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Post by choochoo on Apr 15, 2017 21:14:00 GMT -5
I spoke too soon regarding how well my boat was running. Last outing before today it was running fantastic. Prior to this morning I topped off the 36 gallon tank with about 4 gallons of non ethanol 87 from the same place I always buy it. Hit the water this morning and off she goes. We make it about 1/4 mile and then a pronounced miss and slow down. That was the end of anything above 3500 rpm the rest of the morning. She will struggle mightily to slowly climb on plane then will run good in the 3000 rpm range. If you hammer down from there it roars to life for two seconds then blah. Never dies and idles as smooth as ever. Of note, even though it's a 2007, it saw very little use prior to October. From 2008 to 2016, about two inches of oil was used in the oil tank. That's it. In the water 4 or 5 times. One other thing, it seems that I can induce the miss by operating the trim. She has an appointment at Bayside week after next. Until then let's hope some stripes come within trolling motor reach in Becky's.
Note it has become a she now. He was my buddy and and pal prior to today, after this aggravation, it's a she.
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johnr
New Member
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Post by johnr on Apr 15, 2017 21:25:23 GMT -5
It's got oil right? Simple, I know, but we have an opti in the family that never seems to have oil, and that's about how it runs when it's low.
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Post by choochoo on Apr 15, 2017 21:55:00 GMT -5
Never hurts to ask. Plenty of oil.
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greg
New Member
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Post by greg on Apr 16, 2017 7:14:49 GMT -5
Never hurts to ask. Plenty of oil. Plenty of oil (absolutely full) in the reservoir on the side of the motor, not just the remote oil tank? What about the filters, changed those lately? |
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Post by bushwacker on Apr 16, 2017 9:55:53 GMT -5
I had a mercury some years back and it would run halfway decent when you were pushing the choke and then same way you couldn't get it up on plane my issue with the carburetors got those rebuilt ran like a top
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Post by choochoo on Apr 16, 2017 10:37:10 GMT -5
Both oil tanks look good. Filters are next on the list. I wanna hope its a fuel supply issue because of the fact it idles so smoothly and never came close to dying. Never skipped a beat as the rpms came down. Just acts like it can't flow higher volume of fuel. And it is definitely a sudden onset illness.
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Post by seajay on Apr 16, 2017 11:16:26 GMT -5
Not sure if this is your problem but check fuel line going to motor where primer bulb is on. I had a similar issue one time and found a kink in the fuel line. It would idle fine but as soon as I would try to get up on plane it would bog down because it wasn't getting enough fuel. Not sure how kink got there but once staightened out it was fine. Since your oil looks fine it sounds like a fuel flow issue
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Post by ncsportfisher on Apr 17, 2017 7:17:34 GMT -5
Have friends who have optis, they have multiple fuel filters.. High and low pressure. I would start there myself..
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Post by Pete D. on Apr 19, 2017 8:26:17 GMT -5
Opti's like to go foul through spark plugs also. Maybe take yours out and inspect em.
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Post by choochoo on Apr 20, 2017 15:41:51 GMT -5
My main oil tank was showing a little less than half full, but still took a full gallon. Don't y'all think a low oil alarm would sound before the motor activated its self preservation mode?
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johnr
New Member
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Post by johnr on Apr 20, 2017 16:20:27 GMT -5
On the one I'm familiar with, it just shuts down and will only run up to about 2500 rpm. I think you were on the right track with the fuel delivery. Maybe an injector?
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Post by choochoo on Apr 20, 2017 16:48:33 GMT -5
Put a heavy dose of Mercury fuel treatment in it and ran a bit Saturday. Gonna run it a bit tonight and see what happens. If she's still sick then she has a Wednesday appointment at Bayside.
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Post by 31Airborne on Apr 21, 2017 9:24:04 GMT -5
sounds like fuel flow or fuel pressure. you're checking filters - that's good. don't forget the in-line filter between the tank and the motor.
might also wanna check the fuel pump. just a simple syphon. they can go bad when a boat's been sitting for long periods.
no beeps or alarms when this happened? did you check the exhaust port in the prop for debris? anything metallic is [obviously] a bad thing.
last thing to check oughta be plugs. if it's been sitting for a spell you might wanna replace.
good luck!
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Post by choochoo on Apr 21, 2017 9:37:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments. No knocks, clicks, or pings. Plugs are two months old. I thought she might have straightened out first thing this morning as she rolled out of the gate and jumped on plane. However, I knew she was still sick when all I could get was 35 mph or so, but still running smooth. Sat down and tried to fish a bit (surface debris is awful). When I tried to fire back up she went back to her old deal of plowing and not planing. In the garage till her Tuesday doctor appointment.
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Post by drag4striper on Apr 21, 2017 12:33:47 GMT -5
Choochoo, I have a neighbor that has a smaller optimax on a pontoon boat. Summer before last he had similar problems. Turned out the liner inside of the fuel line was coming apart and small pieces​ of the liner was causing the fuel problem , the tank was full of the junk. We pulled his belly tank out and I gave him a tank that was in my Carolina skiff. He replaced all the fuel lines and cleaned​ the strainer/filters and he was good to go. This may not be your problem but something​ to cheak on.
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