Johnson 1997 175 hp Fast Strike (loses power and cuts off under any kind of load)

Dear Sirs,
I am new to postings and even newer to outboard engines. I have a 97 Johnson 175 Fast Strike. It will crank after about 5 mins of choking it and priming the bulb. Once it crankks, it will idle fine, seems to have plenty of compression (had a compression check done) however once you put it in gear and give it some gas and it starts to get under a load it just simply boggs down and dies and is very hard to crank after that and when it does it cuts right back off. I am in need of some goos sound advice as I have limited funds to spend but I want to fish so bad. I am willing to take it somewhere to a qualified mechanice But, I would greatly appreciate it if someone could give me a general idea as to what this may be before I go get sticker shock. You can give the engine gas when in neutral and it reveres up and tack shows good rpms but when it is put in gear, it dies. Thank you very much to anyone for their input.

Re: Johnson 175 Fast Strike (loses power and cuts off under any kind of load)

the method u should use is,...squeeze primer bulb till firm,...push key in and hold WHILE CRANKING...when eng fires,release key,...then,as eng warms,..push key in and release quickly to assist,until eng runs smoothly on its own...another item i might do,if u problem persists even on a well warmed engine,...is enrichening the idle jets,either by the adjustable ones if they r there,or by inst slightly lgr fixed jets........however,..a good,thorough carb cleaning,...has been known to fix all sorts of prob ,of this nature,..even if u did'nt see anything,...'amiss'..while in there.
fuel,..age and quality,..is also a contributor,to many idle prob's.

'Ol JW is right. You should get those carbs done before you hurt that engine. It's hard to say what that costs becuase you might find another problem while you're at it but, more than likely wherever you take it they will clean the carbs first (maybe $250) so there is no more question as to wether they are causing problems. If that does'nt fix it (it likely will) then another problem can be investigated. If that engine is running lean and you keep pushing it you'll kill it. Pull the drain screws out of the float bowls and see if they have varnish or contaminants then pull the spark plugs and see if they look like they got hot (white or ashy tip). It could be anything but I'm putting my money on the carbs until we know more details.

Re: Johnson 175 Fast Strike (loses power and cuts off under any kind of load)

I remeber a boat like your's that acted this way (a '97 150). It had a dirty fuel filter buried between the carbs. You have to take the airbox off the front of the engine. The filter is white and shaped like a cone. Screw it off and check it out. They clog up good and cut the fuel flow way down. Also, while you're at it look over your throttle linkages real good. There are some plastic joints that can break or become disconnected, probably not but just check. Let us know what you find along with some history. Is it fresh out of storage? Did you just buy it? What kind of repairs has it had most recently?

I’m having the same problems just bought my boat same engine previous owner claims carbs were just rebuilt I haven’t dug into anything yet but the boat sat up for a year and had very little gas I burnt it out and filled it with fresh 93 and a little octane booster still having problems it’ll run rough idling for a few minutes after about 5-10 mins she’ll go and run perfect anywhere between idle and wot but when I stop and fish for about 20 mins and try to go again the problem comes back every time

Start a new thread! Don't add on to a thread from 2011!