Guppy35

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If i start using non-ethanol gas, do i need to get rid of the gas that is currently in the tank, or just start using non-ethanol from now on?

Guffins - It does click when i push in on it, and historically i've always had to hold it in as the motor cranks (the first start of the day). Muskiedreams - Yes, once it starts up in neutral, if i give it trottle it will take right off and not have a single issue at higher speeds. I think i'll replace the spark plugs before i do anything else. That may not be the problem, but it's a quick fix and at least i'll eliminate that as a potential problem. Hawkeye, i will have to try the start-up procedure that you mentioned above and see if it works for me as well. Thanks again for all the advice!

Muskiedreams - Thanks for your input, that is very helpful information as well. I guess i kind of told a lie when i said in my original post that it "idles" fine after the first start of a trip. I can go about 3mph with it without any issues, but if i try to go slower than that or have sit in neutral, it usually stalls out fairly quickly. That happens whether the motor has been running for 1 minute or for 30 minutes. As far as the prime solenoid, i think i have the same setup as you do. In order to prime it when starting, i also have to push in on the key while cranking. I haven't had a chance to check it out since your post, but i know in the past that i can hear it make a single click sound as i push the key in. Does that mean that the prime solenoid has magnetism, or should i still check that out? Sorry for my lack in knowledge on these things, i never really learned much about motors/engines when i was younger, so i am trying to learn as i go here! Thanks again for the responses.

Larry, Thanks for the additional tips! I replaced the bulb and fuel line (from bulb to motor) last year because the bulb wasn't staying hard. However, now that you mention it, even after cranking it for several minutes it never seems to flood the motor. In fact the way it sounds it seems like maybe it is starving for fuel. I'll have to look into it further and see if i can find anything wrong with the rest of the fuel line and may have to replace the rest of it. The motor is a 1984 model year / 4 cyl 75hp Thanks for looking into it, i appreciate it!

Good idea, thanks for the advice! I'll start by replacing the plugs and see what happens from there.

Thanks for the response Les. I don't think it's the battery, because I just replaced the battery last year and it didn't seem to make a difference when starting the motor. I will check and clean the connnections again though, never hurts to have a better connection. I'm not sure when the spark plugs were last replaced on it, so maybe i will buy a new set of plugs for it as well. I'm almost positive the motor has been run on ethanol gas for the majority of it's life, so i'm thinking that a carb rebuild would probably make a difference (if even just a little bit). I replaced the impeller on Saturday, and i'm glad that i did too. The old one was eaten up pretty bad and i'm sure it wasn't doing anything to properly cool the motor. I know that issue probably doesn't mean much when talking about starting the motor, but it is nice to know that there is a new impeller in it now.

Every time i take this boat out, the same thing happens when trying to start this motor (Mercury 75hp). It cranks and acts like it wants to start, but it will take many turns of the key before it actually fires up (sometimes it will start up but only stay running for a few seconds). Then for one reason or another, it will start up and stay running without problems, even on idle. I use a kicker for trolling, and if i decide to pick up and move, i can then turn the key (to the big motor) once and have it fire right up every time. But it doesn't matter if it's early Spring, or middle of the Summer, it ALWAYS takes several minutes to get it fired up at the beginning of each trip. Now i know this motor hasn't always been taken care of or serviced the way that it should have been, but now that i have it i'm trying to get it running better and take care of it a little better. Any ideas what i should take a look at on the motor to get it to fire up better at the beginning of each trip? Does it sound like a carburetor issue, or something else? I'm not looking to rebuild the whole motor, as i don't have the money for something like that. Just trying to figure out a few little things i can do to improve it. Thanks!

What kind of gun (and scope) are you planning to shoot to that distance with? Just curious, i've always wanted to experiment out to that distance with my 30-06, but i don't have a powerful enough scope on it to even see a target at that distance right now lol.

While i've already got a thread going on this, i have one more additional question. Every time i take this boat out, the same thing happens when trying to start this motor (Mercury 75hp). It cranks and acts like it wants to start, but it will take many turns of the key before it actually fires up (sometimes it will start up but only stay running for a few seconds). Then for one reason or another, it will start up and stay running even on idle. I use a kicker for trolling, and if i decide to pick up and move, i can then turn the key once and have the big motor fire right up every time. But it doesn't matter if it's early Spring, or middle of the Summer, it ALWAYS takes several minutes to get it fired up at the beginning of each trip. Now i know this motor hasn't always been taken care of or serviced the way that it should have been, but now that i have it i'm trying to get it running better and take care of it a little better. Any ideas what i should take a look at on the motor to get it to fire up better at the beginning of each trip? Does it sound like a carburetor issue, or something else? I'm not looking to rebuild the whole motor, as i don't have the money for something like that. Just trying to figure out a few little things i can do to improve it. Thanks!

There was one time that i caught 35 lakers on Keuka in one outing, but like i said, that only happened ONCE 35 was actually my basketball # in high school, and seems to make it's way onto a lot of my Usernames - especially the ones that require a number

A good way to check your speed is to do "S Turns" with the boat. By slowly turning back and forth, it changest the speed of the lures. Lures on the inside of the turn will slow down, and lures on the outside of the turn will speed up. If you do that and happen to catch a fish or two on an outside line, try speeding the boat up slightly and see if it makes a difference.

Two heads are better than one...not always true, but in this case it is Between the two of you, the guesswork is taken out of most equations!

That's for sure! Thanks Hank, very helpful to know that the #'s you got match up with the ones i finally found. Parts are ordered and will hopefully arrive sometime next week!

Sorry, i posted the wrong link - that is the website that i went to first, but couldn't match the serial number. With a little more searching though, i was able to match the serial number on www.marineengine.com and ordered the parts that i need. Thanks for the quick reply though, i appreciate it!

I'm looking to get a few new parts to replace the impeller in an older Mercury 75 hp motor. I looked up the serial number on the motor and searched it on www.iboats.net where i had previously bought an impeller for a different motor. Unfortunately the serial number doesn't match up with anything on their website. There were only a few 75 hp Mercury motors listed on their website, and the serial number that i got off my motor falls between two of the serial numbers listed on their website. Are the chances pretty good that i could order parts for the impeller from either of those two motors (years 1983 & 1984) and have it be the same size and design that i need? Or should i try to match the serial number up before purchasing anything (maybe a different website would be able to match the serial number?) If it helps, the serial number on my motor is 6558331

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’†Ronald Reagan

“‘I am’ is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that ‘I do’ is the longest sentence?â€