1987 Mercury 6hp

[Madonk]

Ok, here's the deal:

I have a 1987 Mercury 6hp that I bought a year ago. I put it in the water the next day and it seemed like it was only running at half power. I checked my gps and it said I was running 6 mph. I pull off at a landing and it wont start back up. I put it up for 6 months because I had to go back to North Carolina. When I got back I attempted to clean the carburetor, but I know nothing beyond the basics of a 2 stroke. I noticed my fuel line was bad so I changed that and tried to clean out the carb again, but it still won't start.

Does anyone know what is going on with this?

[Gerald]

Do you know if the spark plug has a spark?

If the spark plug is old, it would be a good idea to put in a new one. If the spark is weak, it could be that the flywheel magnet is rusty and need cleaning. Also check the spark plug wire for cracks in the rubber.

If there is a good spark...... next I would take the carburetor off and squirt carb cleaner in each hole and watch to be sure fluid comes out from the other end.

[Madonk]

I figured out my choke is stuck. Probably has been this whole time. I will work on it tomorrow. I just hope I didn't mess anything else up by not realizing this sooner

[Madonk]

OK, so I was wrong I think. I will take the carb off tomorrow and see what I can see. I am hoping it will be an easy fix. I bought the service manual for it, but its for like a 1961-1995 2.2 hp - 25 hp so that makes it a little harder to understand the parts that pertain to my motor.

I will be taking the plugs out tomorrow too to check them. The wires look good. Once I break into then engine I will take the flywheel off and see about that. I will be updating this thread as I check things. Any help is still appreciated

[Madonk]

Not exactly sure what it was, but Tuesday I took the carb off twice, but the last time I opened up the parts I was scared to open before for fear of messing them up, and sprayed them down real real good. The fuel pump was a little dirty and so was the choke. I cleaned them both up, put it all back together, and bam, second pull she started right up.

BTW, it was running at reduced RPM last summer because it WAS only running on 1 cylinder. The spark plug wire had came out the coil for the top cylinder. Pushed it back in and she planes out nicely at 18 mph!

[Gerald]

Glad you got it running without too much trouble or $$$$$.