My Go Devil 35 surface drive is having issues...it idles fine and runs fine out of the water but the second I drop it in the water and give it any gas it begins to sputter and back fire over and over again.....it will do this over and over then all of the sudden begin to run fine for a while. I thought it was a choke issue so I replaced the spring but that wasn't it apparently. I am an hour fom the nearest guy who can work on it so any advise would be great...

may need to clean the carb

This may be obvious but are the plugs/plug wires in good shape?

I was thinking a carb/fuel issue but then it runs fine out of the water..but I will clean it anyway..I changed the plugs and the wires look fine....I appreciate any info you guys throw my way....I am no wiz when it comes to mechanic work.....

My 31 longtail gave me a similar issue one time. It would crank up, idle and run fine on the trailer. But in the water, all it would do was idle. If I gave it more throttle it would spit, sputter and cut off.

You can take off the filter and spray some carb cleaner down in there hoping for a quick fix.

If that doesn't work, take the carb off and use a light wire and run it through the jets. May be some trash inside the jet.

If you want a sure solution, buy one of the 35hp carbs mudbuddy sells on their website for $85 and just put a new carb on it.

http://www.mudbuddy.com/On%20Line%20Specials.htm


I ended up taking mine to a Briggs and Stratton dealer and he said something was stuck in the carb and they couldn't get it out. He ordered me a new carb and charged $250 when it was all over.

Maybe Giga can jump on & explain how this could have even happened... Apparently you should never have to touch your motor once you pick it up from the dealer


Good luck these guys are steering you in the right direction. Check simple stuff first.

Or maybe you two knuckleheads can not thread jack another gd thread cuz you both know the lower unit breaks less. There are a few gatortail posts up right now about lower unit issues that require your attention. This is a briggs issue.

Was waiting on Giga to reply but decided not to go there.

Amazingly these things will idle pretty smooth with no fire going to 1 bank. That is until a load is applied. I doubt it is a sparkplug or wire issue but don't rule that out. Make sure you have good fire going to each cylinder.

If you are 100% sure you have good spark to each bank. Does it appear to be running lean or rich? Could be flooding due to debris in the needle or lean due to debris in a jet. Pull the plugs are they white or are they wet with fuel. That will be a clue.

had my 23 LT do the same thing and it turned out to be a coil was breaking down under a load, just a thought.

tanks for the input guys I appreciate it......I am dropping it of at a go-devil dealer in Edna on Monday work has me to busy to mess with it....Ill let ya know what it was when i find out a

took it to a guy who works on briggs and said all was good...turns out it was getting air in the line from the gas tank connection......got everything fixed for now taking her out tomorrow to check it out......glad it was a simple issue, thanks for the help