Spychocyco
New Member
Hey guys, I'm new here and looking for a little help.
I've got a '98 Tracker Panfish 16 with a Tracker Force (Merc) 40 on it. I bought it new back in '99, and this thing has been a tank. For 21 years, it's started on the first crank every spring and run like a top. The biggest repairs that I've had to make were replacing water pumps and spark plugs.
This spring, it was its usual self. It cranked right up and ran great the first time I took it out. The second time out, I noticed some sluggishness, like it was bogging down a bit. I replaced the plugs because it had been a while (only one of them looked bad), and ran a little seafoam through it, which seemed to help briefly. But the issues have gotten worse.
The motor cranks up with no problem, but often dies when I put it in gear. Sometimes after it dies, I hear a noise like something is continuing to run, and it won't even try to crank again when that's going on. Sometimes it's only for a few seconds, but sometimes it can go 15-20 seconds. After that, I have to push the throttle a bit and rev it before I put it in gear to get it to go.
Sometimes it runs better than others, but it hasn't been right since that first time. This afternoon, though, it was the worst it's been. With the throttle wide open, it was only running what felt like about quarter speed and refusing to plane at all. I kept hoping the Seafoam and some run-time would bring about a miracle, but looks like I've got to figure it out.
I'm thinking if I can figure out what that noise is after it dies, that's most likely the problem, but I don't have a clue. Any suggestions?
I've got a '98 Tracker Panfish 16 with a Tracker Force (Merc) 40 on it. I bought it new back in '99, and this thing has been a tank. For 21 years, it's started on the first crank every spring and run like a top. The biggest repairs that I've had to make were replacing water pumps and spark plugs.
This spring, it was its usual self. It cranked right up and ran great the first time I took it out. The second time out, I noticed some sluggishness, like it was bogging down a bit. I replaced the plugs because it had been a while (only one of them looked bad), and ran a little seafoam through it, which seemed to help briefly. But the issues have gotten worse.
The motor cranks up with no problem, but often dies when I put it in gear. Sometimes after it dies, I hear a noise like something is continuing to run, and it won't even try to crank again when that's going on. Sometimes it's only for a few seconds, but sometimes it can go 15-20 seconds. After that, I have to push the throttle a bit and rev it before I put it in gear to get it to go.
Sometimes it runs better than others, but it hasn't been right since that first time. This afternoon, though, it was the worst it's been. With the throttle wide open, it was only running what felt like about quarter speed and refusing to plane at all. I kept hoping the Seafoam and some run-time would bring about a miracle, but looks like I've got to figure it out.
I'm thinking if I can figure out what that noise is after it dies, that's most likely the problem, but I don't have a clue. Any suggestions?
