carbed 85 merc/war casualty?

[paratrooper]

took my 77 merc out today for first time in 18 mon,engine had the recommended long term dose of sta-bil ran through it then ran the engine dry before i deployed,stored boat covered,come home put engine on muffs everything ok ,fires right up,put fresh fuel in her take it out and at 50-60 percent throttle,acts like its getting to much gas,had my son squeeze the bulb just to make sure it wasnt lean and engine dies,upon restart acts like its flooded,idles fast rolls ok,just no cojones,thanks for any help.

[j_martin]

You can't run all the gas out of the carbs. Might have gummed up something in storage.

hope it helps
john

[Riverman]

I agree, sounds like one or more main jets plugged with gunk. The exact thing happened to me. This is a great opportunity to get to know your carbs better! :D

[jacklake2003]

I'd check the floats. If the jets were varnished up, it would probably run lean. Check and see if the floats are sticking open.

One other thing, I had the same engine and I know if you had the vent closed on the Merc tanks, it won't run right.

Good luck!

[Raceman]

Running the gas out of the carbs is the worst thing you can do. All it does is leave enough to evaporate and turn to shellac faster. Ideally if you pumped the bulb every month or so it'd be the next best thing to draining them.