel. Why an American outboard motor company can't figure that out
never ceases to amaze me.

After replacing the rotted stator, don't let your fingers get anywhere
near those ignition coils or you're gonna pay bigtime! It can't help
but fire, now, unless the crankshaft is frozen.....

After you get it running, every time you're putting it back on the
trailer shut off the fuel while the engine is still sucking cooling
water on the trailer and let it run until it stalls. When it starts to
stall, hit the choke to suck out all the gas from the carbs you can. If
the other owner had done that, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
The boat was stored with gas in the carbs, which evaporated and left the
shellac behind...same as every other gas motor ever stored.

Nice engine...SIMPLE so mere humans can fix it on a dining room table.
Splurge and buy it a new water pump impeller so it doesn't overheat.
The old one's trash.


--
-----
Larry

Noone will be safe until the last lawyer has been strangled by the
entrails of the last cleric.

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Captain A. Gore" wrote in :


"new boater....kinda" wrote in message
news:0d9316bf-0256-4c38-8cd7-510e0dd8dfa3
@a7g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
I have an arrow ski boat with a 74 115 horse mercury in it. it has 3
carbs and from the looks of it i have carb problems. how much should
it cost me to get this fixed?

'Bout a bazillion drachmas




Clear off the dining room table and cover it with newspapers.

Take the carbs off and don't lose the linkages.

Take the float bowls off and clean out the obvious gook and other junk
with carb cleaner AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. Soak the carbs in carb cleaner
for a few days to let it melt that shellac that's clogging up the jets.
Use a fine wire to ream the crap out of the jets. Be careful not to
make the holes larger though.

Now clean as new, reassemble it all and thank the wife for the dining
room table usage.

Put the carbs back on and let the primer pump fill the bowls back up.
If there's spark, she should start right up. 2-stroke engines aren't
rocket science.

If it still won't start, remove the flywheel with a puller and inspect
the stator the magnets whirl around to make all the power. Curse
Mercury when you find the totally unprotected soft iron core of the
stator has rotted into rust and shorted out your magnetism that makes
the power. Buy an aftermarket stator and coat all the exposed soft iron
surfaces with heavy axle grease to protect it forever under the
flywheel. Why an American outboard motor company can't figure that out
never ceases to amaze me.

After replacing the rotted stator, don't let your fingers get anywhere
near those ignition coils or you're gonna pay bigtime! It can't help
but fire, now, unless the crankshaft is frozen.....

After you get it running, every time you're putting it back on the
trailer shut off the fuel while the engine is still sucking cooling
water on the trailer and let it run until it stalls. When it starts to
stall, hit the choke to suck out all the gas from the carbs you can. If
the other owner had done that, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
The boat was stored with gas in the carbs, which evaporated and left the
shellac behind...same as every other gas motor ever stored.

Nice engine...SIMPLE so mere humans can fix it on a dining room table.
Splurge and buy it a new water pump impeller so it doesn't overheat.
The old one's trash.


--
-----
Larry


That was the conventional wisdom for older two strokes, but my 2003 Johnson
25 2 stroke says this....

OFF-SEASON STORAGE

You must protect against natural environmental

conditions that can be damaging to an outboard

motor. Temperature and humidity changes while

your outboard motor is not in use can cause corrosion

of internal engine parts when they are not protected.

Fuel remaining in your fuel tank and in the

engine will oxidize and weather which can result in

loss of octane and can cause gum deposits in the

fuel system. Your warranty does not cover engine

failure caused by these conditions. We strongly recommend

that you have your DEALER prepare your

outboard for the off-season.

To do the off-season storage preparations yourself,

gather the supplies and perform the following steps.

2+4 fuel conditioner

Triple-Guard grease

Ultra-HPF gearcase lubricant

Storage Fogging Oil spray can

Stabilize the engine's fuel supply with 2+4 fuel conditioner

during the last hours of operation to ensure

proper stabilization, following instructions on the

container for mixture. Be sure to run the engine

long enough for the treated fuel to reach the engine



**Note: no mention of running the engine dry.

"Don White" wrote in news:4a610ae3$0$23778
:

**Note: no mention of running the engine dry.




Dealers don't make much money running the engine dry. But, have you dealer
priced the rest of it, lately?....(c;]

A bone dry carb in a bone dry garage should last well into the 24th
century. It certainly won't clog all the jets with gas shellac like this
guy has in his.



