20chap04

Thanks to all for their input.....After new distributor cap and rotor....new fuel filter and fuel/water seperator, nothing improved..... I started to suspect a vacuum leak of some kind...so while running on muffs in the driveway, I tried to choke the engine by covering the carb with my hands....no change. Turns out the darn hose to the pcv valve had somehow come undone. Reconnected and running smooth as silk....I must of knocked it loose somehow when winterizing last fall although is was running fine when I choked her down with fogging oil. Hard to notice a black hose, black pcv valve and black engine. I feel a little silly after all of this although I did replace some things that were in need. Thanks again to all for your imput/advice.

TooReel & Fubar, Checked the accelerator pumps and they seem to be working fine. Strong squirt of fuel when advancing the throttle. Fuel fillter was perfectly clear, no water in the fuel seperator and no apparent vent blockages. However.....when I pulled the distributor cap there was a lot of corrosion on the rotor contact points and on the contacts for the individual spark plug location. Should I clean or replace the cap? I'll replace the rotor....does it pull straight off or is it retained somehow?? What else should I do to get this straight?? Unfortunately, I don't have a manual and its been a bunch of years since I've fooled around with this type of setup. Thanks again to both of you for your advice.

Freshwater only use, but you do have me wondering about possible blockages in the vent line (nesting insects etc.) Up until Saturday, I've never used an ethanol blend in the boat....used to get the ethanol free stuff in the surrounding counties where I live...now it seems impossible to find. I'm too am beginning to believe it's a fuel related issue, boat was running perfectly late last year so in my mind, that's a likely culprit. It just seems to be starving for fuel. I'll keep you posted on how things turn out. Again, thank you for your input.

Fubar, thanks for your reply. Will be checking the fuel filter and water seperator tonight, those were a couple of things that were on my short list as well. It does have a distributor but it has never been removed. I've owned this boat since new. It's got 220 hours on it so I'm assuming that a worn timing chain/gear would be unlikely. I've got to admit, other than standard maintenance, (oil & filter, lube changes, spark plugs) I haven't had anything done in the way of a tune up. On the other hand, it's run like a top since new so I was in the " if its not broken, don't fix it" camp. It has always been winterized and stored with adequate fuel stabilizer, I did store it with very little fuel this winter since I couldn't find any ethanol free fuel in my area.

Looking for some advice for trouble shooting my 2004 5.0 Mercruiser....Idles fine, but won't accelerate...try to coax it by working the throttle and it boggs and "pops" (no backfire yet). When I try to accelerate, I can hear the carb jets making a sucking sound... Would like to check for the "simple" stuff before sending it to a mechanic. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

No coincidence that the bill's sponsor is from Illinois.