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1978 - 150 HP Mercury Outboard - Starter Fluid

aquaholictom

New member
Engine will not start unless I use starter fluid in each of the 3 carbs. When it starts it runs good.

The other day I was out and after getting it started with the starter fluid. It ran well most of the day until I started it back up and it would only run very slow. I stopped the engine and then couldn't get it started again. Fuel was going to the carbs and there is fuel when I open the plug at the bottom of each carbs.

It sounds like I need to rebuild the carbs. The motor has been sitting for more then a year before I bought it. Any opinions out there?
 
Throw the starter fluid far far away. This motor need oil with it's fuel. The starter fluid washes away any residual oil from the cylinder walls and even that few 100 revolutions it runs before the regular gas starts flowing can cause severe damage (the kind where a connecting rod comes through the case when a piston welds itself to the cylinder wall).

And yes, anytime a carb model has been sitting (not properly prepped) there is a strong possibility that the carbs will need a thorough cleaning and rebuild.

So yank them off, take em' apart and clean them up.

There is also a possibility that the choke (enrichement) system is full of crud as well which would contribute to the hard start/no start.

The carbs mount on a "choke plate". There is a solenoid that kinda (leaks) gas into throats of the plate when you activate the choke (hold the key in). If the channels in the plate are gummed up, no gas will make it to the intake.

Since you will have the carbs off to clean them, pull the plate as well (which is part of what most would call a "throttle body")and soak it out then blow out the channels with compressed air.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then your first step should be to grab a Seloc's manual that covers your model. You may as well do it right the first time or you could continue to have problems.
 
Thanks again for the help. I have rebuilt carbs on other outboards and I also have the manual online but I think I'll get a hard copy of the manual. The online version is pretty weak.
 
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