That OB (old boy) must have had a hard head, try giving him a few shots of rum next time to see if that helps it start.
Me and outboards...
- Thread starter Brian D
- Start date
I'm throwing this out for what it's worth. No sense starting a new thread. I have a Tohatsu 5hp that got an air leak at the plug that snapped on to the motor from the aux fuel tank. Took the old one off and took it to a marine store and matched it up with a replacement . Problem solved for about 2 or 3 months. After much research, I found the fuel plug is a proprietary item. There is something different from the one that looks the same and you find everywhere. Of course it cost more too but so far I've gotten 2 years and no problems.
Done. She is purring like a very loud kitten.
Took the carb off (hated that) sprayed and canned air any and all openings I could find. Float still looks brand new as does the bowl. Not a single sign of corrosion anywhere. Not rust, no gunk, nothing. Took the main jet out and sprayed with Yamaha Carburetor Cleaner and inspected all the holes with a 10x loupe. (Do you know how big those tiny holes look when magnified 10x?) No sign of gunk anywhere. Put it back together and ran it.
So now all I have to do is set the idle speed and find where FOT resides.
Again, appreciate everyone's help. I will take it to the marina next week and go for a test drive.
Took the carb off (hated that) sprayed and canned air any and all openings I could find. Float still looks brand new as does the bowl. Not a single sign of corrosion anywhere. Not rust, no gunk, nothing. Took the main jet out and sprayed with Yamaha Carburetor Cleaner and inspected all the holes with a 10x loupe. (Do you know how big those tiny holes look when magnified 10x?) No sign of gunk anywhere. Put it back together and ran it.
So now all I have to do is set the idle speed and find where FOT resides.
Again, appreciate everyone's help. I will take it to the marina next week and go for a test drive.
Hey, I got me one of them there OB holders in the basement, I just didn't know what it was!
Brian: Did everything you all above have done except one more smarter thing - I bought a Lehr 5 HP 3 years ago and figure I have saved $160 per year and it runs whenever I pull the cord. Seafoam, Stabil, non-ethanol gas, 2 carbs, 2 cleaned by ultrasonic thing lasted more than a month.
Yeah, Jerry. I think though this time I will take the motor to the marina's flush tank and run it for 5-10 minutes. This should keep the parts fresh and keep everything as it should. I just neglected it, my bad. Two motors that I have neglected but by the grace of Poseidon I have recovered without a major expense.
I don't care about the claims either, but you are wrong about the "all snake oil claim." it is very unfair to the companies that make effective treatments. I have run independent testing programs, both laboratory (ASTM methods) and field, and those I mentioned are VERY effective at stopping corrosion.
By the way, Sta-bil is not one of the ones I mentioned as being "very effective." Sorry about that.
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1. I run 3 outboards (twin engines + dinghy). No clogging in the last 5 years, since I started with good additives. Before that... lots. THAT is why I got into marine writing; I researched the problem and solved it.
2. I have never sought out ethanol free gas. With the right additive, there is no need. And make sure you close the vent. I use a silica gel vent filter on the main tank.
3. I opened up my 5-year old carbs this fall, just to see. The old carbs had pitted, but the new ones were factory shiny.
So pay silly prices for non-e10 if you must, but you don't need to. Just do all you can to keep it dry, and treat it to cover the trace you miss. I don't like ethanol, as a matter of politics, but you can live with it, if you learn the "ethanol rules." You might as well, since it is still on the rise.
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With all the talk about fuel and small engines I thought I would share my personal experience with you. I bought a new Red Max straight shaft weed eater in the spring of 1992. Nothing fancy, 25cc Zenoah motor with I think a Warlboro carb. I have never used anything but 100LL Aviation fuel mix with 2 stroke oil in it. It has never missed a beat in 25 years. I finally changed the spark plug in 2012 because I thought I should although it still ran fine. I never run it dry. Just use it, wash it off, and hang it up. It sits all winter with the same fuel in it, and I would bet a hundred dollar bill I could go out and fire it right up today.
My chainsaws are the same way, use the mix in them. My Husqvarna 394 with the 120 cc big bore kit in it drinks it like it is dying of thirst but never misses a beat. I live in the woods and often have to cut my way out after storms. My chainsaws might sit for quite some time but always fire right up when I need them.
So when we got our boat and picked up a new Suzuki 3.5 hp the only thing we fed it was straight 100LL. It never missed a beat. When we upgraded to our 4 hp so we could have the reverse gear it too got the same diet. The one exception was while we were in the North Channel and the only fuel we could get was mixed with corn syrup. I hated having to use it but that was all there was. I drained that out as soon as we got back and replaced it with 100LL.
With the exception of last year and the trip up north we typically only use a couple of gallons a year. At around 4 bucks a gallon it is pretty much a mute point cost wise to run gas that I know will not cause us any of the issues that the corn syrup laced fuel will.
