Bad gas or more

"I recently bought a 96 maxum

"I recently bought a 96 maxum with a mercruiser 4.3 lx in he first time i used it I put about 15 gallons of 89 octane gas in and it ran ok most the time. The first time i shut it off it diesled and then later it was sputterin when coming out of the hole. I did not try wot that day. The next time I took it out i added 22gals to the 6 that were left. It seems to run ok but doesnt seem to have much power from 3/4 to full throtle. I got it up to 48 on the gps then it slowed down to about 41 and could not get it to go any faster. Also it sometimes cuts out when trying to trim up at full throttle. Is it possible it still has bad gas or is there more? I have changed the spark plugs, fuel/water seperator, and changed the oil and filter. Please Help"

pull the dist cap and check ou

pull the dist cap and check out the contacts

What color and condition were

What color and condition were the plugs you removed?

"...it was sputterin when coming out of the hole"

May need a new accellerator pump. I would rebuild the carb using a Merc. carb kit.

"Check/change the small filter

"Check/change the small filter at the carb inlet. Also make sure that the carb is not running too rich, and that the timing is not advanced a bit. Any of the above could cause the problems that you're experiencinmg"

"Check/change the small filter

"Check/change the small filter at the carb inlet. Also make sure that the carb is not running too rich, and that the timing is not advanced a bit. Any of the above could cause the problems that you're experiencing"

I will check the carb filter t

I will check the carb filter tonight when its not so hot out.I had pulled the dist cap the other day and the contacts had some corrosion on them. I cleaned them off. The boat sat for about an hour will I was doing that and some other things. I started it up and it ran pretty good for about 10 minutes then back to the way it was.

The plugs I took our were dark

The plugs I took our were dark black. I checked the new ones after 2 days of use. One side was a little black the other side was med to dark brown.

Too rich.

Too rich.

Carb filter was clean. I am dr

Carb filter was clean. I am draining the fuel out now.