Wit's end with my outboard

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

It wouldn't have run the first three minutes if the jets were plugged. I am sticking with the needle valve for the float. Even with non-ethanol gas varnish in old gas can cause the needle valve to stick.

Unless it picked up water from the tank. 3+ mins of fuel in the hose.
As I said previously, check the drain on the carb - that directs further investigations/solutions.

[Cheechako]

On the new generator I mentioned earlier, I found nothing in the jets, I just cleaned the bowl well, added fresh non ethanol gas and it started right up. This was a brand new generator that ran out of the box and wouldn't run months later. Wouldn't even pop. Go figure. There was white residue in the bowl related to the alcohol gas though. But nothing apparent in the jet.

For 3 years now it has started right up every time even after sitting 6 months or more.

[Oeanda]

Just went through this process last week and I wish I’d had the good advice on this thread. Eventually I ended up doing the right things, and now that the carb is cleaned up the motor runs great. It just took me longer to get there.

An air compressor is wonderful for cleaning stuff like this. Even a can of compressed air would work well, though it always bothers me to spend money on overpriced cans of air.

[team karst]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

Just went through this process last week and I wish I’d had the good advice on this thread. Eventually I ended up doing the right things, and now that the carb is cleaned up the motor runs great. It just took me longer to get there.

An air compressor is wonderful for cleaning stuff like this. Even a can of compressed air would work well, though it always bothers me to spend money on overpriced cans of air.

Air is great plus safer for the eyes as opposed to spray gumout.

[dksail]

Originally Posted by Oeanda

Just went through this process last week and I wish I’d had the good advice on this thread. Eventually I ended up doing the right things, and now that the carb is cleaned up the motor runs great. It just took me longer to get there.

An air compressor is wonderful for cleaning stuff like this. Even a can of compressed air would work well, though it always bothers me to spend money on overpriced cans of air.

Had the exact same problem. Took the carb off, sprayed cleaner in the carb, put it back together and it started up and has run fine since. Refer to the manual on where the gaskets and spacer are before taking the carb off!

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Unless it picked up water from the tank. 3+ mins of fuel in the hose.
As I said previously, check the drain on the carb - that directs further investigations/solutions.

He said he was using the internal tank with gravity feed. He would have gotten the water in the bowl pretty quickly and when it sank to the bottom of the bowl it would have been picked up by the jets and stalled the engine very quickly. On the other hand these small engines will usually idle about three minutes or so on the contents of the bowl. If it had not started at all I would agree with clogged jets, but it ran three minutes. Checking the drain on the carb is a good move as it will show either a bowl full of water or a dry bowl.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

He said he was using the internal tank with gravity feed. He would have gotten the water in the bowl pretty quickly and when it sank to the bottom of the bowl it would have been picked up by the jets and stalled the engine very quickly. On the other hand these small engines will usually idle about three minutes or so on the contents of the bowl. If it had not started at all I would agree with clogged jets, but it ran three minutes. Checking the drain on the carb is a good move as it will show either a bowl full of water or a dry bowl.

With all the side comments about hoses and bulbs, etc. I forget that he had an internal tank. By the same logic, if he had left the carb bowl full of fuel, then it could have run on that until gravity fed the bowl with water.

The fuel sitting in the bowl for 6 months would have probably broken down some, leaving a goo that would have also eventually gummed up the jets. Tell us you didn't do that Jeb?

Always empty the carb before storing. Another reason for the drain screw - any report on what that reveals?

[JebLostInSpace]

Well, I spent some more time with it today...

I took the carb off. Sorry I didn't remember to drain the bowl first. But I took the carb off and disassembled. Lots of gunk in the bowl and around the jet. Picture attached of that.

I cleaned out all the gunk I could see with carb cleaner. Then I unscrewed the jet and blew it out and saw a nice clean circle of light through it. Then I reassembled, realized I'd done it wrong, disassembled, reassembled the right way, realized I needed to link the throttle together before reassembly, disassembled, reassembled in the right order and configuration.... And tried it.

Nothing. Same exact behavior as before. I pulled a good 20 times, thinking it might take a bit to draw fuel through the carb since it went together empty. Still nothing. I sprayed some starter fluid in and tried. Got the same second or so of running followed by nothing.



I thought I had it for sure this time when I saw all that gunk to clean out.

I guess next is to start pulling hoses to look for more gunk? Is there something more I should have done to the carb?

[donradcliffe]

You are getting there. Pull the fuel hose off the carb and open the tank valve. You should get a good flow of gas from the end of the hose. If it does flow, put some in a glass jar and look for water. If it doesn't, unblock the hose.

[Captain Bill]

I definitely see water in the lower left of the photo. The big jet you can see in the center of the upper half of the photo is the high speed jet. You didn't mention the low speed jet which is the jet used for starting. Did you clean that as well? There are often small passages in the upper half of the carb that are involved in low speed running that can be clogged and cause problems as well and need to be cleaned. Also remove the needle valve seat and make sure there is nothing blocking the inlet.

