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6 HP won't keep running

T

tedstur

New member
Greetings. I poked around here for a while to find an answer but didn't find anything that was quite like this.

I have a 1994 or 1995 Mercury 6 HP (2 stroke, of course). It's a kicker on a sailboat that I recently purchased. When I start it I can get it running for a little while, say 10 seconds or so, and then it slowly dies. I can rev it up and keep it going, and after a bit of that it will idle for a bit and then slowly die down. I have cleaned out the gas tank, the lines, and have sprayed a fair amount of carb cleaner into the carb. I changed the spark plugs, the fuel filter is clear, and I can see that gas is getting into the clear plastic bowl around the filter.

Sure sounds like gas problems to me. I would like to avoid taking the carb off... but it looks like I must.

Unless one you genius mechanics can suggest something else? Or, feel free to say, "do the carb."

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Sounds like a gas issue to me as well since it will run, but won't keep running.

Do you get it running after spraying your cleaners in the carb? How long has it sat before you took delivery of it? Could be as simple as a sticky needle valve???

I would suggest to clean and rebuild both the carb and fuel pump. That way, you either eliminate that question, or fix the issue. It's not a difficult task.
 
Last edited:
mill686 said:
Sounds like a gas issue to me as well since it will run, but won't keep running.

Do you get it running after spraying your cleaners in the carb? How long has it sat before you took delivery of it? Could be as simple as a sticky needle valve???

I would suggest to clean and rebuild both the carb and fuel pump. That way, you either eliminate that question, or fix the issue. It's not a difficult task.
Click to expand...

When I picked the boat up, the provious owner started the motor with no issues at all. However, he shut it off fairly quickly, so maybe he knew it would stop.

I don't know how long it sat, but it was on the backend of a sailboat i saltwater. I am going to assume that it needs cleaning and just take it off the boat, take it home, and clean the carb. Sounds like good advice, thanks.

Now, to find a manual for it...
 
I don't know a whole lot, but I do know a little about carbs and fuel pumps. Others on here are well-versed in these issues and more.

If you buy the rebuikd kits for both and ckean them well, it should fix the fuel issues. Also consider your tank, hose, and bulb. Are they all in decent and working order? And, the diagrams on this site are all you need for assembly. Any other questions you may be looking for in a manual can be answered by most via this forum. There are a bunch of smart guys on here that seem to know about everything. Helped me many a time.
 
Drop the lower unit and inspect ...replace the water impeller...if it sat on the sailboat for a long time it probably has taken a set. Replacing it is cheap insurance.
 
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