help with 90 hp Mercury

[Luke Boehm2]

I have 90 hp Mercury on my targa. I bought it a month ago and when I ran the boat after awhile the motor bogged down then would start up again then do the same thing. The previous owner filled the gas tank befor he stored it for the winter in a garage that was not heated. Thinking that it may have water in the gas tank I put dry gas in it and yesterday it ran good for about an hour then it started to act up again. Does anybody have any ideas what is wrong? Do you think I may need a new gas filter? Thanks for taking the time to read this. By the way I'm from Pennsylvania.



Luke

 

[Chris Droke]

Could be a number of things. If it is ethanol gas and was not treated the carbs could be in need of a cleaning. I would drain the tank and start fresh. Check fuel filters, hoses and primer bulb. Also check the tank vent for obstructions. I had to rebuild my fuel pump recently, so that is a potential problem too. Start with the easiest first. Drain tank and fill with fresh gas. If you cannot get ethanol free gas be sure to use startron or stabil ethanol formula. I would check all hoses and change the primer bulb. Get the mercury primer bulb it is the best quality. Best of Luck!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

You could also have a bad coil pack.

 

[Johnny Baker2]

I agree, drain the tank and it should be fine. I just bought a 96' Nitro and there was a 1/4 tank of gas left in it and I topped it off with premium octane and ran it. It spit and bogged down just as you described and I should've drained my tank before taking it out. I went to a Nitro dealer and picked up a bottle of Mercury gas treatment/cleaner and topped the tank again and it ran perfect. The Mercury products are great, but save yourself more trouble and drain it to be sure it isn't something else.

 

[Luke Boehm2]

Thanks for the help. Can you tell if their is water in the gas if I take some from the tank and put it in a glass container and if so what should I look for?

 

[Chris Droke]

All the water in gas will settle to the bottom of the tank. If you take some out it may not have any water due to this fact. Drain the entire tank and start fresh. Trust me that will save you any quess work and you will know for certain you have eliminated the bad gas scenario as a possible problem. Be sure to check all hoses, connections and that primer bulb. I've seen strange things happen when any one of these are bad. Best of Luck!