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Hello I'm new here. Hoping y'all can help me. I got this boat on trade. Its a 16 foot seat ray with a early 70's 85hp v-4 Johnson(electric shift). My problem is it ran fine when I got it. It would start right up and idle. I took it to the river, cranked it up on the trailer, jumped out and unhooked it(left it idleing) jumped back in and started idling out. Hit the throttle and it tried to get on plane and then died. Hasn't run since. Has compression (will check exact #'s later in week) and has spark. But since it died it the plugs haven't been "wet" with gas. Carbs look clean. Sprayed starting fluid in Carb(yes I know its a no-no) and still didn't try to run. Any idea's or starting points?
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Where to start
Well, you've got two likely culprits - fuel and ignition. My first guess would be fuel, as it is the more common problem and you've indicated that it doesn't appear to be getting any into the cylinder. Starter fluid will usually get an engine to kick over if there's a fuel supply problem, though, so I'd recommend checking your ignition to make sure that you're getting a strong spark before tearing into the fuel system. Pull the plugs one at a time, ground them to the block, and turn the engine over (works best in a darkened area). You should see the spark jumping across the plug. If you don't get a spark, then your problem is in the ignition system. If you do, then focus on fuel. A good shot of ether in the intake will usually be enough to get it to kick over if you've got a spark. If you can't get it to at least try, you may well have bigger problems down inside the engine (valves would be the most likely culprit).
One other thought - I've seen this before on an engine that had aspirated a bit of water from contaminated gas. After trying half a dozen things to get it cleared, we just pulled all the plugs, sprayed WD40 into all the cylinders (it didn't take much), and then left the motor in a dry warm area (garage in a Texas August) for a couple of days to dry out (cover with a tarp to keep dust out). Then we put the plugs back in and it fired right up.
Good luck. -
Thanks. It does have spark on each cylinder. I'll probably try what you said with the wd40 since I'm going to be away from home for a couple days. And when I get back I will post results. Maybe I'll get lucky.Comment
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