could be a colapsed hose if it is old and soft. or a dirty filter. what year is it? and what does it do when you give it the full throttle?

 

is the tank vented

 

If it's not a gas problem than how old is the motor? Check compression. Is the prop the right size, if so, pull it and check for anything wrapped around the shaft. I had a motor years ago that had the same issues, turned out to be the lower unit was on it's last leg. Drain the lower unit oil and check for tiny metal shavings. Catch some in your fingers and feel for any tiny pieces. Hope that is not your problem. And it's probably not a good idea to open the motor up in your yard on a hose.

 

My buddies 60hp Mariner did something like this and it turned out to be a small hole in the rubber bladder of his fuel pump.

 

Yes the tank is vented.

We are going to take the lower unit off this weekend.

It was only on the hose for a short period.

The tank and hose are both old, as is the motor. I will replace the hose, it seemed to me the ball didn't get as firm as it has in the past when primed.

 

why? TAKE THE LOWER UNIT OFF?

 

Just to make sure everything is on the up and up. Are suggesting if there is nothing in the fluid when we change it, the lower unit is fine?

 

You don't have to remove lower unit to change the lower unit oil. If you want to replace the impellar than yes, you have to drop the lower.

 

drain the oil.look for metal shavings or milky (water) oil. then refill it with fresh oil if it looks good.

 

You can hirt you water pump if you run it faster than idle on a hose,so be careful. If you take the lower unit off,do replace the pump (-$30.00) and do the fuel pump as well (-$25.00) moer time than anything. I replace mine at least every two years as I've had my fuel pump fail me after running some bad fuel on the water in Tenn.Luckly I found it early and got a kit from a Merc dealer and did it at the dock and lost only two hours of water time.