60 EFI Mercury Jet- No Thrust

[RadarJet]

Just took out a family owned boat for the first time in a few years after it sat for 12 months. Previously it ran great on the 1652J Alweld boat- easily on plane and effortless cruising. Motor started easily and idled very smooth. After warming up and trying to accel it just pitched the nose up and dug the back down, revving easily up to 5.5k, but not breaking out on plane. After checking for any obstructions, air or fuel obstructions, and all variations of trim- nothing worked. Reverse gate appeared to have proper alignment. Took the impeller off and found a very dull impeller that appears ground back about 1/4 inch from previous edge, with a little "hook" remaining at the outside edge. Clearances were around .03 inch, but rough surfaces. Would this kind of wear reduce the thrust this much? I'm going to replace the water pump while at it- are there any tips or tricks for this motor (9952GE)? Thanks. JD

 

[Djknyork]

I recently had a similar issue and it ended up being my gate wasn't coming up fully. But I did sharpen my impeller after I checked that it wasn't loose. Was your loose on the shaft prior to removing your it?

 

[RadarJet]

Found a possible culprit- the linkage to the reverse gate has a nasty tear and kink in it- which was probably keeping it from fully locking the gate out of the way. It shifts fine while trimmed up in the driveway, but I bet it was kinked on the water. The kink has grease from the pivot bearing all over it- which is how it probably happened and also why I did not see it on the water.

 

[user 6672]

That'll do it.. I had the cable for my bucket break.. would only hit 5100 rpms n felt doggish, Took me a minute to figure it out. There fine out of the water until theres some pressure pushing them back up blocking the outlet...