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1994 echelon missing


bigeasybu

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ok here it is. after ideling around about 5 hours, i was driving santa around venetian isles delivering presents to all the good boys n girls, started getting a miss in my 1994 echelon 350 mercruise. went out to open water opened it up 4800 rpm to burn off plugs. got up on plane then started losing rpm then stumbling badly. back at idle very pronounced miss. started with the fuel tank vent hose clear noticed alot of debris in tank so i pulled it out drained it. used my electric oil remover pump and vaccumed it clean checked the fuel path all the way to the carb looked clean. changed all the plugs gapped them to factory spec .035 replaced the coil. visually inspected the distributer cap looked good to my eye. at idle i pulled each plug wire from distributer. at the second plug from the front starbord side there is no change. not a mechanic just a guesser n part changer. anybody got suggestions ?

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The only thing left is plug wires. Take one of similar length and swap it to see if the problem changes to that cylinder. If there is no change, then it's probably the distributor. One cylinder only on a carb motor is either electrical or mechanical inside the engine, but that would probably make some serious noises.

I opened the thread thinking we were going to be looking for a boat that wasn't where it should be anymore. Glad that's not the case.

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If the spark plug does not work get your hands on a compression tester. There should be no more than 10% difference between each of the cylinders.

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If your wires are 18 years old, probably time for new ones.

Plus1.gif I'd start with the wire by replacing the whole set of them. You have certainly found the cylinder with the issue since it doesn't change the engine's idle when you pull the wire off.

If the plug wires don't fix it I would replace the distributor. They are cheap and it's money well spent.

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Plus1.gif I'd start with the wire by replacing the whole set of them. You have certainly found the cylinder with the issue since it doesn't change the engine's idle when you pull the wire off.

If the plug wires don't fix it I would replace the distributor. They are cheap and it's money well spent.

thanks guys thats was my next plan of action to swap a plug wire and see if i can isolate it as a wire. just put them on in like may along with a new distributer cap.if i dont get the result im looking for ill get a compression tester and see what that tells me ill keep all intrested apraised of the results .

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thanks guys thats was my next plan of action to swap a plug wire and see if i can isolate it as a wire. just put them on in like may along with a new distributer cap.if i dont get the result im looking for ill get a compression tester and see what that tells me ill keep all intrested apraised of the results .

Cool! Keep us posted! Thumbup.gif

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Sounds like the original problem most likely was debris in the fuel. Make sure you check the filter at the inlet of the carburetor, should be a small screen type filter. There is a good chance that the carb probably needs a rebuilt/clean to clear out all the debris.

Before changing all the plug wires, I would make sure you have them installed correctly. Run through the firing order (it should be cast in to the inlet manifold or it is in the manual) and make sure you did not accidently reverse a couple of wires (it is pretty easy to do). Also, I would check for corrosion in the distributor cap or any moisture in that area. You can also check the health of the wires using an ohm meter, see if the offending one reads much higher than the others.

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Pull the coil wire off and crank the engine over. Listen for any air being forced out the card. Just thinking maybe a head gasket. A compression test can confirm that. Being that is an older engine, the variation between the cylinders may be more that stated above, but certainly not a huge amount. All the plugs should be out when performing a compression test.

I doesn't really sound like a fuel issue.

Could be the cap or wires. A crack in the cap or rotor may not be seen by the eye,.. but if the rotor had a crack, it could effect any or all cylinders. Change both as stated above and be sure.

Edited by Sunsetter95
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thank so much guys its been rainy here the last couple of days so ive been letting it go but i now have a course of action. 1st ill swap a plug wire out. if that dosent give it to me ill do a compression test. if thats ok ill change the cap and rotor. its finally gotten cold here. so ive got about 2 months before ill be back on the water.

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ordered a new cap n coil from skidim testerday. should be in by end of the week. gonna hold off on the compression test till after that. one thing i am curious about the motor will run smooth as glass at 4500 rpm in neutral in gear on open water tappin n backfireing at 3500 rpm.

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ordered a new cap n coil from skidim testerday. should be in by end of the week. gonna hold off on the compression test till after that. one thing i am curious about the motor will run smooth as glass at 4500 rpm in neutral in gear on open water tappin n backfireing at 3500 rpm.

Try to cut back on your sugar/energy drinks before you start typing posts, please.

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ordered a new cap n coil from skidim testerday. should be in by end of the week. gonna hold off on the compression test till after that. one thing i am curious about the motor will run smooth as glass at 4500 rpm in neutral in gear on open water tappin n backfireing at 3500 rpm.

That's weird. That tells me the compression isn't the problem.

Get that new cap and coil on there and let us know how she's running. Thumbup.gif

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ordered a new cap n coil from skidim testerday. should be in by end of the week. gonna hold off on the compression test till after that. one thing i am curious about the motor will run smooth as glass at 4500 rpm in neutral in gear on open water tappin n backfireing at 3500 rpm.

Are you sure you don't have a fuel delivery problem? Can you look to see if your primaries are a sputtering under load. could be a mechanical fuel pump issue.

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Are you sure you don't have a fuel delivery problem? Can you look to see if your primaries are a sputtering under load. could be a mechanical fuel pump issue.

Although it sounds like a timing isssue given your most recent post I would check the fuel pressure and the replace the fuel filter. When was the last time you replaced the water/fuel separator filter?

If it were me I would just replace the cap and rotor (not very expensive), change both fuel filters and take for a test drive.

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done i replaced the fuel filter at the onset after i cleaned the tank. looking in the carb i do see a good supply of fuel from the primaries. the only thing ive not yet checked is the small screen in the carb itself. ill do that when the dist cap n rotor come in. ups says by the 17th.

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did i possibly miss a filter ? 1- screen in tank, 2-fuel water seperating filter(looks like oil filter), 3-metal screen in carb. is that all of them ?

That should be it.

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distributer and rotor from skidim came in today. ill change them 1st thing tomorrow see what happens. guess if that doesnt help next step should be compression check and timing check ?

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distributer and rotor from skidim came in today. ill change them 1st thing tomorrow see what happens. guess if that doesnt help next step should be compression check and timing check ?

As good a place as any...do you have the engine service manual?

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ok well ive found the problem i pulled the heads and found a chunk missing between the 2nd and 3rd cylinders on the starboard side. looks kinda like a bite about 1/4 inch deep and 3/4 inch long right in the center between the cylinders with coresponding damage to the head. so im assuming i'll need a long block replacement motor. where should i go and what am i looking at paying ? i'm not a happy camper

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ok well ive found the problem i pulled the heads and found a chunk missing between the 2nd and 3rd cylinders on the starboard side. looks kinda like a bite about 1/4 inch deep and 3/4 inch long right in the center between the cylinders with coresponding damage to the head. so im assuming i'll need a long block replacement motor. where should i go and what am i looking at paying ? i'm not a happy camper

How much of the work do you want to do yourself?

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