Hello everyone!
I'm back again with another question about my '86 50hp 2-stroke Merc. All of you were very helpful the last time I posted my problem, and things I did had positive results, but it's a work in progress, so maybe someone can shed some light on this new issue.
Recalling my last post, I had an intermittent problem keeping the engine from stalling out, when I put it in gear. So, I tied it to the dock and when I was able to keep it going, I put it in gear. I adjusted the mixture screws, and that's when I noticed that the bottom carb didn't affect the running of the engine at all.
This engine has 3 cylinders, but only two carbs. I'm not sure why that is, nor which cylinders are fed by only one carb, but here's the rub. When I adjusted the top carb, I could easily find the sweet spot between too rich and too lean. However, when I adjusted the bottom carb, the engine didn't sputter in either direction, so I just left it at 1 1/2 turns out.
This worked ok for a couple of fishing trips, but not without some compromises. In order to get the engine to run in gear, the idle had to be set at about 1200 rpm. It was cold starting just fine, and no problem when I put it in gear. Now, after a few trips to the lake, it has reverted to its old ways and is sputtering. It is sometimes sounding like it's not running on all cylinders, while other times, it is perfectly smooth. One minute, I'll have a hard time keeping it running at a slow trolling speed, then the next minute, it will be just fine.
Spark plugs are fine, wires tested good and compression is solid.
My intuition tells me it has something to do with the bottom carb that didn't even make the engine sputter when mixture was adjusted, but I've talked with the mechanic that worked it last spring, and he confirmed that he rebuilt the carbs.
I'm hoping someone here might have had a similar experience and can share their solution.
Thanks in advance!
I'm back again with another question about my '86 50hp 2-stroke Merc. All of you were very helpful the last time I posted my problem, and things I did had positive results, but it's a work in progress, so maybe someone can shed some light on this new issue.
Recalling my last post, I had an intermittent problem keeping the engine from stalling out, when I put it in gear. So, I tied it to the dock and when I was able to keep it going, I put it in gear. I adjusted the mixture screws, and that's when I noticed that the bottom carb didn't affect the running of the engine at all.
This engine has 3 cylinders, but only two carbs. I'm not sure why that is, nor which cylinders are fed by only one carb, but here's the rub. When I adjusted the top carb, I could easily find the sweet spot between too rich and too lean. However, when I adjusted the bottom carb, the engine didn't sputter in either direction, so I just left it at 1 1/2 turns out.
This worked ok for a couple of fishing trips, but not without some compromises. In order to get the engine to run in gear, the idle had to be set at about 1200 rpm. It was cold starting just fine, and no problem when I put it in gear. Now, after a few trips to the lake, it has reverted to its old ways and is sputtering. It is sometimes sounding like it's not running on all cylinders, while other times, it is perfectly smooth. One minute, I'll have a hard time keeping it running at a slow trolling speed, then the next minute, it will be just fine.
Spark plugs are fine, wires tested good and compression is solid.
My intuition tells me it has something to do with the bottom carb that didn't even make the engine sputter when mixture was adjusted, but I've talked with the mechanic that worked it last spring, and he confirmed that he rebuilt the carbs.
I'm hoping someone here might have had a similar experience and can share their solution.
Thanks in advance!
