4th of July boating report.....Mixed bag!!

[2kwik4u]

Drove 2 hours to the lake. Launched the boat, and headed out. Got about 1/2 mile down the lake, and I jumped out on the hook, and started wakeskating. Everything was going great. I tried a ton of tricks, and even landed a few..Sweeet!!!.....GF and I jumped out on the tube for awhile, everything still going great....Friends call, they are waiting at the marina for us. We head over pick them up, throw the gf and her best friend on the tube, and head out again. They do fine for about 1/2 mile, fall off, and decide they are done. Toss little 6yo cousin out there, with his dad. This is when the problem starts.

As soon as I hit the gas, the engine developed a miss. Would NOT climb past ~2600rpm or so, and would not get on plane. I let out, and it "feels" like it's down one cylinder. We leave the guys on the tube, and head back to the dock so I can get my tools that I brought. We get back, and the rest of the crew heads over, and makes some sandwiches on the back of the truck, while I work on the boat tied off away from the ramp. I pulled all 4 plugs, and cleaned them off with sand paper, as well as pulled the cap off, and cleaned all the contacts in the cap, as well as the rotor. Put it all back togethor....NO HELP [Frown]

Here's what I know. THe plugs looked "OK" not great, but OK. I've seen plugs in worse shape run fine. The wires all "clicked" into place when putting them back on so I suspect they are OK. The cap and rotor didn't look worn badly. While not perfect, I don't think it's the culprit. The rotor looked decent. I filled up with gas at the same location I have in the past, so I don't think the gas is bad.

SO, whats my next step? Do I need to just replace the entire ignition system to insure it's not the culprit? I'm sure a new coil/plugs/wires/cap/rotor isn't going to be cheap, however if thats where I should head I'll do it. I noticed a small black box inside the cap, is that the ignition pickup? Could that be bad and cause just ONE cylinder to not fire? If someone can point me in the right direction I'd greatly appreciate it!

The day was not 100% lost once the miss occured. We still cruised over at idle speed (which is dang slow for a 2-mile trip) to the local swimming hole/beach arear and hung out for a few hours. Managed to salvage at least some part of the rest of the day.

*****Wakeskating update********
Before the boat started acting up this afternoon, I got a few good sets in. Managed to pull off a few tricks on the wakeskate.

First one I got a handle on was the ollie. I know this is like the most super-basic move, but it's the building clock for the future tricks. I crashed like the first 10 times I tried, but that 11th time....Worked perfect, and felt great. Did it a few more times before I was done for that set.

Next one was a simple 180. I've only been able to ride left foot forward so far. This was a hard one. I crashed a BUNCH! Hurt a few times, but I persisted. FINALLY figured it out, and was able to ride "switch" for a little while, then to my amazement I was even able to 180 BACK to my normal left-forward stance.

******End Wakeskate Updates*******

[LouisvilleCards]

Did you happen to notice your engine temp when the problems started. I have experienced this in a boat when the water pump went out. The engine governs itself to keep from overheating. Just a thought!

[2kwik4u]

Water temps were in the 140-150 range just like normal. Oil pressure, and voltage were also normal.

[Hank]

Time for compression tests...

[ECWieder]

Is there a carburetor on that motor or is it EFI? Sticky float, needle or metering rods might cause those symptoms.

[2kwik4u]

Is there a carburetor on that motor or is it EFI? Sticky float, needle or metering rods might cause those symptoms.

It's a carb. I wish it was EFI. Carbs and I tend to not get along so great.

I'll be ordering new ignition parts this afternoon to do a good tune up. I've also been told it could be a gasket between the manifold, and the exhaust riser. I'm ordering that as well.

If that doesn't fix it, then I might take it to a mechanic, or I might keep trying things on my own. Depends on how backlogged the mechanics are I'm sure!

[Ronnie]

save some time & money wasted & do a compression test first ,& if alls well there start with the ign   try to locate the bad cyl first  you can be brave & remove 1 at a time with the engine running & listen for spark at the wire on the dead cyl... but if the compression isn't right   pop off the valve covers & ck for a bad rocker or broken spring next

[2kwik4u]

Took me an hour and $68 in parts. New plugs/wires/cap/rotor are installed, and the boats running great again.

I didn't have a compression tester handy when I was doing the plugs, but they are easy enough to access on the little 4cyl I might do that test this winter when I replace the manifold.

[DaleM]

Similar situation on my 1996 232 a few years ago.  Sounded fine but wouldn't plane out.  New cap, rotor, plugs, and wires took care of it also.  Utimately found a cut in one of the wires upon closer examination.  I think it may have been grounding to the block causing me to run on 7 and not 8.  Glad all is well for you.