Preacher was "prayin" and I was "cussin" today...

[Cane Pole]

Worked on the boat engine today. Got her going again. Same problem ( high speed jet stopped up). Could not see any obstructions in the jet. Poured the carb cleaner to it, high pressure air, put it back together and bingo: Rup, Rup again! Runs like a dream. Still getting new one this coming weekend. Noticed several posts about running 2 stroker when fuel not rite. Something bout blowing powerhead from lack of lubrication. Me, I just push choke in and go. Clean plugs when get home. Always plenty of gas/oil in cly when I clean up the mess. It pours out the cyl in fact. Maybe I just lucky over the years. Choke pours gas to both carbs. Keeps 'em cyls wet. Gets me home. Not advising anyone to do this. Just what I do. I aint gonna troll when I can plow water. lol...

[Moose1am]

Tom:

Sometimes a piece of grass or can get into the gas and block the ports. Once this happened to my lawnmower. I clean the carb out three times before I figured out what was going on. The carb cleaner can't dissolve a blade of grass. It only dissolved gum from the fuel. I finally ended up using a small diameter wire and poked that wire thought the carbs high speed jet port and fianlly got the obsticle out of the port. Only then did it run good for the next few years.

I recommend that anytime you take the carb apart to clean it that you run a thin gauge wire though all the ports to make sure they are free of obstruction. You never know what can get in the gasoline.

Good luck on getting the motor you want.

Worked on the boat engine today. Got her going again. Same problem ( high speed jet stopped up). Could not see any obstructions in the jet. Poured the carb cleaner to it, high pressure air, put it back together and bingo: Rup, Rup again! Runs like a dream. Still getting new one this coming weekend. Noticed several posts about running 2 stroker when fuel not rite. Something bout blowing powerhead from lack of lubrication. Me, I just push choke in and go. Clean plugs when get home. Always plenty of gas/oil in cly when I clean up the mess. It pours out the cyl in fact. Maybe I just lucky over the years. Choke pours gas to both carbs. Keeps 'em cyls wet. Gets me home. Not advising anyone to do this. Just what I do. I aint gonna troll when I can plow water. lol...

[Moose1am]

I saw a show the other day about engines. Two guys and a garage. Anyway they were talking about lean fuel mixtures ruining engines. Now they are talking about rigging up a computer and oxygen sensors in some car to monitor the fuel levels etc.

But if a lean fuel mixture in a car can blow a car engine I would think that it could also happen in a boat engine 2 cycle.

Always getting the right oil/fuel mixture is a key. Too lean and you can get the piston's too hot and run the engine. Too rich and you can get carbon deposits etc. I would rather have an engine run too much oil than not enought. It's much easier to remove the carbon than it is to redo a piston that gets warped from too much heat.

Worked on the boat engine today. Got her going again. Same problem ( high speed jet stopped up). Could not see any obstructions in the jet. Poured the carb cleaner to it, high pressure air, put it back together and bingo: Rup, Rup again! Runs like a dream. Still getting new one this coming weekend. Noticed several posts about running 2 stroker when fuel not rite. Something bout blowing powerhead from lack of lubrication. Me, I just push choke in and go. Clean plugs when get home. Always plenty of gas/oil in cly when I clean up the mess. It pours out the cyl in fact. Maybe I just lucky over the years. Choke pours gas to both carbs. Keeps 'em cyls wet. Gets me home. Not advising anyone to do this. Just what I do. I aint gonna troll when I can plow water. lol...

[blankace]

I have an old 71 Johnson that was given up for junk,when new. I pulled on the ground cable as I loaded it 6 years ago, and was surprised when the ground cable pulled out, revealing a sliced cable. I replaced the cable- the old junker has worked as new ever since! The old 50 hp is great!

[Cane Pole]

Most newer carbed boat engines come with "fixed jets" Moose. There is a low speed jet (idle) and a high speed jet. No adjustments. U push in choke, u gonna get gas out the ass. I would say this would not be a lean condition that would harm a newer model engine. What I know? I have run all over Ky lake on choke before. I must have good engine to survive all this abuse...lol

[Shellback]

I think the problem with 2 strokes blowing up due to carb problems is mostly in multi carb motors. If you think about it, a 4 cylinder, 4 carb motor with one carb running lean is going to slow you down some. Now the normal guy just figures it just needs a tune up or something and keeps the hammer down. All the while that odd cylinder isn't getting the proper lubrication due to the lean fuel mix. Next thing you know, that cylinder melts down. Now with small motors and one carb, you won't be able to run that thing hard enough to ruin it. Even with a 2 cylinder 2 carb motor it will probably run too poorly for you to harm it before getting it fixed. Another point I'd like to make, is if one has fuel problems with a carb motor, fuel injected motors require even better fuel quality and filtering.

