Thought I Would come to my FORD Brothers and ask a question....



I believe I have a partically clogged Jet on my carb. I have lost all the HOLE SHOT power but it will reach max RPM's just takes awhile to get there. I Was thinking about tring to run a bottle of sea foam through it to see if it would clean the jet(s). Gas is a bit old but it is always treated and never sits more then 4-5 months. And when I do let it sit I leave it almost empty and refill with premium as that is what I run in my boats.


Has anyone else done this and what are the results you got from it. I Dont really want to put the boat in the shop to get the carbs done as I Dont want to lose it for 2-3 weeks since the wife is eagar this year to get out and do stuff on the water. I dont want to take the chance of her changing her mind.. Guys you know what I am talking about..




Thanks in advanced for the replies!!!

 

Gas is bad.........no matter how much it is "treated" the ethanol gas they force on us today is INCOMPATIBLE with the big 2-stroke outboards of a few years back.
Drain your carb bowls, and purge the system of all the old gas. Refuel with the "clear" non-ethanol blends gas available at most marina's

Ethanol gas for vehicles is DEATH for marine 2-strokes unless immediately consumed and run out of the fuel system at the time you put the boat on the trailer, any longer it will cause havoc in your fuel system.

 

^^What Old93Junk said^^

On my little 2 stroke Mercury we always disconnect the fuel line and let it run out of gas at idle to prevent problems like yours when it has to sit for a while.

 

Thomas the Seafoam won't hurt, I first heard of Seafoam about 40 years ago when my grandfather used it on all his boats, also try the Stabil Marine formula, it is designed to counter act the ethanol effect if that is what your stuck with, but as Dave said, try the non-ethanol marine fuel.

 

yeah Steve that is what I use in all my fuel when I add it to the tank its automatic like the oil for me.

Tom, that is what I normally do. However, When I put it up in storage the last time it had just come back from the shop in July for the power packs and plugs and I thought (what i get for thinking) that I would take it out again in July. So it never got drained.

Dave, Ya only problem is the lakes I go to there is no Marina with gas pumps. Even Marina in general. So I have to deal with what I got accessable.

Its going to the shop tonight to get the carbs rebuilt. I got to thinking that Its been over 4 years since I had this done so its about time..

 

Some of the newer carb kits and fuel system parts, gaskets, o-rings, fuel line, etc. are more tolerant of ethanol fuel, Mercury and OMC have made sure of that.
But the best way to protect against ethanol damage to your outboard is to avoid it, or consume it all at the time you use the boat, and ALWAYS run the fuel system out of gas before trailering the boat too.

More fishing trips have been ruined and money spent on repairs because this ethanol crap than any boater will ever care to admit..........another "favor" done to us by environmentalists.

 

It didn't ruin the weekend when it started acting up I was pulling a guy on a knee board. I had just enough hold shot to yank him and the board out on top of the water as it was slowing gaining speed to the top end he would strap himself on. Then I pulled the kids 7-9 yrs old on the tube so didn't need all the power.


Boat= bust out anothor thousand

 

My big outboard refused to start because of ethanol gas................12 miles from the boat ramp.

Try 12 miles of open water on the 6 hp kicker motor.

 

Havnt done 12 miles I done 2 miles on a 41 lb trolling motor for a blown fuse

 

Luckily we are on a highly populated lake that has State Police presence 24/7 from May till October, the 2 times I was stranded was a raw water impeller failure, which I always carry a spare now, and my auto shut off switch came apart under the dash, which I didn't know what it was until I got it home.

 

I've used Seafoam since back in the 80's on my outboards & agree ethanol is horrible for these engines.

Side note: My family originated the first Knee board for waterskiiing back in the early 70's. Originally called a "Glide Slide", later sold the company & the name was changed to "Hyrdo Slide".

 

I believe the board I got is a hydro... Have to look the next time I am at boat storage

 

Thousand? You can still get out that cheaply? Last Thanksgiving I dumped a $2 seal on the axle. $1790 later I was able to pull it down the road again...


I try to run Chevron gas in mine as often as possible. It's a good 2-cycle fuel and the detergents seem to be superior in the outboard to other fuels' detergents. Last year I sold my '86 Ranger (even though this is a Ford forum, I'm talking boat here, not pickup truck) with a Johnson GT150. Many thousands of hours on that motor and it still ran like it was new. The only "fixing" that I ever did to it was to put fiberglass reeds in it when she was a year old, replacing the factory aluminum reeds. Regular maintenance included changing the plugs and lower unit oil regularly. Original carbs, power packs, starter, wiring harness, trim/tilt pump, etc.

They don't make them like that anymore.


Bass.

 

I got an 83 Cajun.. Everything on the motor is original but the Power Packs I had to have them replaced last year. Its been a great boat. Thinking about selling it maybe this winter.. I am looking to upgrade to something bigger. 16.5 foot has been great for fishing as I can get in some places you cant get in with bigger boats.. But with our lovely Texas wind it keeps me off the water more then it should.

 

Hi Thomas,

That's a similar upgrade to the one that I made. Went from an 18' to a 20' boat. I spend a couple of weeks each year on South Florida lakes, especially Okeechobee. When the wind came up, that 18 footer was no fun. I refused to go out on the big waters with people in smaller boats. I find that the extra 2 feet is huge though. I can run across a 3' chop like it's calm. And the boat has the same width as my old one.


Bass.