Brad Kassing
New member
Alright, so I am considering buying my first boat, and I found fair deal, assuming that this is something within my capabilities of fixing. The Boat is a 1975 Marlin and has a 135hp outboard Johnson motor. The engine will start, but it does not idle well and needs the warmup lever at full to keep it going. Starting is only possible with the use of starting fluid. This problem occurred after the current owner rebuilt the lower unit with new shift parts while the boat sat unused for about a year; it ran well before this. He has not tried to force it into gear for fear of damaging the gearing. The owner suspects that this is a timing issue, or that the carbs sat too long after being rebuilt. Here is what I know:
Compression is good on all cylinders (120-130)
The carbs have been rebuilt within the last few months
The spark plug wires and coils are only a few years old
There are all new internals in the lower unit and all new shifting parts inside
I consider myself fairly savvy mechanically, and would be willing to do the maintenance and repairs myself, but two strokes and boat engines in general are a whole new thing for me and I am just starting to learn. What I want to know are what things MIGHT be wrong with the engine, and how do I test them. The owner is willing to let me have the boat for a few hours before buying it and I want to use this time to eliminate some worst case problems. What tools will I need to have ready, and should I try to do this in a driveway or at the lake in the water? Are there any good reads for boat engine newbs?
Compression is good on all cylinders (120-130)
The carbs have been rebuilt within the last few months
The spark plug wires and coils are only a few years old
There are all new internals in the lower unit and all new shifting parts inside
I consider myself fairly savvy mechanically, and would be willing to do the maintenance and repairs myself, but two strokes and boat engines in general are a whole new thing for me and I am just starting to learn. What I want to know are what things MIGHT be wrong with the engine, and how do I test them. The owner is willing to let me have the boat for a few hours before buying it and I want to use this time to eliminate some worst case problems. What tools will I need to have ready, and should I try to do this in a driveway or at the lake in the water? Are there any good reads for boat engine newbs?