200 runs rough, no power, dies

This one's got me about at wits end. I've got a 200 that I just cannot get running right. It's hard to get started and once it starts it has an obvious miss. It has very little power and dies under load. If the throttle is increased quickly, it put-puts like an old two cylinder until it gets reved up, or it dies. I've tried cleaning the carb, switching the carb out, cleaned the gas line, and pulled the fuel bowl assembly. There is a steady stream of gas out of the gas line and also out of the carb if the plug is pulled. I also put on a new coil, cleaned up the distributer cap, and cleaned the spark plugs. The spark on all 4 cylinders seems strong and is blue in color.

I'm not really much of a mechanic, and this one has me really stumped. It really seems to me to be a gas problem, but I sure can't figure out where. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Install a new set of points and condenser and see if the power improves. Also hold your hand over the throat of the carburetor while a helper makes an attempt to start the engine. See if you have good suction. Low suction means you have low intake manifold vacuum. Could be a vacuum leak, but do a compression check on all cylinders and see what readings you get. Hal

Any engine needs 3 things to run well.
1. Strong enough compression, reasonably even on all cylinders.
2. Fuel: has to be fresh and atomized in the correct ratio. In other words, the gas cannot be too old and the carb needs to have all jets & passages clean and adjusted.
3. Strong-steady spark to all cylinders; use a jump gap tester with an open air gap of at least 1/4" to 3/8".
Instead of guessing as to the problem, perform some basic tests on each of the 3 systems to isolate the trouble.

Check the firing order and timing. Sounds like a spark problem to me. I would suspect you have some of the spark wires out of order.

c is nearly 200. after sits for a bit (through winter) the gas does not run well. you should have a stream nearly as big as a wooden pencil coming to carb., if not, problem could be the fitting coming out of the gas tank. it is easy to stop up.

I 2nd El Toro's line. Points and condensor. Very likely points are
corroded if been sitting long. Had it happen a few times.

Get a new condenser from NAPA no discount stuff.

I will go with the points/ condenser, but if that doesn't fix the problem, take a look at the plug wires. If they are carbon core, you will improve things by putting on a set of wire core ones.

I will go with the points/ condenser, but if that doesn't fix the problem, take a look at the plug wires. If they are carbon core, you will improve things by putting on a set of wire core ones.

Sorry about the double post.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll pick up a new set of points/condenser from the dealer today and see if that improves things. I"ll let you know if that improves things.

So I before I replaced anything, I tried to start it just to move it to a better place to work on it and it won't even start. Same thing after I replaced the points,condenser, rotor, and distributer cap. Now the starter turns over two or three times, kicks out and the carb floods. With the gas off and the carb drained, the starter will chug away endlessly. I've had the carb apart multiple times to no avail. Does the same thing with another carb, but I did take them both apart and clean them so I suppose I may have messed them both up. I didn't do a compression test on the cylinders, but I do have suction at the throat.

The carb doesn't flood just sitting there, but it does badly when trying to start it.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys!

It's got to be one of the basics. There's no magic involved.

Unfortunately, all we can do is tell you to "check" and all you can do is "look" and say "it's fine." Being a novice you don't necessarily know what you're looking at, or what is "fine" so it makes troubleshooting complicated.

Pull the #1 (front) spark plug and find top dead center on the compression stroke. Put your finger in the hole and manually crank the engine over until you feel air pushing out the hole, then shine a light in there and watch for the piston to come up to the hole. Move it back and forth with the fan blade until the piston is at its highest point.

Now follow the #1 spark plug wire back to the distributor and make note of which tower it is connected to. Remove the cap and hopefully the rotor contact will be directly under that tower. That means you're in time.

When you pull a spark plug after trying to start, is it wet or dry?

Does the spark plug spark when you attach it to the wire and crank the engine over with the plug laid against the block?

Are you using choke when you try to start? If yes, try without. If no, try giving it some choke.

What makes you think the carburetor is flooding?

mkirsch, thanks for the reply

I haven't had a chance to check the spark plugs yet, but I assumed it was flooding because gas runs out of the throat on the carb after each time I try to start it.