1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser Engine Problems

[Jim]

I am having a problem with my engine. I have a 1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser
Engine. The other day while out boating it just died. I was able to
restart it a few times at idle speed, but when I went to up the rpm's in
neutral, it sounded like it flooded and would die. Now the engine turns
over but won't catch.

I have tried the following things:

Coil and Plugs checked out OK, got good spark from both
Looked at the dist cap and rotor, all clean and dry
Checked fuel filter at carb, clean
Poured Ether and Gas in carb, no luck
Removed fuel line at carb, turned engine over a few times, lots of gas came
out
Checked to see if I had gas, yup 3/4 tank
Checked kill switch, in the run pos

Any Ideas?

Thanks
Jim

[Phoenix]

Isn't this under warranty?

--
--
Jim
Regal Marine Boat Owners Mailing List
http://www.onelist.com/viewarchive.cgi?listname=RegalOwners

I don't own any slaves. My wife has one, though.

Jim <f...@d.net> wrote in message news:7ebig7$i3l$1...@ffx2nh3.news.uu.net...

[Jim]

Yes it's still under warranty. But we only have one authorized dealer in my
area and they are backlogged 2 weeks. I was hoping to fix it myself and
save a little time.

Jim
oils...@i-1.net

Phoenix wrote in message <7ebjfg$p8q$1...@camel0.mindspring.com>...

[Michael Clemensen]

Is it still under warranty?
Sounds like the *fuel* it's getting isn't really *fuel*, it's water.
Remove a couple of plugs, are they wet? What do they smell like fuel or
a water/fuel mixture?
Ether can cause a spectacular launch of major parts of an internal
combustion gas engine.
Back to wet plugs and 10 octane fuel.
I would remove and replace all 6 plugs and attach a fresh container of
fuel to the carb with the ears attached and attempt to start. The
contamination may be in the fuel system and it may be a bear to start.
The key was it ran at idle and when RPM attempted to increase it died.
Michael

[KHayes6747]

I can't believe that a dealer would sell you a new boat and not stand behind it
better than that. Two weeks to check out an almost new engine? I may be wrong
but it sure doesn't sound right to me.

K.S.H.

[Phoenix]

My guess is the Merc owner didn't ask if him he could fix it before the
following weekend. The service dept. will give the pat answer of "we have a
wait list of "X" ", but if he asked the owner or manager it would probably
be fixed immediately.

--
--
Jim
Regal Marine Boat Owners Mailing List sign up here:
http://www.onelist.com/viewarchive.cgi?listname=RegalOwners

I don't own any slaves. My wife has one, though.

KHayes6747 <khaye...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19990406020004...@ng-fc1.aol.com...

[Mike Dzurko]

Did you check the breaker points in the distributor?

--
Mike Dzurko
mi...@audioc.com
Jim wrote in message <7ebig7$i3l$1...@ffx2nh3.news.uu.net>...

[Pbwriter]

There are no points in this engine system but in addition
to the fuel, check timing. The "Thunderbolt" breakerless
system is very reliable BUT the magnetic pick-up (stator)
has been known to break at the slot where the reluctor
runs through--test with gently pressure. This is caused
by the reluctor (what would be rotar in breaker suystem)
being out of round when installed. I know from experiance
that they can look ok when broken. Dealer should replace
if thats it--need stator and new reluctor.
Good Luck,
Dan

Jim wrote in message <7ebig7$i3l$1...@ffx2nh3.news.uu.net>...
>I am having a problem with my engine. I have a 1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser

[Jerry Hahn]

Have you looked at the switch that is mounted on the exhaust which cuts the
engine power when shifting in and out of gear? It has the roller wheel and
the shift cables go to it.
My sister had the same problem on their boat of less than 1 week old. The
cut off switch was actually sticking just enough to not allow the motor to
do anything but idle and then it would crank but not start. Jerry

**** Posted from RemarQ - http://www.remarq.com - Discussions Start Here (tm) ****

[Glenn K. Tsuda]

I had a problem w/ my 4.3L w/ the thunderbolt system. It would
occassionally refuse to start. After I checked the connections to the kill
switch it never happened again.

--
Glenn
gkts...@hotmail.com
"Life's too short to be pissed off!!"

