who is a good mechanic? got a ???

[Trikeaholic]

yep, my new boat. starts super easy, idles perfect, no funny noises, etc. but it wont rev over 2K. in Nuetral or under load, same thing.???? the original Holley carb was pretty nasty looking Had another in the garage, just put it on and same thing. WTF??? sure looks like enough gas going in there, at 2 grand, you can see it flowing. Any ideas?? not enough fuel? too much? what could cause the sputtering, and breaking up and no accelleration at 2000 RPM? Timing not advancing? ARGH!
Its a 351 Ford with a Holley 4 barrel, vac. sec. mech fuel pump, just like a car. looks to have new plug wires and points/condenser/cap. got splitfires in it but who knows how long they been in there. What should I try next??

[MTS]

A/F screw could be getting too much fuel, kick down on the 4bbl could not be working (not likely) and take a timing light to it see what its at,is your vacume advance working? pull the vacume line off the distibutor while its running and then give it a little jam of the throttle if it gets even worse you know its workin, if its the same thats what it is, just my 0.2 cents ditch the holly carb, they SUCK to tune, spend a few hun and pick up a used edelbrock if you can, heck even a quadra jet is better than an old holly. :P

[Derrick Adams]

I can't see any carb issues that would cause that. Even if a jet would clog it would still rev up. My guess is the ignition system. Did it ever rev higher than that? Is the ignition box marine specific? If not, try out a different one. No amount of restrictions should cause it not to rev. Except ignition.

[Hornetpowerspor]

Start out by checking your point gap. It sounds like it is too close. Make sure it is around .017 of an inch. If it is set too close you will experience symptoms like you are explaining. After that check your timing with a light and see where you are at. Hope that helps.

[Pistonhead]

You may have an issue with your intake/exhaust valves. You could need a re-grind possibly. How old is the boat? Is it new or new to you?

[Trikeaholic]

the former owner DID change the points and condesor, readily admitted he did not gap the points but "eyeballed it" OK, so I will set the gap and go from there. thanks.

[83200e]

My boat did the same thing.Turned out to be a plug wire.

[Trikeaholic]

gapped the points, changed plugs, still the same. WTF. wires look good, almost new. I checked if they all were in the right order, and it sure appears so. Im stumped, getting pretty mad here.

[wheelie king]

Sounds like all the cylinders aren't firing, or are out of order. Check your spark at each.

[Billy Golightly]

Forgive me for bein simple minded but holic have you unhooked the throttle linkage and just operated the butterflys directly at the carb? Maybe the linkage is improperly adjusted and isn't allowing it to throttle up all the way or something...

[Trikeaholic]

argh, I gapped the points wrong, did not do it with them on the high side of the lobe. I will have to try again after work (i snuck home for an hour this am!) I also talked to my mechanics, they said I could bring it down tomorrow if need be. They are good to me, but then again I do drop alot of coin with them.LOL

[1984kxtTECATE]

argh, I gapped the points wrong, did not do it with them on the high side of the lobe. I will have to try again after work (i snuck home for an hour this am!) I also talked to my mechanics, they said I could bring it down tomorrow if need be. They are good to me, but then again I do drop alot of coin with them.LOL

Petronix, msd, crane and mallory make HEI kits for these distributors I belive they run $50 or so, id get away from points, there a pain in the ass.

[Jason Hall]

I think billy has a good idea with the engine off, open the throttle lever all the way open, & make sure the throttle flapps are opening all the way up.

[Trikeaholic]

I think billy has a good idea with the engine off, open the throttle lever all the way open, & make sure the throttle flapps are opening all the way up.

DUH. Well, my mechanics checked EVERYTHING there is NOTHING wrong with this motor physically. No leaks, everything checks out. I guess the next assumption is that somehow it jumped time, but now we need to open it up. I am stumped, my mechanic is stumped. everything checks out perfectly, except that we did not open up the front timing chain cover. I hate to say but I think it jumped time somehow.

[Jason Hall]

DUH!!! Is there any chance the exhaust is plugged? You might want to hook up a timing light & rev the motor, & see if your timing is advancing then all the sudden stoping. Sure does'nt seem like it would idle perfect if it jumped time. Does it bellow any smoke when it's reving or when its held at 2000 rpm's? A holley has a vacume operated power valve, If it back-fire's back up through the carb 1 time it can blow the power valve, you can plug a hole in the base of the carb to eliminate the posabilty of that happening. If the power valve is bad it will run rich as hell, & blow a lot of black smoke. If its not getting enough gas it will usually backfire through the carb. If its rich it will usually spudder through the exhaust. If you just raise the idle does it stay smooth, or does it start to spudder after you even the throttle off? What kind of out drive does it have? could that have a bearing seized in it?

[Trikeaholic]

plugged exhaust, nope, checked that.here is a list
swapped carbs
plugs
wires
checked leaks around manifold, carb
checked for exhaust restriction
removed valve covers checked to see if cam worn down, nope!
went to replace dist cap, but new one was cracked (old one does have a burnt up middle electrode thingy)
swapped coils
checked for shorted out tach
no black smoke
no white smoke
excellent compression
runs puuuuurfect up to 2100, then just sputters, and will not rev up any more, motor shakes and stuff but does not backfire.
I dunno if Dr. House ran a timing light on it, but I am sure he would have done that before even turning a wrench.
Its a straight inboard, with a velvet drive 1:1 transmission, BTW

So its still at the Hospital, not going to our company picnic with us. Darn.

[mbg75]

not sure if this helps, but i had an OMC cobra I/o that had a micro switch on the throttle/shift linkage. almost like a neutral safety switch.

well, it was stuck inbetween positions and caused the same symptoms your having.

i actually think it is for when the boat is shifted in and out of gear to keep from causing damage if the motor is revving too high.

hope this helps.

[Trikeaholic]

thats a possiblity, but on a 1980?? Morse control?

[Jason Hall]

Does it have a ford ignition set up, with the old square brain box? The only other thing I can think to do is rev it up until it starts to miss & spudder. Then give it a little shot of some good carb cleaner, & see if it straightens up when you have the carb cleaner spraying. If it does then you are'nt getting enough gas.

[ATC crazy]

OK Trikeaholic....since it uses a Ford engine, ign, and fuel system...try this site:

http://ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php

If they cant help you....I dont think anyone can :lol: Be sure to scroll down to the proper engine forum.

[Pistonhead]

Have you checked your fuel filter? I have a tractor that wouldn't run for the longest time, and after a carb job, my fuel filter turned out to be clogged up real good.

[Trikeaholic]

turns out the dwell is all fubared. Seems the dist is getting alittle worn. we are switching the points over to a petronix unit tomorrow, see what happens. 200xman was dead right on this one.

[thehickfarmer]

i dunno if it was said or not, but check your timming.