[Barnacle Bill]

Actually a lot of the older motors have fixed jets too. I have a 1983 Merc 150 that has fixed jets. I would much rather have adjustable jets. A lean running 4 cycle engine normally won't get damaged much unless it is so lean that it does run very hot. A 2 cycle motor won't last very long running lean because the oil in the gas is its only source of lubrication. That is one of the main reasons for running a compression test before buying a used motor. Even that will not tell the whole story. You can have a scored cylinder and still check good compression wise. By far the best test would be a leak down test.

[Cane Pole]

Actually a lot of the older motors have fixed jets too. I have a 1983 Merc 150 that has fixed jets. I would much rather have adjustable jets. A lean running 4 cycle engine normally won't get damaged much unless it is so lean that it does run very hot. A 2 cycle motor won't last very long running lean because the oil in the gas is its only source of lubrication. That is one of the main reasons for running a compression test before buying a used motor. Even that will not tell the whole story. You can have a scored cylinder and still check good compression wise. By far the best test would be a leak down test.

I here ya Bill. From my post, it may sound like I dont take care of my stuff, but I really do. I know the choke pumps fuel in both carbs so i fell comfortable doing this. I dont know much about other engines though. Still dont know what causes the problem. Tank is stainless, have drained it. Never had this problem with my old Johnsons. Guess the newer ones just finniky. Am planning on putting a fuel/water /etc. seperator on when i get new engine. I guess i am getting too long in age and too short in patience...lol

Thanks

Tom

[Barnacle Bill]

I here ya Bill. From my post, it may sound like I dont take care of my stuff, but I really do. I know the choke pumps fuel in both carbs so i fell comfortable doing this. I dont know much about other engines though. Still dont know what causes the problem. Tank is stainless, have drained it. Never had this problem with my old Johnsons. Guess the newer ones just finniky. Am planning on putting a fuel/water /etc. seperator on when i get new engine. I guess i am getting too long in age and too short in patience...lol

Thanks

Tom

Very good idea using the water/seperator filter. I personally wouldn't run a motor without one. I also have an inline filter on mine that is suppose to filter out anything larger than 10 microns. But I mainly have that because I run an electric fuel pump.

[KARL]

Worked on the boat engine today. Got her going again. Same problem ( high speed jet stopped up). Could not see any obstructions in the jet. Poured the carb cleaner to it, high pressure air, put it back together and bingo: Rup, Rup again! Runs like a dream. Still getting new one this coming weekend. Noticed several posts about running 2 stroker when fuel not rite. Something bout blowing powerhead from lack of lubrication. Me, I just push choke in and go. Clean plugs when get home. Always plenty of gas/oil in cly when I clean up the mess. It pours out the cyl in fact. Maybe I just lucky over the years. Choke pours gas to both carbs. Keeps 'em cyls wet. Gets me home. Not advising anyone to do this. Just what I do. I aint gonna troll when I can plow water. lol...

..Got a few thoughts on your problem...what kind of float and gasket material do you have???..helped a boat mechanic rebuild carbs last summer..you'ld be suprised what kind of stuff gets in carbs...anyways if float or gasket old could be deterioating and clogging jet--cork known culprit for this..also if sound damping material falling off under motor cowl could suck into air intake and work way into jets, seen it happen..also do you use sta-bil in gas I run dose in every refill help keep gas fresh...gas can start degrading in about weeks time of storage doesn't take long for varnish to start then break loose to go to jets....also agree with moose on wire to clean jets---get cheap set of welding tip cleaning wires several sizes in set just start small and work up don't scratch inside of jet or clog easier...just a couple of thoughts...also check out Marinedoctor.com has several techs checking his board post problem see what happens might get answer ......
..to address a few other points feeling kinda moose--y..LOL :D ...they use O2 sensors to adjust fuel/air mixture on motors.... sample ratio 2-4 times depending on # of sensors... computer make comparison and adjusts ratio either lean/rich depending on results..typically before and after CATS on autos........If 1 cyl. on auto runs lean usually have miss and can tell have problem before damage is done....finally with fuel injected motors you may need better filters to keep injector nozzle clean but you don't have fuel sitting in carb bowl going bad and starting to "grow" varnish....OK!!! let the "shots" begin..LOL...hope some of this helps... :D