2003 225X Promax- sneezes at idle

[HST Madman]

Motor occasionally sneezes only in idle and in neutral but never stalls and starts on first turn of key every time. Run quickleen and marine stabile in every tank of gas and run 93 octane always. Any ideas Merc techs? Is this something to be concerned about and can I run it safely when it is doing this. Top end and midrange are fine - no issues there at all. :confused::confused: Thanks for your help in advance!!

[sschefer]

I'm assuming this is an injected motor?

What you are experiencing is lean sneeze. Do a compression test and if all is normal then locate the problem injector. I'd send all the injectors to Tony and Linda Brucato for cleaning. They found a bad one in a set that they did for me and replaced it with a good used one at a very reasonable price.

As a side note, a bad injector at idle will usually still be bad at WOT so you may be at risk of leaning out that cylinder and burning it down. Please also note that I said usallly and may.

[HST Madman]

Steve, Yes this is EFI motor. Compression was normal in March 2010 when I bought it and have used it maybe 5 times since. So quickleen and marine stabil will not clean injectors? Was under impression quickleen would. Would anything else on the market clean them or do I need to really need to send them out to be cleaned? how much is that usually - injector cleaning? FYI - just had motor ecu plugged into Laptop by Master Merc Tech to check for a high neutral and forward idle issue and all was fine except for fuel regulator partially clogged - motor running a bit too rich tech said. he cleaned this out and motor idles much better now yesterday. Thanks.

[Jay Smith]

Low ignition idle timing, reed leaking,air barb clogged sending Maf signal or TPI set to lean at idle...

"Be who you are and say what you feel....
Because those that matter...
don't mind...
And those that mind... don't , Won't or will EVER
matter."

Jay

[catfish123]

My 2004 225X used to do the same thing. I have been using Seafoam in it now for around 2 years and it seems to have stopped doing it.

[Jay Smith]

Catfish,
I suggest the use of Sea Foam to every customer I rebuild. Linda ( Brucato ) tells me she can tell the condition of the injectors if one is running additives verses one that is not... Much easier to bring into spec. And has a much longer run time before fowling begins...


"Be who you are and say what you feel....
Because those that matter...
don't mind...
And those that mind... don't , Won't or will EVER
matter."

Jay

[HST Madman]

Thanks Jay/Catfish. Is Seafoam better than Quickleen for cleaning fuel system and should I try using the whole bottle as a shock treatment and then use a little each subsequent fill up of gas? People I know including Merc dealers and service people rave about the Quickleen especially as a Carbon remover. Does Seafoam remove carbon build up as well?

[catfish123]

I ran a pretty srong mixture of Seafoam and gas through it around 2 years ago when I winterized it. I was then putting in 1 ounce/gallon of gas in it as recommended on the can. I now have backed off to 1/2 ounce per gallon and I faithfully put it in every tank of gas. I really like the stuff but I don't know if it's better than Quickleen or not. It is at least advertised as a product that pretty much does it all, including stabilizing the gas. So far, our gas at all the stations near the lake has no ethanol........which from what I read, is a good thing.

[JR IN JAX]

I am with Jay, the Seafoam is the best I have found for injector cleaning. The Quickkleen and Ring free are better for pulling carbon out of the piston tops and ring landings. I use the Penzoil blend and get very very little carbon.

[HST Madman]

Thanks Catfish123/Jr in Jax. Seafoam it is. I'll try running a full can as a shock treatment - this coming weekend and see how motor responds. Hopefully will eliminate the little bit of sneezing I get in neutral at idle. Thanks again to everyone who has responded.

[aaronmt73]

My 2003 225x would sneeze as well I always ran sea fome in very tank as well.Aside form the sneezing it was the best running motor I ever had.Never was there a day that I went out and it wasnt over 7K.I tried messing with the tpi alot,only adjustment is the salack in the rubber grommets.Even order a new likage bar,they did change that slighty.Never did chand the tpi but when it was in gear it wouldnt sneeze.I did the simon Ecu and flywheel and it absolutely changed the motor.It would turn my 28 chopper 2 on my Grandsport to 7500 at 97.7.

[JR IN JAX]

My 2003 225x would sneeze as well I always ran sea fome in very tank as well.Aside form the sneezing it was the best running motor I ever had.Never was there a day that I went out and it wasnt over 7K.I tried messing with the tpi alot,only adjustment is the salack in the rubber grommets.Even order a new likage bar,they did change that slighty.Never did chand the tpi but when it was in gear it wouldnt sneeze.I did the simon Ecu and flywheel and it absolutely changed the motor.It would turn my 28 chopper 2 on my Grandsport to 7500 at 97.7.I have always wanted a 225X SS for my Grandsport due to the super oil system on it.

[aaronmt73]

I loved the motor for sure,great fuel mileage as well as reliable.Was one of the few motor I would have sold a friend.If I didnt need more torque I would have kept it for our velocity.I always thought one of these with the ports simply cleaned up would be the perfct 2.5 liter.One of the best all around 225s I think that were made.

[David L]

Try closing the idle postion on the butterfly slightly.

There is a butterfly stop adjustment screw, turn it a tad to close the butterfly at idle. This will richnen it up a tad at idle speed.
This procedure fixed the idle sneeze on my 225X

The shop manual specifies a gap opening range at idle for the butterfly. Also states to adjust this to fine tune idle quality.

[HST Madman]

Thanks David for this advice. I am going to try a full can of seafoam this coming weekend and see if this solves my "sneeze" issue as it did for catfish. I'll try your solution as a backup if necessary. Any other seafoam users out there? Pros? Cons? Thanks.

[Bies]

I have used Seafoam also. You may want to try Kreen from Kano, I buy it buy the gallon and use it in everything.
Made me a believer. Look under engine cleaner
http://www.kanolabs.com/