thsorens

Just looking for a little affirmation I guess, so heres the deal. I swapped out my stock Merc 260 (350ci) last year for a custom built 383. It ran great last fall but was always a little hard to start even with the old 260 (same Quadrajet), so I pulled the Q-Jet this winter and epoxied the fuel well plugs and put a kit in it. No mods, just cleaned it up. Put it back on last week, started right up, ran about 10 miles no problems. Went out again the next day, and noticed a slight hesitation a couple times, then after accelerating out of a hard left turn, I just ran out of power. It would run at about 3000RPM, but no faster. If I idle for a few seconds then hit it again it will go wide open for a minute or so, then slow down again. Pretty sure I'm just running out of gas. Letting it idle allows the float bowls to fill back up so I can run again. It is possible there is water in the fuel, or that the tank has some sludge in it. I will probably try the fuel separator and/or pull the top of the carb to see if it is filled up with crud (wasn't dirty before or after I rebuild it), but I'm pretty sure its the pump. What'ya think?
Tom

Vinny P

I would make sure that the float is set to the right height.

thsorens

yea, could be a float level problem, or a bad float. I did adjust it per the rebuild kit instructions, so I kind of doubt it, but anything is possible. Almost everything on this boat has been replaced since I've owned it, Outdrive, engine, distributer, wires, water pump, interior, but I think the pump is the original. I am going to change it just for peace of mind, but it could certainly still just be a simple carb issue that I created when rebuilding the carb.
Thanks
Tom