1985 sea ray 57 omc stringer sputtering and bogging

"Hey guys,

Like the title s

"Hey guys,

Like the title says, Running in neutral the motor runs fine i can go to WOT without any bogging. Once it is in gear and I try WOT it will try to lunge forward but then bogs horribly. I have to to put it back in neutral to keep it from dying. Also I was out yesterday just putting around, when I came back towards shore it would not go in reverse. When I pulled the throttle back wards it went forward. I bet that how all the old folks run through the store fronts in their cars. ok that was a bad joke. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions on either or both of these problems."

sounds like it needed a tuneup

sounds like it needed a tuneup.
Did you really go to WOT in neutral? That can destroy an engine.

well. not for and period of ti

well. not for and period of time. Just a quick push to see what the difference in response was. and the difference was significant. I changed out the plugs and wires last year. Could is possibly be bad gas?

"It could be bad gas-but that&

"It could be bad gas-but that's not one of the first things i would suspect.
I'd do the fuel filters and points/cap/rotor first.

Those should be replaced every year or two anyways.
My money is on the points.

While replacing points on a boat, you want to inspect the advance weights and springs and replace or simply lubricate them if not rusted/broken etc.

Has it run properly since the plugs and wires swap?- you probably know where I'm going with that question..."

inspecting the shift cable adj

inspecting the shift cable adjustment and testing the ESA by activating the switches a good step too.

"do a FULL tune up, time and a

"do a FULL tune up, time and adjust the dwell, like HY posted. then clean the filters, the one in the inlet at the carb and the one in the fuel pump if it has one there. fuel water separator is equipped.


then if you want you can run it on a external tank of clean gas if the problem goes away hook of the onboard tank and if the problem reamerges then you got it narrowed down to the gas in the tank.

the above is good to do if your not overheating also."

"Update.

I did a full tune

"Update.

I did a full tune up. And it still bogs. I think I might have located the issue. Hopefully someone can tell me if I am accurate. I have a converter box on the back of my engine that engages forward and reverse. There is a switch on there. ESA switch. Well when I am attempting to pull a skier up it bogs. I have noticed when I put any force on my throttle that it pushes the little switch down. from what I under stand, this switch is supposed make shifting eaiser by slowing the rpm's of the engine. if this is correct then it should not be pushed at WOT. is this correct and if so what would the fix be? I have some images on another forum i post the link to that below. It seems noone knows what to do there.

http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=31836&d=1246287491

http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=31837&d=1246287504"