Boat cut off while at top speed

" I have a 84 898 merc. I was

" I have a 84 898 merc. I was running boat for about an hour normal speed with no problems. I opened up the throttle all the way it was running good then form out of nowhere it died. Tried to restart but motor would not turn over. I let it cool for about 15 min. it spun over and cranked up. I noticed all gauges were fine. I headed back to the dock was running about 2000rpms,did same thing had to do it all over again. Could this be enternal on the engine such as rod or main bearings heating up??? Please if you have any directions to point me in it would be appreciated grately. "

" Marcus,
Although it is hard

" Marcus,
Although it is hard to diagnose, those symtoms are indications of a coil problem. If the coil is several years old it would be a good move to put in a new one anyway.
Eddie "

" thanks for responding,the en

" thanks for responding,the engine when it died would not spin over,you could hear the starter trying to turn the engine over but couldn't thank you. Marcus "

" Marcus,
Does it have carbur

" Marcus,
Does it have carburation or fuel injection?
Eddie "

" Marcus,
Being that you had

" Marcus,
Being that you had trouble turning over the engine after the problem occurred scratch the coil idea. I don't think it's a siezed bearing, rather I'm suspicious of liquid in a cylinder. If you get it to lock up again and the starter won't turn it over remove one spark plug at a time and try starting it each time. If gasoline or coolant is accumulating in the clynder it can lock it up. Removing a spark plug will then allow the liquid to escape and allow the engine to turn over. Liquid can not be compressed and can lock up an engine temporaraly.llow "

" Eddie it's a carb. my ne

" Eddie it's a carb. my next question is if it's getting water in the cylinders where's it coming from????? Will the water bleed out someway to allow the engine to finally turn over? head gaskets,intake?? Once it cranks up it runs smooth, that wants me to lead away from bearings.
what do you think?
thank-you
Marcus "

" Marcus,
A carburator ru

" Marcus,
A carburator rules out the problem I was looking for. How old is your battery? Are your cable connections clean.
Eddie "

" eddie, i spoke with a man wh

" eddie, i spoke with a man who use to be over Suzuki's marine division.the first thing he said
was bearings.The battery is new,the cables look good.Were you thinking about a leaking injector? Thanks for helping if you have any other suggestions please help.
Marcus "

" Marcus,
I was thinking abo

" Marcus,
I was thinking about a fuel regulator gone bad if it was fuel injected. Did the Suzuki guy think it's a spun bearing?
Eddie "

DID THE ENGINE GIVE ANY INDIC

DID THE ENGINE GIVE ANY INDICATIVE NOISE AS TO A POTENTAIL FAILURE? IF NOT CHECK THE FUEL FLOW AND HOW OLD IS THE FUEL FILTER. UNLESS THE ENGINE WAS KNOCKING YOUR PROBLEM IS PROBABLY FUEL RELATED.

" Marcus,
You do want to ma

" Marcus,
You do want to make sure the problem is not external before tearing into the engine. A friend of mine, a very good mechanic, once rebuilt an engine thinking he sucked a valve. Inside he found the engine to be in excellent shape. Upon starting his newly rebuilt engine it locked up. He later discovered a defective fuel regulator was causing the problem.
Eddie "

" eddie the lastthing I want t

" eddie the lastthing I want to do is pull this engine and tear into it,my question about it being fuel related is if the fuel filter stopped up it still should spin over?? The engine gave no indication of anything.When it recranks the engine
runs smooth and quiet. no rod knocking or anything
even though its carb does the fuel pump regulate preassure or does the the carb with its float??
thanks guys
marcus "

" Marcus,
When the engine

" Marcus,
When the engine quits does it sputter and misfire or quit running instantly? When you try to restart does it click, groan like it's trying to turn over, or silent?
The carburator float regulates the flow of gas entering the carburator but carbs run at much less fuel pressure than injection systems and the fuel can dissapate in the intake where injectors put fuel directly into the cylinder.
I feel like we're missing someting simple.
Eddie "

" Eddie, When it cuts off its

" Eddie, When it cuts off its like you simply cut the switch off,its that fast. You can hear the starter selenoid click as its trying to kick the bendix out but wont turn it over. You wait then it will turn it over maybe a quarter a turn then you try it again and then it will spin over then crank. Eddie can I run this thing in gear with the hose hooked up till it does it??????
Thanks Eddie
Marcus "

" Hi guys,
It sounds like

" Hi guys,
It sounds like you are chasing this electrical problem pretty heavy! It may not help much, but there are two other reasons engines do this type of thing. One, there is some component in the distributer that effects firing, somewhere below the actual unit, maybe in the shaft, or next to it?? I got my whole unit replaced after a multitude of other fixes and IT turned out to be the culprit, not cap/rotorbutton/plugs/wires/CDI/etc!!! It still cost 300.00 but I had spent over that finding out why it chose to cut off whenever and wherever.
Although this may not have any effect on the starting systen(ie.wont turn over) a faulty ignition switch will. It possibly might kill the motor at high revs due to excessive vibrations and may not restart until it makes contact after a few tries.
However, earlier on in your dialogue I had thought it may be your CDI/ electronic ignition. They act real stupid when faulty and you are describing a similar scinario.
Try to arc the starter the next time it happens and you can possibly eliminate the entire mechanical system. If it turns over, it then has to be in the ign/elec system. Likewise, if you can prove/verify that you are getting voltage to the starter when all this happens you can eliminate the elec system.whew!
Didn't mean to ramble, thought a new direction may help. I hope you didn't have water in your motor but I have heard of it happening, though not at speed.Good luck.
Tom Hartsell "

" Marcus,
If you have a sta

" Marcus,
If you have a standard ignition switch it would't hurt to replace it with a new one. They only cost about $20. I know you said the battery is new but in light of these problems you should remove it and have it checked out. After that I would check that your charging properly. Either of these could do it. The common link in your starting and running seems to be electrical and electrical systems are just plain wierd to us shadetree mechanics.
Eddie "

" Eddie if your still reading

" Eddie if your still reading this or anyone else, I have been looking into what happend,and what I came up with is that oil is leaking out the small hole in the lower unit leaking gear oil, it was pretty low,and I beleive the lower unit was locking up. Anyone knows approxitmaly it will cost to have the lower unit rebuilt????
thanks for anyones help
Marcus "

" Marcus,
If it's th

" Marcus,
If it's the outdrive unit that's a little out of my league. I was trying to use a little shade tree mechanic experience to try and help. Let me know what you find out.
Eddie "

" Marcus,

If the drive wa

" Marcus,

If the drive was leaking for a while you may have a real problem, but to give a little encouragement - fill up the drive with cheap fluid and try starting it. It is possible that after a few tries it may work itself loose and you could avoid a rebuild. Then change the fluid again and do a pressure test to find the leak, and throw on some new gaskets and sealants. I know its a long shot, but the fact your engine shut down may have saved the drive from welding itself together "