First problem with Lehr outboard?

Jul 9, 2019
2
Native Watercraft 12 footer Berkeley Island
I’ll start here as a billboard for all you other LEHR suckers out there. Sorry a malcontent. Any guidance on my quandary would be appreciated. Hopefully you’ll see the diaphragm from the regulator of a 5hp purchased new in 2014 now with less than 20 hours. If this indeed is a Parsun than my Roketa which I ride on land has the same quality Chinese rubber. Yeah glutton for cheap punishment but these LEHRs weren’t cheap. Thanks for nothing West Marine bilge purveyors.

Anyway what are the chances of getting this part. Is there an any rubber diaphragm (i am sick of spell check correcting that word!) from any similar regulator in the world that would work? Gasket seal an option?

What is the deal with the parts inventory, surely someone is lording over the warehouse with the parts. Is it CA or SC? I was among the last to know that the fraud who still shows me his mug Captain Von Stueben or something on social media and the website that they went out of business.

Thanks for any help. This is one of those empty canyon boards so I don’t have much hope I will get any more worthwhile response than I did my DAEMON from customerfusupport@lehr.com.

Thanx.
 

Attachments

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Has anyone done a propane conversion of a Merc outboard?
 
Jul 9, 2019
2
Native Watercraft 12 footer Berkeley Island
Hi there! I will resign my ID as of today since thanks to this board and further thanks to Dave K. my LEHR b___&m____ is officially over. Dave very graciously replied to my problem with hours and my part(s) are on the way. We will also replace the drum in another carburetor chamber. In addition we ordered the Heater Buddy filter for the propane supply from the two composite propane tanks that are used. Thank you MaintChief for that info since it was exactly what Dave diagnosed as the susceptibility of the Chinese produced rubber used to propane slime. Don't need any lectures there since I also own an unbelievably reliably performing Roketa 250 cc scooter since I bought it from Army Joe on Ebay during the gas crisis of '08. 16,000 fun miles later, I have replaced all the rubber on it. It does actually stink!
This Forum has been a virtual treasure trove of info and I thank all the contributors. I do have to say that whomever the principals are behind this obviously failed experiment (and I don't know about any legal entanglements) but just find a way to take down the website and redirect ever an error 404 would be preferable to the madness of keeping that zombie presence up. Its maddening! How this venture failed is also puzzling. I intend to travel with my Parsun/LEHR attached to my SOLO Skiff to the Mangroves and Snook of the Keys and would have wanted to purchase a replacement when the time came.
 
Aug 19, 2019
1
Mercury 300 West Dennis, MA
After repairing the carb as described above then installing the propane filter recommended in this forum I found I'd experienced my second LEHR LP15S engine failure. The plastic latch that enforces transmission-in-neutral before allowing pull start broke in the way of preventing the rope pull more than an inch or two. Removing the broken part allowed easy starting again.

While waiting for LEHR service to quote the replacement part & recalling kloudie1's post here about the LEHR engines being fuel modified Parsun products I did some web searching by description. I was able to identify the exact same custom molded plastic part online using illustrated parts breakdown drawings for Yamaha, Tohatsu, Parsun themselves, and Mercury 15HP outboards though they called the part "stopper", "starter lock", and "arrester" and all had their own part numbers. LEHR got back to me with their quote for the "Stopper OB323.1-182" for a whopping $26.20 ! I thanked them then ordered the Mercury equivalent 852788 1 from Buster Marine, via Walmart online, for only $5.22, free shipping! Anyway, it's good to know that so many other engine mfrs stock parts, other than the fuel system, of course, that fit the LEHRs.
I just came across your post and I may be having a similar problem to the one you experienced with the rope pull. I am a novice and trying to ascertain first steps. My issue is the pull cord properly locks in forward and reverse but in neutral the cord locks after about 4-5 inches. Could this be the same issue? (on another note I bought my boat from Buster Marine!)
 
Sep 27, 2008
185
Hunter 41 Longport,NJ
I think they are totally gone - can't find anyone that has parts, their dealer locator doesn;t work and no one answers queries - stuck now with an engine that I can't use - DON'T BUY THESE !
 
