1986 Ski backfiring

thanks Peter.....I spoke to Vince today. He was very patient and explained the process. i'm impressed. I'm checking with local boat mechanics to see if anyone is willing to remove and install the tranny. If not, I may be hauling it to Medina OH. thanks again!

If i didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all......After five great days on the water, today ended with another disappointment. I lost reverse on the transmission.
Forward works perfectly but when you move the lever to reverse, no engagement. I removed the shifter cable and operated it manually with the same result. After reviewing my owner's manual, it sounds like i have a reverse clutch problem.
The velvet drive is original, regular changes to transmission fluid as recommended by the Borg Warner.
Any suggestions on how I should approach this issue? Fix, rebuild or scrap and buy new?
thanks in advance for your suggestions.....
Bill

And you have insight that it was a hose failure that caused the whole incidence

Thanx for the replies !!

It's only dangerous on the high pressure side of the fuel pump.

It's because, if it did happen to leak, it can't just run out the bottom of the engine bay and onto the ground like in a car. It would collect in the bilge and cause explosive fumes.

Great to hear that the original poster is running strong!

Fuel line has been changed and the new dizzy has been installed. I appreciate everyone's input! Without your help, I would be still chasing this problem.

The boat runs perfectly now.....idles at 900 in neutral, 700 in gear and turned 4600rpms with solid holeshot and midrange throttle response.   

Winter project will be upholstery. Any suggestions on where to to get material or have skins made?

WHROSS wrote: we did install an in-line filter between the fuel pump and the carb.

William,
What type of filter and how was it plumbed? How about some pictures?

Thanks.....we'll give that a try later today hopefully. The fuel system been completely redone with exception to the pick-up tube. If your suggestion works, my guess is the pick-up tube must be the problem. Also, we did install an in-line filter between the fuel pump and the carb. You can visibly see if fuel is getting to the carb via the filter. During the three outings the boat ran as it should, that filter was in place and filled with gas.

ok....heres the latest....we're making progress but still not quite there. The ignition system was returned to original but was still problematic. The ignition switch was bypassed resulting in the same problem, loosen dizzy, move slightly and engine stalled. The dizzy was grounded with a separate wire to the block but still no success. Must be the dizzy right? Installed a new Mallory RH dizzy. We think so based on yesterday's test run.
Test run results were mixed with good and bad. Started perfectly off the trailer; idled away from launch area for a couple of minutes well. When I eased the throttle down to get on plane, engine could only achieve 1600-1650rpms....tried a few more times but no success. Pulled back to neutral and engine stalled....restarted hard but when it restarted came out to the water great, eased the throttle up through the ranges. Top end rpm could only achieve (a very smooth running) 4000 with no misfires. Could this be attributed to the new 4160 linkage not properly set? Still had a problem with stalling after bringing back to idle.   
My mechanic was unable to go on the test run with me but we plan to do that today.
I believe we are on the right track but still have a few issues to work out.

Any comments and recommendations are greatly appreciated!   

Im not quite sure if the act of loosening the bolt caused the stall or a slight movement did. My mechanic said he loosened the bolt and moved the distributor maybe 1/16th on an inch and the engine stalled. Im forwarding your recommendation and we'll see how it goes. thanks!

Here's an update....good and bad.
My wrench switched out the electronic ignition and flamethrower with points/condenser and original coil. The boat started and idled for ~10mins. When he loosened the distributor to time, the engine immediately stalled. He let the engine cool, tightened and restarted but still encountered the same problem when he loosened the dizzy. He tried to restart immediately but with no success. He did notice a popping sound each time the turned the key to the off position while trying to restart. He bypassed the ignition/dash by connecting a jumper from the positive terminal of the starter relay to the positive side of the coil. The boat restarted but shutdown again after another ~10mins while trying to time (loosened the dizzy and engine shutdown).
So the question is, a problem with the dizzy or coil? My wrench is hoping to locate a coil at NAPA and try a new coil first.....if that doesn't work, sounds like a new dizzy.
Has anyone run across a problem like this before? Do we seem to be on the right track? Any insight is much appreciated?

We did replace the gasket when we installed the new carb. thx.

I might suggest that the timing could be off as well.   If you put in a new dist, I wonder if the bolt that holds the dizzy in place may have loosened?   this of course could explain your hard starting too, and could be remedied by the coil/distributer/points re-install.

WHROSS wrote: My mechanic's plan is to try these things next: 2. Reverse the set-up on the electronic ignition (heard that works sometimes) 3. Reinstall the points/condenser and coil.

Go with your mechanic! I didn't catch why the conversion was installed?