Go Devil Problem, Please give your opinion.

Hey guys,
I'm having a problem with my go-devil motor and I want to get some opinions on what my problem may be. I was duck hunting last Saturday and my boat ran fine on the way out there, but on the way back it lost power and started bogging down. The motor runs fine out of the water, but when you drop it in the water it loses power. You can keep it in the water and it will run without killing, but it never regains power. Every once in a while it starts to pick up speed and turn more RPMs just to bog down again a second later. I initially thought I had a fuel pump problem, but I changed that and still the same problem. I took my water separator off and realized it was full of water, so i emptied it out and put it back on, still same problem. I now think its my carburetor, but my dad seems to think I have a fire problem after riding in the boat. I checked the spark plugs and fire when touched to metal. Another thing is when I spray carburetor cleaner into the carb while running, the boat gets up and goes for a second. Just wondering if anyone had any similar problems or have any suggestions. I'm ready to get back in the woods, but have to fix this first. Thanks.

i had the same problem all i did was adjusted my carb and cleaned it out it ran fine after let me guess what kind of motor u have a briggs possible a 23hp

i just cleaned the jets cleaned the carb and it ran like it di before do that and get back to me i garaunteeee thats ur problem!!!!

Man I can go on and on about mine.... Same prob.. changed fuel pump.. prob solved for a lil while. Now motor has mind of its own. One day EXCELLENT. Next it wants to shake my arm off. Now the muffler glows cherry red and at times a blue flame shoots out the pipe. Now Whats the prob Here... Im hearin a stuck piston??

a stuck piston is not possible maybe a stuck valve. gp even though the spark plugs fire dose'nt mean they are fireing strong enough changing them don't cost that much if its not that i would rebild the carb. just my 2 cents

if your water separator was full your fuel bowl on your carb. has water in it. you will need to clean it out. this has happened to me several times. do you have a plastic fuel tank? if so you need to keep it out of the sun it causes moisture to build in the tank. You can run the water out of the carb. by noising your boat against a bulk head and running wide open until it clears.

Check the vent on your gas tank and make sure theres no kink in your fuel line.

animal cracker.. my correction to u. you are rite. now does the fire shooting out of muffler at times and the cherry red have to do with the same prob.. not enough air.. please reply too

I have the same problem. Happened this past Friday after sitting up for about a month. Runs great at half throttle but when you put it under a load it sputters and kills. Motor is 7 years old and I have had no problems with it up until now. I will check the fuel filter and drain the carb in case I have water. If that doesn't work I will rebuild the carb. My muffler was glowing red also? I Never noticed this before but I may have noticed it because I was looking back at the motor so much I couldn't help but to see it?

Ditto Blaze01 vent problems.

a cherry red muffler could mean you engine is running lean not enough fuel. if it was shooting fire out could be a stuck valve but it would be missing really bad [dead miss, dead cylinder]

the cherry red muffler means it is running too lean( not enough gas) it will cause it to over heat and seize or it did with our air boat ( lycoming air cooled air craft engine) back in the 70's .On the lycoming when the cylinder head temp got too high we had to make the fuel mixture richer ( more gas )to cool it off . You have a restriction some where --fuel filter in tank, fuel filter on the engine, stopped up jet in the carb --somewhere somehow it is starving for fuel-thats why it will not rev up under a load when it needs more fuel-dump your gas and be sure the strainer in there is clear--you may need to blow out all the passages inside the carb with carb cleaner and a compressor with a rubber tipped blow gun--the carb on a 23 vanguard aint easy to take apart--i have done a few.

im having that same problem too for the last month or so i changed everything can't figure it out will try rebuilding carb.i have cleaned it a few times but does it again right after

the cherry red muffler could also be caused by too much unburned fuel burning in the muffler.

also you might want to check all fuel lines to make sure that they are tight if you are sucking air it can cause the same symptoms

I have the same exact motor with the same exact problem. I put a new carburator on it and changed the spark plugs but it still did the same thing, then I decided to change the voltage regulator, its the little black square box with the red and yellow wires coming out if it on the same side of the motor as the fuel pump. It cost $77 dollars at napa and ever since I changed that 2 weeks ago, it has run like brand new. Hope this helps.

Sounds like you are running on one cylinder under a load. Change you spark plugs.

Try runnin some Seafoam through it. Double up on the dosage. That would be the first thing I would try before tearin the carb apart. You may also search on www.mudmotortalk.com

Thanks Guys, I changed the spark plugs and changed the inline fuel filter and it looks like I'm back in business. Would have never thought it was that simple. The spark plugs were only about a month old. Thanks Again.

Freshwater is GOOD! Look around the lake and you will see cypress trees that are dying from saltwater Gainseville Mobile Mechanic