My Dad just gave me his boat
 

The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????
--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights,
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

My Dad just gave me his boat
 

Well,, try running it, fresh high test and good oil, should everything go
good, then your alright, hopefully he conditioned the fuel prior to storage
but two years is not that bad, sometime fuel will turn gummy or varnish.

If there is a problem, try making a little mixture of highly potent fuel to
carb cleaner you can get down at the automotive supply place, let it run for
a few minutes ,, smoke like crazy then shut if off for a couple days, let it
break down what ever gum is in there.
Should that fail, then you may have to clean out the carb, get someone who
knows how to properly do this.

There are also drain plugs in the carbs, open them and drain them and pump
the fresh fuel through those drains. Flush as much as possible. Including
hoses, filters.









"Lure Action Controller" . wrote in message
...
The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????
--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights,
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

My Dad just gave me his boat
 

If it was mine first make sure compression was good then I would take
carburetors off and clean them out real good, replace fuel pump diaphragm
and replace water pump Impeller and then take it out.
Scott

--
This is my web site
www.scott-the-boat-doctor.com

"Lure Action Controller" . wrote in message
...
The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????
--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights,
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

My Dad just gave me his boat
 

"Lure Action Controller" . wrote in message
...
The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????


Well, any damage done by not properly preparing the motor for long term
storage has been done, and there is little you are going to do about it now.

I would suggest getting a sample of what's in the gas tank into a glass jar
and taking a look at it. If it doesn't look and smell just like gasoline
then I would drain the tank completely and discard the fuel (easier said
then done....)

If it looks and smells okay then I would give it a try! The gas will
certainly have lost some of its potency, so it will not run its best. If
the tank is mostly empty then just refill with fresh and you should be fine.

The gas that was left in the carburetor will have evaporated by now, leaving
behind a residue. Fresh gas may dissolve this and wash it through. On the
other hand, as the residue reduced to sludge it might have blocked the
smaller passages in the carburetor which will require it to be removed and
cleaned.

What year is this motor? Older Mercury motors used to be fairly robust, but
I know from personal experience that model year 2000 Mercury 50 Hp motors
have carburetors that are so delicate that just about anything will destroy
them. Hopefully yours are the former.


Rod McInnis

My Dad just gave me his boat
 

Lure Action Controller wrote:

The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????


Hook the engine up to a garden hose with water muffs at home for
engine cooling water, or submerge the foot in a garbage can full of
water. Try to start the engine. Charge the battery, or pull the
start rope.

If it won't go, check for spark by pulling a plug and resting it
against the block while you crank and look for a spark at the plug
tip. If spark is OK then check the carb bowl syphon for a gasoline
varnish blister at the bottom of the fuel pickup tube. Prick it
with a pin or scratch it off with a fingernail, then try again. This
worked for me after my boat sat for a year and the gas in the carb
evaporated, leaving a hard blister sealing off the fuel pickup.

You might need to clean or renew the jets and float needle and seat
valve. You might need a carb kit installation / rebuild.

Some would suggest that old gas won't burn. I say that's hooie. If
the tank was not full, it may have gotton contaminated with water
condensation if the vent was left open. You would then need to
remove the water. Pour the water out the vent hole into a pop
bottle. You should easily see when all the water has come out.

If it starts, check the cooling water tell tale ****er. Do not run
it if there is no water coming out. You would then need to change
the pump impeller, for which you must remove the foot. It is not
real difficult, but a shop manual would help.

Then, change the oil in the foot gear case, just for luck. If you
find water (milky oil) in the foot gears, dissassemble the foot,
check for corrosion and renew the gaskets.

Terry K

My Dad just gave me his boat
 

Get a reference for a good Mercury outboard mechanic and have it tuned up
and fully serviced.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Terry Spragg" wrote in message
.rogers.com...
Lure Action Controller wrote:

The trouble is,, he did not run the gas out of the carburetor,, it has
been two years since the boat has run,, when I picked it up I noticed
the gas line attached to the motor. I have not tried to start this
engine yet (50 Hp Merc.) What should I do first ???????????????????


Hook the engine up to a garden hose with water muffs at home for
engine cooling water, or submerge the foot in a garbage can full of
water. Try to start the engine. Charge the battery, or pull the
start rope.

If it won't go, check for spark by pulling a plug and resting it
against the block while you crank and look for a spark at the plug
tip. If spark is OK then check the carb bowl syphon for a gasoline
varnish blister at the bottom of the fuel pickup tube. Prick it
with a pin or scratch it off with a fingernail, then try again. This
worked for me after my boat sat for a year and the gas in the carb
evaporated, leaving a hard blister sealing off the fuel pickup.

You might need to clean or renew the jets and float needle and seat
valve. You might need a carb kit installation / rebuild.

Some would suggest that old gas won't burn. I say that's hooie. If
the tank was not full, it may have gotton contaminated with water
condensation if the vent was left open. You would then need to
remove the water. Pour the water out the vent hole into a pop
bottle. You should easily see when all the water has come out.

If it starts, check the cooling water tell tale ****er. Do not run
it if there is no water coming out. You would then need to change
the pump impeller, for which you must remove the foot. It is not
real difficult, but a shop manual would help.

Then, change the oil in the foot gear case, just for luck. If you
find water (milky oil) in the foot gears, dissassemble the foot,
check for corrosion and renew the gaskets.

Terry K