First trip with first boat... the good, the bad, the ugly, and the uglier...

[bassinRX]

Well, I will start with the good. Went fishing on Lake Lanier today and between my brother and I, caught 5 bass in the 2-4 pound range.

The bad... The boat started up just fine first thing in the morning, warmed up, and ran great (minus me trying to learn how to drive...). Got to the first spot, fished for an hour and tried to crank her. Nothing. She just turned over and over. Fished for another hour or so and tried again after pulling a plug (had spark, plug was wet) and checking the timing roller arm (it was set the correct way per this forum). Again, it just cranked and cranked. Then seemingly out of nowhere it just started... wierd. Ran it around for awhile, everything seemed ok.

The ugly, sat the boat down at the second spot, fished for awhile, then decided to move. To my amazement the boat cranked right up and idled fine. Great! (or so I thought..) After I put the boat in gear in would drop RPM's considerably and as soon as any gas was applied it would stall. Hmmm, interesting. After doing this a couple times I could eventually nurse it out of the hole and once it got above ~1500 RPMs it ran perfect. This would repeat the rest of day.

The uglier... Got the boat back to the ramp and had my brother go get the truck. When it's my turn I fire it up and try to move into gear. Nothing. WTF? no reverse, no foward. Sweet. Well, I use a rope and the trolling motor and get it back on the trailer. Pull it home, take the cowl off, and discover that the 6" PLASTIC arm that shifts gears, has broken in half. Anyone know where I can find a new one? (number 335382 is on the piece)

Ok, there is my story and VERY sorry about the long post. I have been searching this forum for awhile and all of these problems seem to be pretty common, which I think is a good thing. From what I understand the major culprits for these problems is a failing power pack or some sort of carb problem. So what i am asking is, how do I go about diagnosing these problems? Maybe just decarbed?

Background
1998 Sprint 277 pro
1998 Johnson FastStrike, Mod. J150G1ECO

Thank you all for any help!!!
John H.

[Danrude]

The shift arm is now part# 0343118 and you can order it through any BRP dealer or on line. Here is one on line source. http://www.ishopmarine.com. Those symptoms sound like the power pack is going south on you.

[Mr Limpet]

Hey friend,
Sounds like you could catch fish pretty well on Lanier. It was windy on Russell and I zeroed.

The best boat guy in the area is Bill Boswell. He owns the Quickstop on Hwy 72 W in Elbert Co. Take it to him and let him go over it for you. He will not burn you up on parts and labor and he is a good guy and a heck of a fisherman. He'll get it all right so you can have fun fishing and not being a mechanic on the water. He is very close to the Pearl Mill Ramp. When your boat is fixed in less than a week you can fish Russell when you pick it up. He'll give you some valuable fishing tips for Russell if you ask.
Call Bill 706 283 6128

Barry

[bassinRX]

Barry,

Thanks again for all the help! I'll give Bill a call today and see if he can take a look at it for me.

It was windy out on Lanier too, we stuck to coves just off the main lake.

John

[bassinRX]

Thank you!!!

[ChampioNman]

If he can't help you out let me know I'm a little farther up the road in Anderson, SC.

[bassinRX]

Ok, I called Bond's Marine which you brought up in a different thread and the guy in the parts department informed me that my motor is junk and to buy a new powerhead since one cylinder is 75 PSI vs 90 to 85 PSI on all others. I don't think this sounds right since it runs so strong except for the bogging issue. Any insight on this?!

I haven't called the guy Barry suggested yet... I'll do that tomorrow...Second opinions anyone?

[ChampioNman]

A decarb should bring your numbers back up to snuff. Start with a few cans of Sea-foam in the fuel and let that work to soften the carbon build up. Then recheck the compression, then give it a final dose of BRP engine tuner and let it sit overnight. Also spray some down each cylinder and bump the starter to make sure you get full coverage of the pistons.
Did you get the shift linkage?

[bassinRX]

Ok, will do. I ordered the engine tuner, XD-50, and shift linkage all from ishopmarine.com last night.

Thanks again for all your help!

[ChampioNman]

Might as well order a service manual while you are at it.

[bassinRX]

I totally forgot about that...

[bassinRX]

Update...

Took the boat out today on Oconee. She started right up. Idled fine. A couple 'sneezes' here and there (what's that a sign of?). Once warmed up she ran fine with no problems. Fished for around an hour. Again, it started right up and took off with just a little bit of bog (nothing like before). Continued to run fine the rest of the day.

Only thing I did different between the last outing and this one is add a can of seafoam to the port tank and let it run off of that side. I'm going to follow this with the engine tuner sometime this week. Should I replace the plugs after decarbing?
I also replaced the screw that holds the timing roller arm in place. I noticed yesterday that the threads were stripped and it was not holding very tightly, allowing the arm to move out of adjustment.

Oh, and I finally ordered a manual!

[Lockjaw]

Bestboatparts.com is the cheapest online place I have found. Just for future reference.

Replace the plugs after you do the BRP engine tuner, and run the engine . Give it a good 15 to 20 minutes of run time, then replace the plugs.

The timing arm moving could be causing some of your issues. The issue I had that was pack related was losing spark on the port bank. It would start and run fine from cold, but once warmed up and sitting for a while, I had a 3 cylinder V6.

I would run hide from the guy who has your boat right now.

[bassinRX]

I'll pull a plug and check the port side if it does it again on the water...thanks for the advice!

And I'm not sure what you meant by this. lol.
"I would run hide from the guy who has your boat right now."

[Lockjaw]

Who ever said you needed a power head. That's who I would run and hide from.

You should also be able to tell if you are losing spark on one bank by the output from the exhaust in the back. I could clearly see where I had way more coming out one side then the other.

Just be careful replacing the pack. The RFI shield is sharp, and will slice up your finger when you are trying to get the connectors loose on top.

[bassinRX]

ah I see. Looking at the exhaust is an excellent idea... way too easy and common sense for me to come up with...

The guy I talked with at the marina was a total jerkoff, I'm VERY easy going and he probably was one of the most rude sales people I've ever come across....

[Lockjaw]

Just so you know, it took me more then once time out with the problem before I figured that out.

Lj was born at night, not last night, but still at night.

[ChampioNman]

The people at Bond's are not know for their personality. I only suggested them as they are close to you.

[bassinRX]

hahaha! I hear ya... thanks for everyone's help on this... I'll keep this thread updated after I decarb the motor this weekend...