Force 120 engine help needed

[netman427]

I apologize in advance for the long posting but wanted to get all the detailed info here while it's still fresh in my mind

Hello everyone! New (to me) boat owner. Maxum 1900SR with Force 120.
I've read how the community are not huge fans of the Force but the price for the boat was just right!

I've had her for almost 3 weeks now. She usually starts great (2nd or 3rd crank with a little choke) and idles strong.... at least for the first hour or so. The first time I put it on the trailer, it died every time I revved the throttle. Took the kids tubing and after taking some time to swim, it started ok then died every time I put it in gear. I let it idle for 5 minutes or so then it kept running once I put it in gear.

I replaced the badly rotten seats this weekend & took her for a quick test ride last night. Everything still running ok. Today we went out for a picnic on the lake. Stopped and topped off the take (adding the appropriate 2 cycle oil.)
Took off WOT for a mile or so then hit a few wakes. The last one put the RPMs from around 5200 to 3000. I could tell something was wrong but not sure what. Throttled her to idle and the engine died. Begin close to shore, I swam out with a roap & tied off so we could at least have the sandwiches

Pulled the engine cover & saw some water near the carb. Figured some splash from the wake crossing got in the engine. Waited an hour or so then tried cranking. Fired right up with a fast idle (around 3000 RPMs) but I could hear her bogging down. Before I got to idle back up, she died. Turns out the fuel line popped off the engine. Plugged back in & tried again - no start. Pumped the fuel bulb and liquid dripped from the front of the engine. Pulled the cover again to see I flooded the engine. Waited another 30 minutes then tried starting again. It cranked but she was not happy. I lit it idle around 3000RPM again to get some juice back in the battery but she was smoking something fierce from the exhaust. Tried to put it in gear & it died. Tried to crank again but no dice. It sounded like it wanted to start but just would not turn over.

Got a tow back to the marina & will try again tomorrow hoping the magic fairies fix it in the middle of the night. The tow guy says sounds like water in the fuel but I'm not so sure.

So here is where I need help from the experienced guys out there. How bad does it sound? I know without hearing/seeing the motor it's hard to know anything. Should I have a mechanic take a look? Try some fuel treatment? Buy a newer rebuild engine? Just wondering how much trouble I'm in.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Geoff

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard

I’m not savvy with outboards but I would first pull and look at the spark plugs as they probably need to be replaced, carbs probably also need a rebuild. Did the boat sit before you got it? May need the gas tank cleaned.

What year is it? The engine may be worn out. Force was not know for reliability.

May be best to have a mechanic determine its health and go from there.

[Gugi47]

Do a compression check to....Like, Mike say, the Force engines, don't have a good reputation.

[netman427]

DOH! In all that detail, I seemed to have left out some of the important details!

The boat is a 1996. The boat was stored in a driveway and (even though there was a cover INSIDE the boat, it wasn't ON the boat.) The engine had a sticker on the back indicating it's a 1998 "factory reconditioned" engine. According to the previous owner, the engine had quite a bit of work done last season. They claim the carb was rebuilt and compression testing done but I got no proof of that - just going off their word.

I was surprised there was no type of air filter or any sort of foam pad over the carb. Is that correct or is something missing?

I'll pull the plugs tomorrow afternoon & reply back with details. One other thing - I MAY have run her out of gas last weekend. Then I filled the tank (again with the appropriate 2 cycle oil) and let her sit a bit to mix so I'm fairly certain the tank had no old gas but I'm not sure of the condition the inside the tank.

I replaced the seats over the weeekend & including a pics to give an idea of the interior shape of the boat. The interior was in rough shape but she is getting better looking day by day.

Thanks for the pointers. I'll post back tomorrow.

[mmwjr]

Being that she was stored uncovered what is the condition of the deck? Any soft spots?

[netman427]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Being that she was stored uncovered what is the condition of the deck? Any soft spots?

Surprisingly enough, the deck is in great shape. Appears to be fiberglass with no soft spots. The seats and pretty much exposed wood is shot to hades... hence the seat replacements

I'll be heading down in a few hours & will let you know what I find regarding plugs.

[netman427]

So I have some good news

Went down & pulled the plugs. All look recently changed and not fouled. I read another post that said put the idle to half, press the choke for 5-6 seconds then crank.... and low-and-behold! It cranked right up & idled nice & smooth. Took her out for a quick spin and back up to 5200 RPM as expected. Ran nice and strong.

As far as I can tell, I must have taken water in the carb and sitting on the shore didn't do me any favors as we got beat up by every yahoo that flew by.

I'm just going to take it easy with her for the rest of the season and will be looking to move up next season.

I'm still concerned about the lack of any type of foam over the carb. Does anyone know if the Force120 should have some type of air filter?

Thanks again for the advice so far.

[mmwjr]

Not sure about outboards but inboard and I/Os don’t have a air filter but do use a flame arrestor, metal mesh Incase of backfire. It reduces heat and flame.