took the v out for the first time today and....
 

took the boat out for the first time since the new to me motor and all the other nonsense i did to it. motor started right up and idled great... once i got on the throttle a bit it would bog down around 3k rpms. this is the first time the motor has been run under a load in atleast two years


first thing that came to my mind is the carbs probably need to come off and get cleaned/ maybe rebuilt... anything else that you guys could think of that may be causing this?


motor is an 81 merc 200. it has less than 500 hours on it

Clean the carbs and make sure the timing linkage is moving freely. If the timing doesn't advance, it will fall over when you put it under load.

make sure it's firing on all 6 cylinders, it might have dropped a switch box

plugged fuel filter, leaky fuel hose, bad fuel pump..... Giving the primer bulb a squeeze while it's bogging can help diagnose

Thanks for the replys guys, i think im just gonna hand this one over to the professionals to look at and go over the whole motor. I missed out on two months of fishing this year and would like to hit the water with a motor with a clean bill of health at ice out next spring.

My work blessed me with a monday-thursday 4-10s day shift job my previous schedule was thurs-sun and i missed out on pretty much all the fun and tournaments..next year id love to be able to fish a bunch of tournaments... and hopefully show these guys with brand new 75k boats what a 3000 dollar 25 year old boat and 34 year old motor will do.


Smoke it may be the fuel pump, but the filter and hoses are all brand new and dont appear to have any leaks what so ever.

all i did to the motor was change the lower unit oil and put a new impeller in it... i think it would be wise to just have the whole thing gone over

Wise move, might make that motor last another 500 hours. Otherwise it only takes one small bit of debris to stick a needle or plug a jet in those carbs and Game Over.. Best of luck.. I love those old carb Mercs. When they are right they are sweet. I'd love to see a 20-Wellcraft in the winners circle too, the underdog wins is the single best cause I can think of to get excited.

Well the shop is finally done with her, she had a list of issues. She was only firing on 4 cylinders. had the whole motor looked voer and everything he could find wrong was fixed. heres the list

Changed 3 coils
Changed the stator
changed the rectifier
changed the fuel pump
cleaned the carbs
redid the overheat alarm since wires were cut
new plugs/plug wires


Finally time to get her in the water... even though ill be trailering for awhile as i cant afford a dock right now after paying the motor bill lol

good news, right time of year to be getting ready
i would be concerned about the cut alarm wires, sounds like somebody was trying to hide a problem.
might have to throw in a water pump, t-stats, & a poppet valve
maybe not

The alarm wires may have been me... when i switched motors i also switched center consoles, the wire was cut at the horn in the console...

Im positive no problems were trying to be hidden. Not sure if i mentioned it before but this motor and boat it came on was actually bought brand new by my dad and God father, sold to a friend and then by a stroke of great luck ended up in my hands.... i know the history of this motor pretty darn well.

I replaced the water pump last year, The mechanic did do the t-stats as well. i forgot to mention it.... probably did a few other things too as i dont have the invoice in front of me and there was a LONG list of items on it, im sure i forgot about a few more things.

It cost me way more time and money than i was hoping to spend on it but the mechanic that did the work is known as the best around and i wanted to motor done right so i hopefully get to enjoy it for a long time.

sounds like your in good shape for summer,
enjoy