60HP Mariner 2cyl cut out on water.

[MrKBNR32]

Hi guys im a new member here. Ive been reading Fishraider for a while now and love the information on here. I signed up recently to ask about a strange problem i've got with my boat engine which hopefully some of you might know more about than i do.

My engine is a 675 303xx 60HP Mariner 2cyl 77-78 year model. Ive had the boat for a couple of months now but i never had the chance to run it in the water till yesterday. It started off fine i was putting around on about 1/4 throttle putting off in the lake for about 15-20 mins when the engine started to slow down, i pushed it upto 1/2 throttle and it continued to putt along at the same speed as it was at 1/4 throttle then slowed down, same thing when i hit 3/4 throttle then eventually at full throttle it slowed down to a crawl then stopped dead in the middle of the lake. I checked the primer bulb which was still firm, tryed cranking the engine which cranked fine but just wouldnt start. I ended up getting a tow back to the boat ramp and pulled the boat out of the water and bought it back home. Im worried i may have blown the powerhead, what are some symptoms of blown powerheads? Im at a total loss as to why the engine would run fine then just slow down and stop. A friend of mine who also had a boat till recently told me he had a simmilar problem where his carbs had blocked up.

Since i bought the boat the outboards been nothing but trouble for me, took me ages to find a tilt/trim pump for it as there getting pretty rare for this motor now. I just wanted to know should i get this engine looked at or replace it, ive found a very clean 80hp 4cyl Mariner but im not sure if it would be too big for my boat, the hull is a 84 Sportscraft Diplomat MK2 16ft fibreglass half cab.

Thanks in advance guys.

[locodave]

Hi Mate,

I had a mariner that did something very similar, although it didn't cut out. The issue with mine was the fuel line. It was so old that the inside began to rot away and blocked up the fuel entering the engine.

I would get it looked at first, but other wise I would just get another engine if you can afford it.

[mr475]

Certainly sounds like a gradual blocking of the fuel flow. Check the filter to see if gunk is blocking it and have a look inside a fuel line to see if it is becoming soft with bits coming off.

[MrKBNR32]

Thanks for the info guys i really appreciate it, i also spoke to a few people at work who also told me that from what i told them it does sound like a fuel problem, i'll check it out sometime tomorrow and let you guys know how i went, i got a compression tester off a friend last night so i might do a compression check too just to be on the safe side.

[spaners]

Sounds like fuel problem to me as well.

[SargeRX8]

My old motor done the exact same thing. The carbs were fouled. Ran fine after the carbs were rebuilt.

[Guest Aussie007]

pour a small cap of fuel down the carb's and crank it over if it starts and runs for a second or two its fuel related rebuild the carbs or drop it into huey