Need ideas

[6ballsisall]

2 weeks ago took the boat out and skied the heck out of it and (gulp) ran it out of gas! I filled the tank and since then it won't run! Here is what I have done to dianose the problem.

1. Replaced Fuel Filter (it was a nightmare-had about a palms worth of ash like material come out of it!)
2. Blew out the fuel lines from the filter back to the tank
3. Took the fuel pickup lline off the tank and checked to make sure the ball valve was not blocked with gunk.
4. Blew 80psi of air down into the tank (full tank) to make sure the pickup line in the tank was not clogged.
5. Tested the fuel pump by turning over the engine and having it draw fuel into a cup, it filled a 12 oz cup in about 10 seconds.

I am down to wondering if gunk got into the carburetor. The boat will start and run for about 5 seconds but idles really rough during that time and then dies. If you try and rev it when you start it backfires and stumbles then dies.

Any Idea'rs?

[SKI*MC]

Timing is the first thing that comes to my mind...

[6ballsisall]

Timing is the first thing that comes to my mind...

Do you think the timing could have skipped? Prior to running out of gas it ran like a bat outta hell

[SKI*MC]

your talking about your 86 Craft right?

[6ballsisall]

yes siree!

[SKI*MC]

We have the same problem withours sometimes. It happened to us very recently. We replaced some parts in the disributor, and it would back fire out of the carb and exhaust. It would stumble when you would try to run it, and eventually die. That was when we tried putting in an electronic ignition. My guess for you would to be advance or retard your timing, and see what happens. PM afterwards to tell me if it works.

[Jerseydave]

If you ran it out of gas and THEN started having these problems, sounds like fuel related to me. Maybe the float is stuck in the carb.
Look down the top of carb while engine is idling (be careful not to let it backfire, and keep your face away!) If there is gas dripping or running down the barrels of the carb, your float is stuck. Sometimes you can lightly tap on the float bowl with a small hammer to "unstick" the needle & seat. If not, you will have to dis-assemble carb and clean and/or rebuild it. (this may be a good time to do that anyway, if it's never been done before)

You could check your timing with a timing light just to be sure it's ok, too.