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1985 Wellcraft 30L stalls and wont restart after warmed up

R

rstroh01

Member
I have a 1985 Wellcraft that s

I have a 1985 Wellcraft that stalls and wont restart after running for 30+ minutes. This has happened 2x now and it wont restart until I pull it out of the water and get it home. Any ideas on where to start?
 
"Could be the anti-syphon valv

"Could be the anti-syphon valve in the fuel tank blocked, so after 30 mins the engine has pulled such a vacuum in the tank that is cant pump fuel anymore. By the time youve got the boat home the vacuum has dispersed. Give it a clean and make sure there are no blockages. When it happens next try taking the fuel cap off and listen for a rush of air. Alternatively try running the engine directly from a jerry can.
Could be coil problem when its getting hot its breaking down, but my moneys on a fuel supply problem. Carry a spare spark plug so you can plug it in to one of the leads and see if you have spark when you get the fault.
Good luck"
 
"well, changed the points as a

"well, changed the points as a matter of course and she is starting much easier. Went to put it in the water to test the vapor lock theory and storms came up. will have to wait until tomorrow. Will also have to pull the ignition coil to replace but I couldnt get a part number off it without first removing. Marine parts could not identify the part for me either. Apparently the serial number on my motor doesnt match the boat... Will update you tomorrow."
 
"took the boat out this mornin

"took the boat out this morning and it ran great for about 10 minutes, started to loose power so we headed back to the doc. Just before getting the the doc she started to smoke a bit so I shut it down and it would not restart. Got it home and once again, starts right up and runs fine. After it quit on the water I did remove the gas cap and could not hear an air release.

Still perplexed."
 
"Did you get a chance to see w

"Did you get a chance to see whether you had a spark or not when it wouldnt restart?
Loss of power could be the cause of a bad coil. If the coils weak, when trying to restart when the engines hot (tighter), the starter may be drawing too many amps for the weak coil to give a good enough spark to start. You have to remember that when running the coils getting 14 ish volts and when cranking 12 volts, minus what the starters pulling. What colour was the smoke? If it was black it may be unburnt fuel where the coil is failing."
 
"did not test for spark. I th

"did not test for spark. I thought the head may be cracked or blown head gasket so I shut right down. Compression test was at 150psi for all 4 cyl. Coil theory is starting to sound more like the culprit. Also, I just put a new starter in it (unrelated issue). Yes smoke was slightly black and not real excessive."
 
Trying to figure out which coi

Trying to figure out which coil to purchase and I am perplexed. No part number on the original one and not sure to use... any ideas? I am out of town and hoping to order it so I can replace when I get home. The only numbers on the coil are 3605 stamped on the bottom and a 707 marking on the side...
 
"Ok, new coil installed and it

"Ok, new coil installed and it starts up lightening fast. Ran it off the hose for a good fifteen minutes then off to the lake....I made good friends with the local boat patrol as they towed my butt back to the dock. This time I noticed the smell of burning rubber with the smoke. Engine temp was about 150-160 when it we started to loose power. I slowed to try to get back to the dock...more smoke then sounded almost like knocking i backed off on the gas and it stalled. kapoot! Got it home and it fired right back up."
 
"What engine do you have Rober

"What engine do you have Robert? What leg? Salt operation? Heat exchanger? Where does the smoke come from? Sorry if this info is available and I've just missed it
blush.gif
but it is needed to help solve your problem.

I think your engine is telling you that it is sick and firing it up, hoping, will probably end up by costing $$. Sounds like it needs fixing before firing.

When my AQ151 did something similar to this, I found that the head had cracked at the #4 corner. Common.

fwiw, Tom"
 
"What engine, that is part of

"What engine, that is part of the problem I am having. title says that it is a 140 hp. I can not find a tag on the block. There is a sticker on the lifter cover that calls this a 3.0 L with a corresponding serial number from a 2006 boat according to the marina. I checked compression and got 160+ readings consistently across all cylinders. I have had several people speculate that it is the carb and I have a rebuild kit I am ready to use. It just doesnt seem to me to be a carb issue.

Salt water use. Looks as though it may have had a new (used) head, lifter cover, riser replaced in the last year or so. I have also replaced the points, coil, starter. Carb has a sticker from a rebuild in 2002. It cools via raw water.

I havent been able to reproduce the problem unless I get it out on the water. It seems to run just fine via hose (no load situation)."
 
"I will take some pictures in

"I will take some pictures in the morning to see if anyone can help identify it by site. El gave me a pic showing its tag near the starter. I just rechecked, no tag, nor does it look like there ever has been one there.

My concern now is repeated trials are getting old but more importantly is my concern about doing more damage by continuing to run the engine without figuring out the problem.

Oh, one more bit of info. Engine seems to have a bit of trouble idling. I figured that was a separate issue to tackle later, but for the sake of providing all the info... Just a touch on the throttle and it runs just fine."
 
is it ok to run it in gear on

is it ok to run it in gear on rabbit ears for an extended period of time? I thought I could try that rather than $10 bucks a trial at the dock. I am also looking for a 55gal drum I could cut down to size and run it in that.
 
"Robert, what does it say on t

"Robert, what does it say on the leg? ie, 270, 280, 290 or what? This designation is normally found on the top of the outdrive, on the panel that covers the shift housing. How many cylinders? Are they straight up and down? or do they seem to be on a slant from the perpendicular? Once we nail down the exact engine and leg you have then all the talent on the forum (not me) will get you going in the right direction! Looking forward to the pics you will be posting!

Tom"
 
"Oh, duh I guess I could give

"Oh, duh I guess I could give you a bit more detail on the engine. It is a straight 4 cylinder. I have searched all over and find nothing other than on the valve cover which I am pretty sure is not original from the engine block. It says 3.0 L. Pics coming soon."
 
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