Petrol engine stalling...

[BarryD]

As I lurch closer to ownership of a boat - I'm again being offered a half share of a '93 IT Cruisers Holiday 2838 - this time with a years mooring paid - all for the a sub £10K price.

It's got twin 4.3 Mercruiser engines, the starboard one idles poorly when its been run for a while. And often stalls when moving from forward to reverse. Before I go anywhere with this I will get both engines checked by a marine engineer.

However does this sound like just a case of poor maintenance - like an old car? Or it more likely to be somewhere in the bowels of the cutch / drive take up - and hence likley to need a bob or two to resolve?

Barry D.

 

[ChrisP]

If the engine idles badly with out trying to engage gear. Then it's most likely an electrical problem. Leads breaking down or the like due to age, water & lack of TLC. A few bob spent in this department would probably see th problem off. Maybe even a carb tune. However if the problem only ocours when the drive is engaged, get a qualified opinion before parting with cash.

 

[kimhollamby]

Check to see if it is the engine that runs the power steering pump. If so, the problem is common, especially if using lots of lock at idle.

 

[KevL]

Had this problem with the 5.7L Mercruiser in my boat (is it ok to say Bayliner yet?). the tick over had been set at about 450RPM which IMHO is way too low. It's not nice when it stalls just as you are reversing into the berth. I upped the tick over to 650RPM (one screw on top of the carb) and she has bee fine ever since.

BTW Fuel injected or normally aspirated?

Kev

 

[Guest]

Re: walk away

a share of a broken boat is worse than no boat. One sharer has run out of money so selling, the other doesn't have enuf to fix it or not interested. Spose some work is done but not fixed - wil the other sharer not want to pay - i imagine so, cos it ain't fixed yet. Or some combination.

 

[Guest]

Re: walk away

So the last three boats you went out on, two blew up, one don;t go and I've invited you out on mine this weekend? What's the chances of me getting the boat back in the marina in one piece? I'll only take you if you PROMISE not to touch ANYTHING.

Oops just remembered I've got to watch some paint dry on Sunday and can't make it after all.

 

[David2452]

I\'s probably the interrupt switch

You need to check and tune the engines obviously but the symptoms you describe are classic, the switch which momentarily shorts the coil to assist gear shifting is mall adjusted or the shift assist to sterndrive cable is sticky.

David

 

[BarryD]

Re: walk away

Good points Matt, however it's not money in this case but boredom. The one who wants to sell doesn't drive or use the boat (the ideal co-owner) it was a whim purchase and the other owner is trying to buy property in the Med so most weekends he's never around either. Neither one of them is short of a bob or two but they don't have time to play with the boat or to arrange for work to be carried out.

Barry D.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I have it in the back of my mind that Cruisers Int had a problem some time ago with hulls cracking, maybe you'd want to check this out before going any further.

 

[Guest]

Re: walk away

Agreed. Best way to lose friends - end up arguing over who's not paying their way, and why they feel they shouldn't have to, since you use it more than they do....

 

[kimhollamby]

Not the Cruisers Inc 2838...that boat would have been built in the States and the infamous Cruisers cracking hull problem was confined the the licence-built Cruisers International 267 Vee Express. Quite a few of them were built with stringers that were not continued properly through a bulkhead, amongst other things and at least one sank as a result.

Many of the the faulty 267s were subsequently repaired when the American company (which went to the wall a bit later and has now been defunct relaunched under a completely different set of owners and management) were virtually blackmailed into placing some cash support in place. The cash covered quite a few of the boats affected, but not all, so there may still be a few bad examples out there, somewhere.

The smaller UK-built 224 was fine but the Corby-based Cruisers International company that produced them and the 267 (the only two models that they built this side of the Atlantic) went under at the same time as the cracking hull problem was revealed.

 

[DepSol]

Poor quality fuel or fuel sat too long in the tank/carbs. If bad fuel (yes even petrol can go off) is likely and I hate to say it again treat it with Soltron!!!

 

[Guest]

Re: ideal co-owner?

If the other guy doesn't drive, will he be keen on spending to fix/maintain a good driving boat experience?

 

[BarryD]

Re: Petrol engine stalling... Loop closed.

My thanks again for the feedback, to close the loop the problem has been tracked down this AM by an engine type person - it is the carpet covering the cockpit floor and hence over the engine hatch. The air intake for the starboard engine was partially blocked with underfelt crumbs. Fine at full chat but at tick-over the engine was being strangled.

The carpet is a couple of years old and pretty cheap student landlord type stuff, and is just begining to break up. Where the air filters are, is a mystery to me but there don't appear to be any - perhaps another reason to stay clear of this one.

Barry D.

 

[Guest]

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM ON A NEW 4.3 LX AFTER ABOUT 18 MONTHS. THE INTERRUPTER SWITCH WAS CHANGED AND NUMEROUS ADJUSTMENTS MADE BUT IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
IT TURNED OUT TO BE A 'U' SHAPED SPRING LOCATED IN THE AREA OF THE SAID SWITCH. I AM NOT AN ENGINEER SO I DO NOT KNOW THE EXACT NAME OF THIS PART BUT YOUR MERCRUISER AGENT WILL. IT TOOK 10 MINS TO FIT AND THE PROBLEM NEVER REOCCURED HOPE THIS HELPS.