[Steve B]

Jim wrote:

> I am having a problem with my engine. I have a 1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser
> Engine. The other day while out boating it just died. I was able to
> restart it a few times at idle speed, but when I went to up the rpm's in
> neutral, it sounded like it flooded and would die. Now the engine turns
> over but won't catch.
>
> I have tried the following things:
>
> Coil and Plugs checked out OK, got good spark from both
> Looked at the dist cap and rotor, all clean and dry
> Checked fuel filter at carb, clean
> Poured Ether and Gas in carb, no luck
> Removed fuel line at carb, turned engine over a few times, lots of gas came
> out
> Checked to see if I had gas, yup 3/4 tank
> Checked kill switch, in the run pos
>
> Any Ideas?
>
> Thanks
> Jim

Steve wrote: Jim did you check for water in the fuel, you will have water
separator remove and check. Are you running on new fuel or old?
You say it will not start, i want you to check for fuel again.
In this engine if oil pressure doesn't come up it will turn fuel pump off!
On some 1998 we have check valves sticking because of the diff. types
of gas in the market.
Jim e- mail me at sbl...@cgocable.net i will send you some information
" Best of Luck"
Steve Barnes
Ontario, Canada
http://www.buckhornyachtharbour.com/

[Steve B]

Steve wrote: jim i try to e-mail but mail return , e-mail me
at sbl...@cgocable.net

[Susan Froman]

On Tuesday, April 6, 1999 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, Pbwriter wrote:
> There are no points in this engine system but in addition
> to the fuel, check timing. The "Thunderbolt" breakerless
> system is very reliable BUT the magnetic pick-up (stator)
> has been known to break at the slot where the reluctor
> runs through--test with gently pressure. This is caused
> by the reluctor (what would be rotar in breaker suystem)
> being out of round when installed. I know from experiance
> that they can look ok when broken. Dealer should replace
> if thats it--need stator and new reluctor.
> Good Luck,
> Dan
> Jim wrote in message <7ebig7$i3l$1...@ffx2nh3.news.uu.net>...

> >I am having a problem with my engine. I have a 1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser
> >Engine. The other day while out boating it just died. I was able to
> >restart it a few times at idle speed, but when I went to up the rpm's in
> >neutral, it sounded like it flooded and would die. Now the engine turns
> >over but won't catch.
> >
> >I have tried the following things:
> >
> >Coil and Plugs checked out OK, got good spark from both
> >Looked at the dist cap and rotor, all clean and dry
> >Checked fuel filter at carb, clean
> >Poured Ether and Gas in carb, no luck
> >Removed fuel line at carb, turned engine over a few times, lots of gas came
> >out
> >Checked to see if I had gas, yup 3/4 tank
> >Checked kill switch, in the run pos
> >
> >Any Ideas?
> >
> >Thanks
> >Jim
> >
> >
> >

Damsel in distress!
I know this post is 10 years old, but maybe you remember the fix?
I haven't used my 1999 boat in 2 years, but have always taken very good care of it until I had a back injury and couldn't use it last summer. I'm cleaning it up to sell. It won't start. No clicking, no horn, no trying to turn over. Any suggestions? I don't know my way around an engine so I need pictures.

[gfre...@aol.com]

Assuming the battery is charged, I would look at the connections.

[Justan]

The engine won't turn over unless the gear shifter is in neutral.

[gfre...@aol.com]

That won't keep the horn from blowing.

[Justan]

True

[Michele Acquarola]

On Monday, 5 April 1999 17:00:00 UTC+10, Jim wrote:
> I am having a problem with my engine. I have a 1998 4.3L V6 Mercruiser
> Engine. The other day while out boating it just died. I was able to
> restart it a few times at idle speed, but when I went to up the rpm's in
> neutral, it sounded like it flooded and would die. Now the engine turns
> over but won't catch.
>
> I have tried the following things:
>
> Coil and Plugs checked out OK, got good spark from both
> Looked at the dist cap and rotor, all clean and dry
> Checked fuel filter at carb, clean
> Poured Ether and Gas in carb, no luck
> Removed fuel line at carb, turned engine over a few times, lots of gas came
> out
> Checked to see if I had gas, yup 3/4 tank
> Checked kill switch, in the run pos
>
> Any Ideas?
>
> Thanks
> Jim

Hi Jim have you thought to check if your carby/carbies is flooding?
because you said in your message that it felt like it was flooding.could be a needle and seat problem or a hole in the float.
Goodluck.Mike