First time firing up Sunsport for the season...

Just dewinterized the boat today. It’s a 1985 Sunsport with 351. Fired right up and running like it did at the end of last season, happy that it runs, but still not right. I have a couple questions that I’m having trouble finding.
I just rebuilt the transmission last year. The boat still moves in neutral though. The drive shaft is moving way to fast to stop it with my hand like people suggest I should be able to do. When I push the button in, to rev it in neutral, it moves forward. When I just have it in neutral, it creeps forward. If I put it in reverse then neutral it usually stays still. Any thoughts?

I put a whole new carb in as well and am having trouble figuring out the exact wiring and position of the choke. Where are you guys wiring the hot end to? Then if I adjust the choke while it’s running, nothing changes. Maybe that’s just from it being hooked up on the hot end to the wrong place.

Since I got the boat my rpm gauge has been way off. If I’m in neutral it says I’m running at like 3500-4000 RPM but there’s no way, it’s a smooth nice idle. Is this just a wiring issue?

Thank you guys, I probably would’ve hauled this boat to the dump many times if it wasn’t for this forum, now I’m a master mechanic :rolleyes:

Shift cable adjustment would be my guess on the transmission issue. There should be no force on the cable when it's in neutral.

The choke should have marks on the plastic housing to get you in the neighborhood, and then adjust it from there by taking the flame arrestor off and looking in the bore. It should be closed on cold start, and open up as it warms up.

There should be a switch on the back of the tach to set it for different # cylinder motors. It's probably set wrong.

Ok I will check the shift cable. I did have to move that around a bit when I got the new carb.

Sorry I didn’t mean to adjust the choke, I meant where are you running the hot wire to? The solenoid? The starter? The alternator? I believe I have a 1 wire alternator so that wouldn’t be an option for me.

And ok thanks, I’ve never messed with the tach and always just listened to it.

You need the choke connector hooked up to the wire that goes hot (12V+) upon ignition on.

The optimum connection for the choke is a switch based on oil pressure, so it heats once the oil pressure is above 0. If you don't have an oil pressure switch, then next best is the accessory position on the key switch. Final option is directly off the ignition wire, but that does pull power from your ignition, which is the least favored of the 3 options. For the latter 2 options, if you turn on your ignition but do not start the motor right away, the choke will begin to open before the engine starts to warm up. Then it will run like crap until it does warm up.

Your tach sounds like it is way off...too far for just a difference in cylinder selection. I would check your wiring to ensure the connections are good. After that it may be a bad transistor in the tach, which would have to be replaced. Last ditch you could try removing it and directly wiring to the engine...just to make sure the wiring in the boat is good and not causing the bad reading.

+1 on checking your tranny linkage for adjustment.