--
-----
Larry

Noone will be safe until the last lawyer has been strangled by the entrails
of the last cleric.

On Jul 17, 11:26*am, Larry wrote:
"Captain A. Gore" wrote :



"new boater....kinda" wrote in message
news:0d9316bf-0256-4c38-8cd7-510e0dd8dfa3

@a7g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...

I have an arrow ski boat with a 74 115 horse mercury in it. it has 3
carbs and from the looks of it i have carb problems. how much should
it cost me to get this fixed?

'Bout a bazillion drachmas

Clear off the dining room table and cover it with newspapers.

Take the carbs off and don't lose the linkages.

Take the float bowls off and clean out the obvious gook and other junk
with carb cleaner AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. *Soak the carbs in carb cleaner
for a few days to let it melt that shellac that's clogging up the jets. *
Use a fine wire to ream the crap out of the jets. *Be careful not to
make the holes larger though.

Now clean as new, reassemble it all and thank the wife for the dining
room table usage. *

Put the carbs back on and let the primer pump fill the bowls back up. *
If there's spark, she should start right up. *2-stroke engines aren't
rocket science.

If it still won't start, remove the flywheel with a puller and inspect
the stator the magnets whirl around to make all the power. *Curse
Mercury when you find the totally unprotected soft iron core of the
stator has rotted into rust and shorted out your magnetism that makes
the power. *Buy an aftermarket stator and coat all the exposed soft iron
surfaces with heavy axle grease to protect it forever under the
flywheel. *Why an American outboard motor company can't figure that out
never ceases to amaze me.

After replacing the rotted stator, don't let your fingers get anywhere
near those ignition coils or you're gonna pay bigtime! *It can't help
but fire, now, unless the crankshaft is frozen.....

After you get it running, every time you're putting it back on the
trailer shut off the fuel while the engine is still sucking cooling
water on the trailer and let it run until it stalls. *When it starts to
stall, hit the choke to suck out all the gas from the carbs you can. *If
the other owner had done that, we wouldn't be having this discussion. *
The boat was stored with gas in the carbs, which evaporated and left the
shellac behind...same as every other gas motor ever stored.

Nice engine...SIMPLE so mere humans can fix it on a dining room table.
Splurge and buy it a new water pump impeller so it doesn't overheat. *
The old one's trash.

--
-----
Larry

Noone will be safe until the last lawyer has been strangled by the
entrails of the last cleric.


Just went through this with a 30 year old Johnson 9.9 and it really
really works. The gotcha in my case is an outboard well, handy but
really wet and hard on the motor.

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:36:04 -0300, "Don White"
wrote:

**Note: no mention of running the engine dry.

It's common sense and common knowledge. Fuel conditioner will help
but leaving the carburetor dry is even better.

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:52:39 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:36:04 -0300, "Don White"
wrote:

**Note: no mention of running the engine dry.

It's common sense and common knowledge. Fuel conditioner will help
but leaving the carburetor dry is even better.

It may be "common sense", but it is still wrong. If you want the
benefit of storing a carb dry, you must disassemble it, clean it with
solvent and then blow it completely dry with compressed air. You can't
leave a few drops of gasoline in any nooks, crannies or jets without
bad consequences.

Otherwise, storing it with stabilized gasoline is preferable. It also
keeps the seals from drying out.

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:09:42 -0400, wrote:

If you want the
benefit of storing a carb dry, you must disassemble it, clean it with
solvent and then blow it completely dry with compressed air. You can't
leave a few drops of gasoline in any nooks, crannies or jets without
bad consequences.

That's technically correct but letting the motor run out of gas before
storage delivers most of the benefits with a lot less effort.
Stabilized gas can still gum up, it just takes longer.

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:41:32 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:09:42 -0400, wrote:

If you want the
benefit of storing a carb dry, you must disassemble it, clean it with
solvent and then blow it completely dry with compressed air. You can't
leave a few drops of gasoline in any nooks, crannies or jets without
bad consequences.


That's technically correct

Yes, that's why I thought it important to mention it. A small amount
of raw gas left in the carb may (will) cause more harm than a carb
full of properly treated gas. For storage that is anticipated to be
longer than a year, or at most two, the carb should be disassembled as
described above regardless. Otherwise, plan on trouble when you next
want to use it. It's a LOT harder to clean a carb and fuel system
after it has been allowed to sit with stale gas in it for too long.