[kmacdonald]

Dust your wallet off and buy a new carb. Clean the tank and hoses first.

[JebLostInSpace]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

I definitely see water in the lower left of the photo. The big jet you can see in the center of the upper half of the photo is the high speed jet. You didn't mention the low speed jet which is the jet used for starting. Did you clean that as well? There are often small passages in the upper half of the carb that are involved in low speed running that can be clogged and cause problems as well and need to be cleaned. Also remove the needle valve seat and make sure there is nothing blocking the inlet.

The photo was after I started adding carb cleaner and PB blaster to the concoction as I started cleaning, so it's possible that that is carb cleaner and not water. I'm not sure. If it is water, what can I do about it? I already drained the tank and replaced with new fuel.

I did not clean the low speed jet. Is that the small doohicky directly under the main jet in the photo?

I'm not sure what you mean by the needle valve seat. Is that the spot where fuel flow is shut off by the float? If so, I didn't give it much attention, but I did make sure the float itself was moving freely.

[team karst]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

Well, I spent some more time with it today...

I took the carb off. Sorry I didn't remember to drain the bowl first. But I took the carb off and disassembled. Lots of gunk in the bowl and around the jet. Picture attached of that.

I cleaned out all the gunk I could see with carb cleaner. Then I unscrewed the jet and blew it out and saw a nice clean circle of light through it. Then I reassembled, realized I'd done it wrong, disassembled, reassembled the right way, realized I needed to link the throttle together before reassembly, disassembled, reassembled in the right order and configuration.... And tried it.

Nothing. Same exact behavior as before. I pulled a good 20 times, thinking it might take a bit to draw fuel through the carb since it went together empty. Still nothing. I sprayed some starter fluid in and tried. Got the same second or so of running followed by nothing.



I thought I had it for sure this time when I saw all that gunk to clean out.

I guess next is to start pulling hoses to look for more gunk? Is there something more I should have done to the carb?

\That float pivot has an alien creature growing on it!

[Oeanda]

This is where a compressor comes in handy because you can just go around blasting out those little orifices like a Neanderthal without necessary even having to know what they are. In last experience, those little holes definitely needed to all be cleaned out. You can also poke them out with a fine wire. I suspect all this has probably been mentioned already, but I read through the thread pretty quickly.

Several videos come up with a search. I checked out the first two- neither seemed that great but I think would be enough. https://www.google.ca/search?q=6+HP+...&client=safari

I’m usually one of those guys who will pull on the cord for hours, then finally do it all half-ass, till I’m finally forced to do it right, if I haven’t broken it yet. Don’t be like me. I’m trying not to be either.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by JebLostInSpace

The photo was after I started adding carb cleaner and PB blaster to the concoction as I started cleaning, so it's possible that that is carb cleaner and not water. I'm not sure. If it is water, what can I do about it? I already drained the tank and replaced with new fuel.

I did not clean the low speed jet. Is that the small doohicky directly under the main jet in the photo?

I'm not sure what you mean by the needle valve seat. Is that the spot where fuel flow is shut off by the float? If so, I didn't give it much attention, but I did make sure the float itself was moving freely.

The needle valve seat usually unscrews just like the jet you removed and is under the base of the float. That seat has a small orifice in which the needle valve sits and controls the flow of gasoline into the bowl, the level of which is controlled by the float. If there was debris in the tank, it is possible that there is some of it clogging this hole.



I can't see it well enough to be sure but the "doohicky" could be the low speed jet. If it has slots for a small screw driver like the high speed jet it is removable and is probably the low speed jet. It used to be that outboards had a separate needle valve that controlled the low speed orifices and could be removed to be cleaned. The EPA put an end to that in the US. Companies opted for a fixed low speed jet which is just a smaller version of the high speed jet or they covered the adjustable needle valve with a plug that must be drilled out to get to the valve once it has been set at the factory. I don't know which type you have.


Be very careful cleaning the low speed jet. Hopefully some carb cleaner will do it, but if there are deposits that are stuck use something relatively soft like a toothbrush bristle to clean them. These low speed jets are so precise that a small scrape from a fine wire can ruin them. While your engine may run it will probably not idle very well at all if it is damaged in the least.



Most penetrating oils and cleaners mix readily with gasoline. It is unlikely that they are the small blobs in the lower left corner of the pan. Since it is under the gasoline it is almost certainly water.



Edit: Sorry I forgot, but draining the tank and changing the fuel was good, but unless it was really dried out water tends to form little drops that stick to the sides and are hard to remove. I put a little acetone in the tank(while empty) which picks up the water so you can dump it out. Don't let the acetone sit, just swirl it around then dump it out. While you have the carb off it is probably a good idea to drain it through the fuel hose to clean it out as well. Leave the tank open and empty until all the acetone smell dissipates.