Mar 20, 2004
1,729
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
Has anyone done a propane conversion of a Merc outboard?
sort of - Mercury just announced a 2.5hp propane version (and WM) but I haven't found any info - and merc wasn't at the Newport boat show. There have been lots of home grown propane conversions of gas engines, though. google it
 
Aug 5, 2013
5
West White Potter 15 Piney Run Park
Hi folks in the land of Lehr...which is gone....i guess....except for all those lehr engines still lying about the planet. I recently bought one...before I did all the research I should have done. Now I am stuck with it. I bought a brand new, never used, still in the box 9.9 ERL. I got what i thought was a good deal from a charity org. ($750). They must have got it for free from somebody. Anyway, when i got it home and opened up the box, there was no tiller. no ignition key. no stop button with the lanyard. no throttle. All it has is a bunch of wires coming out of the motor. I called the administrator I bought it from and told him about all the missing parts i just mentioned and he told me it was designed for a sailboat that had remote control capabilities. Of course, he would not give me a refund. So I have been reading whatever info i can find about boat wiring, electricity, etc. There are tons of blogs, books, videos, etc. about the topics i just mentioned....except my focusing power on those topics are limited. The topics i find about that specific subject i am interested in is quite rare. This forum was one of the most interesting. Thanks.
 
Dec 2, 2003
751
Hunter 260 winnipeg, Manitoba
Unfortunately the “R” in ERL stands for remote control.

For throttle, ignition etc you are likely looking for a parsun remote control for the appropriate year/hp. Wiring info should be included.

Do a quick google search for “parsun remote control”
 
Aug 5, 2013
5
West White Potter 15 Piney Run Park
Hi. Mr twalker. Thank you for your post. I have looked on the google search for the parsun motors. They do look a lot like the old lehr's which are no longer made. I recently raised the motor out of its factory box with a hoist and put it on a homemade cart and started looking at the wires and cables, etc. I am trying to trail the wires into and/ or from the parts of the motor. I do know what the starter is....but thats about it. I know what cable goes to the battery...and where the red wire and black wire get attached to the battery. The other cable has 2 big cable tubes filled with several wires. One of the 2 big cables begins at the starter and ends at a connector with 7 pins. The connector with 7 pins is the part that is supposed to go to the boat.....which is supposed to have the switches to use as the ignition switch, throttle, remote steering....etc. (These are just guesses on my part). I am currently getting ready (maybe tomorrow...maybe next week, or never) to try to trace colored wires in the cables to try and figure out what goes where. In the meantime, I am trying to trade/or sell the doggone thing to an expert outboard electrical engineer so i can buy a smaller outboard with a tiller, throttle, etc.
 
Aug 15, 2011
48
Hunter 45 Legend Holland
Had my 5.0 stored on tiller side down over the winter. Just set it up to run and I couldn't pull it over pulled the plug after a lot of disassemble and discovered it was full of oil any ideas?
 
Sep 6, 2010
51
Tartan 40 Mattapoisett, MA
I've got a 9.9hp lehr that has served me well for a few years. Then, last weekend, it started, brought be to our boat. We just got on board to prep for the coming hurricane and went to head in after a few hours. I closed the tank when we arrived at the mothership, then when were leaving, I opened the tank, pulled the cord to start, it fired for a brief couple of seconds and stopped. I have not been able to get it running since... I pulled the plugs, and ripped a plug boot that had glued itself to the plug, I got that replaced, and all seems fine there. I replaced the hose, primed the carb, it's getting fuel but, it simply will not fire. I disconnected the kill switch. The fact that it just stopped like that has ne perplexed. I can't tell if its fuel related ort electrical... I really don't want the expense of buying a new engine or to go back to gasoline... I hve a week long cruise coming up for Labor day week and can't be without an engine...

any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Danny
 
Jan 18, 2016
782
Catalina 387 Dana Point
Suck (fuel), squeeze (compression), bang (spark), blow (exhaust). You need all 4.

Rule out electrical first - pull the plug wire, jam a screwdriver in it or get the metal end exposed. Hold it near a ground and pull the cord. Spark? If not, you've got a problem with the wire/magneto etc... (You could use a fancy spark tester tool too, but oldschool is looking at the spark oftimes feeling it and whacking an elbow. )

If you know you've got spark, a shot of starting fluid will tell you if compression/timing/etc are all reasonable. If the motor runs for a second, you're down to fuel.
 
Sep 6, 2010
51
Tartan 40 Mattapoisett, MA
Thanks for the reply Jeepbluetj! I'm not getting any spark. I'm suspecting the coil. I got a reading of 0.4 over the primary and absolutely nothing over the 2 secondary (plug) leads. I new a day would come when I cold not depend on this engine as a primary. I'm going to get another engine and keep this thing as a secondary unit. I've ordered a coil but it won't be here for a couple of weeks... I called a couple shops and mentioned it was Lehr and they said, "sorry, I can't help you..."