whaleinaboat
New member
I’ve got a 2006 Mercury 60 HP Bigfoot that’s been driving me crazy. It will pull up to around 5100 RPM, then the motor starts stuttering and falls off to about 3000 RPM. If I keep running it under load for a longer stretch (around 15 minutes), it eventually drops further to the 2400 RPM range and I have to throttle back just to keep it from stuttering worse.
2006 60ELPTEFI /SN: 1B304951 / Max rpm 6000
So far I’ve already:
It does not appear to be overheating, and it’s not backfiring. The whole thing feels like it’s starving for fuel once it gets under sustained load — it builds RPM fine at first, then just falls off. I just can’t figure out why it ramps up strong and then drops so hard.
With the tank drained, fresh gas, both filters, both fuel pumps, the injector, fuel line, impeller, plugs, and the electrical pieces already swapped, the list of remaining common culprits is getting pretty short.
Has anyone else chased a similar “pulls hard to the mid-5000s then stutters and falls on its face” problem on these mid-2000s 60 HP Bigfoots? What ended up being the fix on yours?
Drop any thoughts or experiences in the comments — I’d appreciate it.
2006 60ELPTEFI /SN: 1B304951 / Max rpm 6000
So far I’ve already:
- Drained the tank and put in fresh gas
- Replaced the fuel filter and oil filter
- Swapped the fuel injector (aftermarket unit compatible with the 30–60 HP EFI 4-stroke, replacing 892123001 / 892123002 / 877826)
- Replaced the low-pressure fuel pump (ZHENGHE-style for the 25–60 HP 4-stroke, covering 881862T1 / 881862T07 / 892874T / 8M0141844)
- Replaced the high-pressure fuel pump (DUZFOREI 892267A51 style, replacing 898101T67 / 892267530)
- Installed a complete 5/16" (8 mm) marine fuel line assembly with primer bulb
- Replaced the water pump impeller service kit (43026T2 / Sierra 18-3056 style with gasket and key)
- Replaced the Mercury OEM cable / harness (883834T01)
- Replaced the solenoid assembly (8M0185146)
- Replaced the spark plugs with OEM
It does not appear to be overheating, and it’s not backfiring. The whole thing feels like it’s starving for fuel once it gets under sustained load — it builds RPM fine at first, then just falls off. I just can’t figure out why it ramps up strong and then drops so hard.
With the tank drained, fresh gas, both filters, both fuel pumps, the injector, fuel line, impeller, plugs, and the electrical pieces already swapped, the list of remaining common culprits is getting pretty short.
Has anyone else chased a similar “pulls hard to the mid-5000s then stutters and falls on its face” problem on these mid-2000s 60 HP Bigfoots? What ended up being the fix on yours?
Drop any thoughts or experiences in the comments — I’d appreciate it.