Engine Issue

[Dan Nevill]

I need advise. The past two time out my motor has been sputtering once I get about quarter thrott had and will not go full trottle. Once in a while the motor will rev up full then acks like a miss then boggs down. The motor is a 1998, Mercury 90HP 3 crab. The carb were rebuilt a few years ago and have had no issues till just a few weeks ago. Iy starts great and idles great.



Any ideas of stuff I can do before I take it to a mecanic. I've thought about changing out the primer bulb, line and the disconnect to the motor. Also the full filter.



Thoughts?



Thanks,



Dan

 

[pete hanford2]

it could be that the fuel filter is clogged. also u might have water in the fuel. you might want to get some star tron made by startbrite to treat your fuel.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Ethanol!!! Chances are that is the culprit. Do as Pete says and put in some additive, but one that does NOT have more alcohol in it. Starbrite or Sta-Bil will work. Also look to see if you have a water/fuel seperator and clean it out. These are just the beginning of the problems we will all see with Ethanol in our gas. I don't know what rocket scientist came up with the revelation to put a water based grain alcohol in with a petroleum fuel but where I come from oil and water don't mix. In fact, I'm pretty sure that water corrodes and destroys metal components that are normally lubed. Hmmmm???? USA-the only country in the world that burns a food source as fuel. What a country! Somebody in DC (and a few select farmers in the midwest) are lining their pockets on this deal. :angry:

 

[Jimmy Lau]

I had a similar issue with my 2001 90hp Merc. The only thing I did was add Sta-bil and some new gas and it was back to normal. Hope it works for you as well.

 

[Jim in VA]

Dan:



Try a few of these things:



1. Decarb the motor using the attached procedure (involves use of Seafoam - great stuff).



2. If you haven't done it yet, change out the spark plugs to new.



3. Get rid of the old gas and get fresh stuff. I suspect you won't be able to find non-ethanol gas, but try to find the non-e stuff first.



Keep us posted!



J.



Rob - FYI, US is not alone in using ethanol. Brazil gained energy independence by relying nearly exclusively on ethanol (near 100% stuff). That said, I agree its not the best policy in the world to use ethanol in U.S. fuels. Problem is that there isn't a suitable alternative to reduce smog/pollutants without also contaminating our water supply.
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/18222-how-decarb-engine-dunks-method.html

 

[Bruce Freeman]

My question is this, with e-85 less efficent than straight gas (less mpg) so we are burning more fuel over all than before, so how does that help? Beside the oil companies control the flow of the e-85 also?



But back to Bluefrogs problem, changing the fuel filter and replacing the primer bulb is a good place to start.



BF

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

My problem is with the fact that we are turning food into fuel and not at a very efficient trade-off at that.



TOXIC