AM I BEING TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS BY REPAIR SHOP

" HI BOARD-HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO A

" HI BOARD-HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.
ENGINE IS 1986 125 FORCE ENGINE 4 CYL. I TOOK MY BOAT IN CAUSE OF NO POWER AT 2 TOP CYLINDERS AMD WAS ONLY GETTING 2800 RPM. SHOP REPLACED STATER AND CD MODULE.THAT COST $600.00 NOW THEY TELL ME THAT ONE OF THE CARBS IS STARVING FOR FUEL. THEY SAY IT IS "NOT" THE CARBS.,FUEL PUMP,REED VALVES, OR COMPRESSION, THAT PROBLEM IS INSIDE ENGINE AND WILL HAVE TO BE TORN APART. COST ANOTHER $600.00 TO REPAIR-TOTAL SO FAR $1,2OO. YES, MY ENGINE WAS NOT GETTING BUT 2800 RPM BEFORE I HAD LOST POWER AT THE 2 TOP CYLINDERS. SHOP ASKED ME IF ENGINE HAD EVER BEEN REBUILD CAUSE THEY FOUND SILCONE INSIDE ENGINE (such as if it had been rebuit before) AND I TOLD THEM NO CAUSE I BOUGHT BOAT NEW FROM SHOW ROOM. MY QUESTION, COULD THEY DOING "JUST" REPAIR WORK OR AM I JUST SIMPLY BEING TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS?? WHAT ELEMENT COULD POSSIBLY BE BAD INSIDE ENGINE? PLEASE HELP....ED "

"Ed,

Your story is one that

"Ed,

Your story is one that I have heard many times before, from owners of Force outboards. These ignition systems are very touchy and will fail at the slightest mishap. The fact that these engines are no longer being manufactured by Quicksilver does not help any. Parts are expensive and can be difficult to come by. Recently, I ordered a trigger coil from a dealer and they got a rebuilt coil from the manufacturer.
I had great difficulty making it fit. This gives you an idea of what you are up against.

As for the silicone that your mechanic noticed, it was probably there right from the beginning. Force engines were put together with silicone on many gaskets at the factory, unlike most other outboards.

As for the problem which you still seem to have, it is possible that the top cylinders are not developing enough vacuum even though they seem to have good compression. This would look like a fuel problem as your mechanic has noted.

Before you take the engine apart though, I would advise you to perform a proper spark test. The reason I say this is because I have seen many instances where these ignition systems failed repeatedly even after new parts were installed.

Remove the plugs and see if you can get the spark to jump from the ignition wire to a source of ground across a gap of at least 7/16 of an inch. When you are doing this be sure to ground the ignition wires that you are not testing so that there is no damage to the CD modules. It is even better if you can rig it so that you test all four ignition wires at the same time. Then you might notice if there is some erratic pattern to the spark.

I hope this helps you. Let us know what happens.

tonyoutboard"