1986 Evinrude 70 loses power after riding for about 5minutes

[Mudsender]

Hey Folks. New to the forum here. Hope someone can help me out. I have a 1986 Evinrude 70 VRO. Went out today to catch some reds and trout. We launched and the motor started just fine, like it always does. We idled out of the marina and opened it up when we got into the main waterway. It ran great for about 3-4 minutes, then started losing power. I had the throttle wide open, but was only moving at a fast idle. We were with another boat, so we decided to stay close to the marina, just in case. We stopped at our first spot and I shut the motor off. After catching some nice sheepshead and a monster red, we decided to move to another spot. Again, the motor started just fine,idled fine, etc., but would not power up at full throttle. Just a fast idle. No sputtering or missing. We fished for a while longer then decided to call it a day. When we got home, I cleaned the fish (redfish for dinner tonite!) and hooked up the rabbit ears to flush the motor. Again, it started right away, but this time, when I throttled it up, it revved and screamed like a banshee. I mean that in a good way. It had been about 3 hours since the motor had last ran. Spark plugs were a little wet, but did not appear to be fouled out. Plus, like I said, it ran ok, it just would not get over a fast idle. Any ideas?

[Stonopete1]

If your boat has an elbow coming out of the fuel tank there might be a metal ball (check valve) in it. Had the same issue before. Remove the ball from the check valve as they are prone to stick causing fuel starvation. It's an easy fix. Hope this helps!

[Mudsender]

Thanks Stonopete1. I will check it and let you know what I find. Sure would be sweet if that is the problem. I did fail to mention that when I put it in nuetral, and pulled the choke lever up, it revved up normally. Just in gear, and at full throttle, did the problem occur.

[try123]

If not bogging or sputtering then check all throttle linkages at the control box and the motor side. Verify that the throttle cable and/or linkages are all intact and not loose or unseated. If nothing strange is found engine side then you may have to open the remote control box up and peek inside. Does it throttle up hard or jam up at the box, shift it several times and feel for roughness or unusually light resistance as well.