Sadly, the end may be in sight for the current formulation of 100LL due to the trace amount of lead it contains. Simply removing the lead drops the octane down to 95 and according to the Feds that is not high enough to prevention detonation in all piston powered engines in today's fleet. Our turbo charged Continental 520 cubic inch motor would run happily on it all day long but the non turbo version of same motor wont due to a higher compression ratio pistons. So they are in the final testing phase of two fuels. One from Shell which I read is a very close in formulation to the current fuel and a bio based fuel by Swift fuels. I really think, i.e. really hope they go with the Shell formula but knowing the Feds hope may be all we have with the big push to go green.
So until the last drop of 100LL is offered for sale that is all I will run in out small engines. I much prefer to have them run when I want them to instead of having to work on them when they wont run.
Sam
My chainsaws are the same way, use the mix in them. My Husqvarna 394 with the 120 cc big bore kit in it drinks it like it is dying of thirst but never misses a beat. I live in the woods and often have to cut my way out after storms. My chainsaws might sit for quite some time but always fire right up when I need them.
So when we got our boat and picked up a new Suzuki 3.5 hp the only thing we fed it was straight 100LL. It never missed a beat. When we upgraded to our 4 hp so we could have the reverse gear it too got the same diet. The one exception was while we were in the North Channel and the only fuel we could get was mixed with corn syrup. I hated having to use it but that was all there was. I drained that out as soon as we got back and replaced it with 100LL.
With the exception of last year and the trip up north we typically only use a couple of gallons a year. At around 4 bucks a gallon it is pretty much a mute point cost wise to run gas that I know will not cause us any of the issues that the corn syrup laced fuel will.
Sadly, the end may be in sight for the current formulation of 100LL due to the trace amount of lead it contains. Simply removing the lead drops the octane down to 95 and according to the Feds that is not high enough to prevention detonation in all piston powered engines in today's fleet. Our turbo charged Continental 520 cubic inch motor would run happily on it all day long but the non turbo version of same motor wont due to a higher compression ratio pistons. So they are in the final testing phase of two fuels. One from Shell which I read is a very close in formulation to the current fuel and a bio based fuel by Swift fuels. I really think, i.e. really hope they go with the Shell formula but knowing the Feds hope may be all we have with the big push to go green.
So until the last drop of 100LL is offered for sale that is all I will run in out small engines. I much prefer to have them run when I want them to instead of having to work on them when they wont run.
Sam
Brian: I agree you should run it often. One older gentleman who worked on my old Yamaha 4HP in Panama City said the fuel goes bad after 3 weeks. His shop was right down from a petroleum fueling point and he said all the gas was the same but each brand just added different additives to the base gas. Glad,you got it running and hope you can keep it that way. If not there is always Lehr!
Sounds like you got it running. And here is my cut. Experienced the same thing with my small out boards. You said you did all the clean stuff and it would start but not stay running. That tells me it is starving for fuel. Here is what I have found to be the problem in outboards that exhibit what you have described. In the carburetor there is a jet. It gets clogged over the winter or when not used often with varnish from the fuel. Find that little bad boy, it is usually made of brass and has a tiny pinhole in it. Use a very fine guitar string to clear it. It will not hurt the jets. I have done this for years on outboards, chainsaws, weed wacker's, and even my vehicles in the days of carburetors. I used to be an auto mechanic and we all did/do this with carburetor jets. It is about the only way to clean the varnish out of them.
It is interesting, Scott, that when I took out the main jet and the main nozzle, I did see some gunk in there. I used can air to blow it out. But I think I should have looked at it more closely than I did. It was a quick peek, pssst of air, and it was clear. So I am not 100% sure it was clogged. One thing though, this engine only has one jet and one nozzle. It does have three air jets but there appeared to be no issues.
Most carbs that I have worked on and have rejetted have two jets; a pilot jet ( low speed) and main jet (high speed). Scott, that's a great idea of using a guitar string (high E string) to clean the gunk out of the jet offices. Do you blow carb cleaner in there at the same time that you are cleaning with the string?
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Extra fuel shut-off valve, if needed, is something I add to all my small engines now plus the use of non-ethanol gas in those and the old Chevy pickup I drive (runs a 1972 327). I don't know what the previous owner ran in the outboard that came with the sailboat I bought last month, but it is probably going to move to non-ethanol too. And yes, everything except the pickup is run down until it stalls. I used to need small engine service for stuff like Briggs & Stratton engines for my electrical generator until the shop I paid to do the work took the time to explain using the shutoff valve. Hasn't needed service since -- that's been at least six years.
It might help to tune the E string to E# or even F. It'll make the string just a hair thinner.
Kermit,
That's funny as hell; but, Brian's reply was funnier!!