Outboard Troubleshoting

[mtwolf13]

Carburetor

If I am not mistaken there is a screw on the bottom of your float bowl that allows you to drain the carb. I hve a freind who had a similar Honda on his dink and could not convince him to drain the gas or to use the more expensive marina gas. He is on his third carburator now and has become a believer.

Good news is it looks like there is going to be a bill in the next legislative sesion to end the requirement for Florida fuel distributors to add eathonal. If eathonal free fuel becomes more available the market place may take care of the rest.

Before you pull the carburetor, tap on it with a hanner. A lot of times this will dislodge any crud between the needle and seat. GENTLY!

 

[mtwolf13]

Re: Carburetor

I meant hammer. Sorry about that one.

 

[thinwater]

Thanks all! I'll first check all the easy stuff prior to removing the carb, including fuel hose line, bulb and carb drain line. I'll also change out my gas and flush out my gas tank. Then, I'll remove the carb (first time for me) and give it a good cleaning, concentrating on the float/needle valves. My biggest challenge is to do this while my boat is still in its slip.... and to not drop anything overboard!. Again, THANKS to you all for your input. Ya'll narrowed it down to a fix that I can do myself. I'll let you know how it goes. BrianW

You may be able to remove the carb in the slip; there arn't many parts to drop. Backing in may help. I've removed several on the water.

You may want to spring for a new float and needle. Sometimes the float just gets heavy.

No, water does not absorb through the can. If that were possible, water bottles would suck in the way gas in a cheap bottle does. However, the water does come in through the vent, which is why tank vents that can be closed should be. Tanks and jerry cans should be full, to minimize breathing.

That said, ethanol seems to increase corrosion even when there is no separation. It seems every bowl is getting a little white corrosion solids in it now.

 

[BrianW]

Ok, job completed! I tried the "easy fixes" and was unsuccessful. I removed the carb while in my slip. Definitely easier than removing the motor.It was difficult, but do-able. I only lost a fuel overflow line and a washer into the drink. The 30-minute job turned out to be a "all day-er". After removing the carb, and taking it home to disassemble and clean, it soon discovered all of the screws holding the float chamber were really tough to remove. The threads were partially corroded into the carb body. With a lot of effort and a some PB Blaster, they finally broke free. Once inside the float valve was moderately gunked up, but not too bad. I also has a stuck accelerator piston, which I was able to free up. Bottom line. when I put it back together, it fired right up! Lessons learned:
(1) include a carb cleaning job in my annual preventive maintenance list when I'm on the hard.
(2) Use ethanol-free gas

Thanks for all of your advice. Ya'll got me focused right onto what the problem was. BrianW

 

[SycloneDriver]

good job

Good job fixing it yourself and thanks for letting us know the outcome.

Cleaning the carb & inspecting/replacing the impeller should be done every year (in my book anyway). It will save you a lot of headache later and maybe much more.

 

[Rick Webb]

Glad to Hear it

Not sure where you are in Pensacola but I always stop at the BP station on Senic drive just north of I-10 which sells no eathonal gas when we drive up to UWF when dropping off or picking up my daughter. I am sure there are others. Spraying the carb periodically with WD-40 or the like helps to keep the corrosion down as well.

 

[Dougo]

Hearing a lot about the ethanol in the fuel. If we're taking a poll, I'd vote in favor of using ethanol free fuel in any marine application - a lot of marinas and gas stations are carrying it.

 

[Merlin Clark]

I've never had a problem with ethanol but have recently switched to avoid getting nailed. Guess I've squeeked by.
I've learned a lot from the good people on the SBO forums!
Good to hear you've got it running Brian.