90 hp Yam - Intermittant Power Loss

Ran the boat all weekend, Friday through Sunday.

2002 oil injected Yamaha 90 two stroke - 175 hours

Friday morning ran great, 2 hours of trolling, 45 minutes of running.

Friday afternoon, ran great except fouled a plug, was able to “un-foul” by goosing it.

Saturday ran great all day…high speed and about 2+ hours of trolling.

Cranking great…pump bulb, push in key and turn, close to like a FI, idling great

Sunday, ran great… Came back to the dock and parked it, got in 30 minutes later to take it to the ramp…4 minutes into run at 4400 rpm engine dropped back to 3600, then back to 4400, then 3500, then started up/down/up/down, then okay, then up/down/up/down.

Not “surging”…rather it is loosing power intermittantly.

Last spring carbs cleaned and new plugs by mechanic. 5 or so tanks of treated non-ethanol fuel since.

New Racor last weekend before this. No new plugs this spring.

Any suggestions? I thought maybe an air leak in a fuel line but why would it have run okay all weekend? Plus wouldn’t an air leak cause a surge?

Mechanic is betting on a “bad” spark plug. He thinks a restriction in the fuel system between tank and engine would be a constant bog down. Ditto on CDI unit…and says he has never had problems with a coil on a yamaha 90 2 stroke.

Anyone every had same/similar problems?

air leak could cause surging, bad plug happens, but not very often

I’m now at www.teamcharlestonmarine.com

Thanks for the reply. Any suggestions on other areas to check before I carry it in to the shop and go without for 3-4 weeks?

I can’t hardly believe it is trash in the carbs…trash would have to make it through 2 filters (racor and little engine filter)

start with basics
compression and spark
run it under load, and when the bog starts, give it a little squirt of fuel, and see if its carbs

I’m now at www.teamcharlestonmarine.com

Today at lunch I pumped the primer bulb…isn’t getting good and firm. Noticed gas in the pollen below the engine.

Fuel pump gasket leaking…one between the metal cover plate and black plastic housing. Logical that this could be the problem. If gas can get out, certainly air can get in.