"I have an older boat, a 1980
"I have an older boat, a 1980 Invader with a Mercruiser 260. When I drop it in the water and start it up it runs like a dream, especially for an older boat. After a couple of hours though, it can't build power when I accelerate hard. It stutters and misses and after a long time can build up the RPM, and once the RPM are up it runs smoothly. At first I thought it was a fuel starvation problem. The fuel pump was replaced 5 years ago and there aren't enough hours on the boat to suspect that. I've replaced the fuel lines, had the carburator rebuild and checked the tank for sediment. I began suspecting electrical and replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap/rotor but problem persists. I am pretty certain the problem is temperature related because if I shut the boat down for an hour it runs just fine again for 45 minutes or so and then the problem returns. The only other clue I have (which may not even be related) is that when the engine is hot it tends to stall at idle when switching into neutral.
At this time I am suspecting the distributor itself. Its about the only thing left, and at 28 years old I'm wondering if the springs that govern spark advance have become weakened and are affected by temperature when the engine is fully warmed up. I'd just replace it and give it a whirl but the location of the distributor requires that I drill a hole to get the distributor out and patch the fibreglass afterward. Any thoughts as to what else it could be or how to determine for certain would be appreciated."
"I have an older boat, a 1980 Invader with a Mercruiser 260. When I drop it in the water and start it up it runs like a dream, especially for an older boat. After a couple of hours though, it can't build power when I accelerate hard. It stutters and misses and after a long time can build up the RPM, and once the RPM are up it runs smoothly. At first I thought it was a fuel starvation problem. The fuel pump was replaced 5 years ago and there aren't enough hours on the boat to suspect that. I've replaced the fuel lines, had the carburator rebuild and checked the tank for sediment. I began suspecting electrical and replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap/rotor but problem persists. I am pretty certain the problem is temperature related because if I shut the boat down for an hour it runs just fine again for 45 minutes or so and then the problem returns. The only other clue I have (which may not even be related) is that when the engine is hot it tends to stall at idle when switching into neutral.
At this time I am suspecting the distributor itself. Its about the only thing left, and at 28 years old I'm wondering if the springs that govern spark advance have become weakened and are affected by temperature when the engine is fully warmed up. I'd just replace it and give it a whirl but the location of the distributor requires that I drill a hole to get the distributor out and patch the fibreglass afterward. Any thoughts as to what else it could be or how to determine for certain would be appreciated."