"I have a 1989 Mercury, 115hp,
"I have a 1989 Mercury, 115hp, 4 cylinder motor on my Astro. I just bought this rig almost three months ago. It was left out in the weather for an unknown amount of time and was in pretty bad shape. I took it on as a project boat to work on and get in shape again. I've finished the boat and yesterday I took it for a test run to see how many things were wrong with the motor. The motor runs fine with a muff but is a little hard to start. Once it starts it idles well. The idle advance works and it goes in and out of gear with ease in both directions.
We put the boat in the water and it was a little hard to start. Had to squeeze the ball several times to get it to idle. Once it smoothed out at idle we left the dock. Here's what happened over the next two hours.....
Motor would run but only at about 3000 RPM's. Not enough to make the speedo even register.
Speedo is pito tube rather than GPS. Then it would slowly get slower and slower and eventually quit altogether.
Let it sit and started it again. Pushed the throttle to the floor. Spit and quit immediately. Did that two or three more times.
Got it started and idling. Set the fast idle up and pushed the choke and the RPM's came up a little. Backed off on the fast idle and pushed the throttle to the floor. Motor advanced and went to 5000 RPM's but only to 30 MPH. Went for about 100 yards and the engine slowly got slower and slower and finally quit. Had to do this over and over to get up and down the lake. It finally got warm enough to run at 3000 RPM's at 20 MPH.
Fished for a time and went through the whole process again attempting to get back to the dock.
It runs good for short distances. The tack is showing 5000 RPM's but only 30 MPH. The 2004, 115 horse I had on my Tracker ran 45-48 MPH at 5000 RPM's with a longer and heavier boat.
I'm running a Quicksilver SS, 3 blade prop but don't know the pitch. Boat is 17 feet. There's a "whale tail" on the motor to plane it quicker. Boat is loaded with normal stuff you'd take fishing. Maybe 50-60 pounds including the anchors. Then there's my fat ass at 300 lbs.
This motor has been sitting up for quite some time. The last sticker is from '07. It had some gas in it and I added some more. It has fresh oil and the plugs looked good when I checked the compression. Those who had it before me took very little care of the rig and it sat outside in all kinds of weather with no cover. I took a chance that the motor would be ok but it apparently isn't. I really don't want to put a ton of money in a twenty year old motor that has had no care or maintenance but I'm willing to try a few things that may solve the problems I'm having. Any advice or help would really be appreciated."
"I have a 1989 Mercury, 115hp, 4 cylinder motor on my Astro. I just bought this rig almost three months ago. It was left out in the weather for an unknown amount of time and was in pretty bad shape. I took it on as a project boat to work on and get in shape again. I've finished the boat and yesterday I took it for a test run to see how many things were wrong with the motor. The motor runs fine with a muff but is a little hard to start. Once it starts it idles well. The idle advance works and it goes in and out of gear with ease in both directions.
We put the boat in the water and it was a little hard to start. Had to squeeze the ball several times to get it to idle. Once it smoothed out at idle we left the dock. Here's what happened over the next two hours.....
Motor would run but only at about 3000 RPM's. Not enough to make the speedo even register.
Speedo is pito tube rather than GPS. Then it would slowly get slower and slower and eventually quit altogether.
Let it sit and started it again. Pushed the throttle to the floor. Spit and quit immediately. Did that two or three more times.
Got it started and idling. Set the fast idle up and pushed the choke and the RPM's came up a little. Backed off on the fast idle and pushed the throttle to the floor. Motor advanced and went to 5000 RPM's but only to 30 MPH. Went for about 100 yards and the engine slowly got slower and slower and finally quit. Had to do this over and over to get up and down the lake. It finally got warm enough to run at 3000 RPM's at 20 MPH.
Fished for a time and went through the whole process again attempting to get back to the dock.
It runs good for short distances. The tack is showing 5000 RPM's but only 30 MPH. The 2004, 115 horse I had on my Tracker ran 45-48 MPH at 5000 RPM's with a longer and heavier boat.
I'm running a Quicksilver SS, 3 blade prop but don't know the pitch. Boat is 17 feet. There's a "whale tail" on the motor to plane it quicker. Boat is loaded with normal stuff you'd take fishing. Maybe 50-60 pounds including the anchors. Then there's my fat ass at 300 lbs.
This motor has been sitting up for quite some time. The last sticker is from '07. It had some gas in it and I added some more. It has fresh oil and the plugs looked good when I checked the compression. Those who had it before me took very little care of the rig and it sat outside in all kinds of weather with no cover. I took a chance that the motor would be ok but it apparently isn't. I really don't want to put a ton of money in a twenty year old motor that has had no care or maintenance but I'm willing to try a few things that may solve the problems I'm having. Any advice or help would really be appreciated."