Tohatsu 6hp sailpro

Garrett Holcombe · Jul 14, 2012

Remember to only buy ethanol-free fuel. Ethanol not only clogs carb jets, but it'll also deteriorate your fuel lines.

It's pretty damning stuff for engines.

CaptDon01 · Jul 14, 2012

Great little engine! Would be my choice if I could ever wear out my Honda,(last Honda I'll ever own). The tensioning screw works just fine to hold the engine. You don't want it locked straight forward anyway. Then you have to compensate the side torque with the rudder. I always play with the angle until I get a neutral helm when motoring, and the tension screw holds the position just fine, sometimes for hours at a time.

I always use good fuel, (Shell, Chevron, etc), and I always use premium with Stabil mixed as directed, and a little dose of Seafoam,(my world famous "snake-oil" formula). I just never have any fuel issues.

Good luck, GREAT engine!

Don

Slow Mo^cean · Jul 14, 2012

I use Seafoam on a regular basis in my outboard. Helps clean the jets, top end and fuel bowl.

monkeybars · Jul 14, 2012

alchohol does'nt clog jets and carbs.dirt and varnish do the clogging.alchohol's only negative is it's ability to bond with water which when combined with poor maintainece can cause problems.and alchohol hasn't effected fuel lines since the eighties,just about all fuel lines made are resistant to all alchohols.a lot of techs and mechanics like to blame a ton of stuff on blended fuel mainly because its an easy sell and fills their bank accounts.most problems are from lack of or poor maintanence.

jfrench · Jul 14, 2012

I have an older Tohatsu (carries the Nissan name) and it's a fine motor. I use Stabil and a shot of carburetor cleaner in every new tank of gas I prepare. Also, at the end of the trip, run fresh water through the cooling system if you're sailing in salt water, then unhook the fuel line and run the motor until all the fuel is burned out of the carb and internal fuel lines (run it until the motor quits) . You can't form varnish if there's nothing in the fuel lines and carb. You'll get a feel for how little gas the motor burns while you're standing around tapping your foot waiting to burn out what's left in the engine.

Also, buy an extra cut-off switch key. If yours goes overboard it's nice to have a second on board somewhere. Finally, change the lower end lube at the end of each season, instead of letting it sit until spring. It's not unusual for the lower end to get a bit of water in past the seals. It'll emulsify in the oil up to a point. On an older engine you can get enough in that it sits as liquid water in there. At any rate, it's better to replace it with clean, good oil at the end of the season, rather than let moisture sit in there all winter. Again, especially important when sailing in saltwater.

After posting this, I saw you're in St. Paul. Not much salt water near there!

Diamondjet · Jul 14, 2012

Just my two cents worth but I'm strictly operating with non ethanol on my Nissan 4 and my 6 hp tohatsu and a multitude of problems have cleared. Certainly a better idling motor now. I have been led to believe it's not the ethanol but the moisture it attracts and combines with that causes most of my troubles.

Joetech · Jul 15, 2012

Have the same motor

Ditto on what CaptDon01 wrote. I use regular 87 e-10 pump gas without a problem when I add Stabil and Seafoam. Only trouble I even had was using Marine grade (presumably e-free) gas. After about 3 weeks (without the Stabil, our marines gas presumably has Stabil or something similar in it already) I had stalling problems. Dumped that gas into the car and got fresh gas and added Stabil and Seafoam. Never had another problem. Don't worry about e-10 and hoses. Very old engines will have problems but for at least the last 10 years or so manufacturers have assumed some ethanol content to any gasoline
Great engine.