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Posts: 3907
| I've had a lot of trouble with my motor (late 80's 15hp Merc, 2 banger)this spring, maybe you have a suggestion for me....
The damn thing runs for a day, but next time out, she starts, then dies and won't start again. It seems the plugs are fouling. For example, Saturday morning she wouldn't start so I ended up running for new plugs. Put the plugs in and away she goes; she ran great both that morning and later again in the afternoon. Next day, she starts, idles for 45 seconds, then dies. I pull the plus and sure enough they're already pretty dirty. A shot of starting fluid starts the motor, but she dies in 5 seconds.
I must admit I did a dumb thing: first time out this year I ran last fall's premix gas through the motor. I did not stabilize the gas last fall, either.
Should I somehow flush the gaslines and replace the plugs again? and get rid of the old gas? How about adjusting the, um, "adjusting screws" that help regulate the rpms?
Thanks! | |
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Posts: 69
| Hiya,
Yeah, using the old gas was a boo-boo. The reformulated gas available today has a lot of solvents in it that do not age well unless you put a stabilizer in the tank. Besides fouling, they can degrade the carb seals and plug up ports too, which is a pain. I usually try to avoid storing gas over the winter at all if I can help it.
As far as your current situation, I'd try cleaning the plugs, starting with fresh gas/oil, and putting a pretty good dose of Seafoam in the tank, then running that through the motor. You can also put Seafoam in a spray bottle and squirt it right into the carb while the motor's running to clean out the gunk. Seafoam really is amazing stuff - I run it in everything except my coffee maker, and I'm giving that some thought...
If the Seafoam doesn't do the trick, you may need a carb kit?
Cheers,
RK
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Posts: 5874
| Absolutely get rid of that gas! First time I fished with GregM several years ago, I hadn't run my boat for 2 weeks. Left the vent open, and when we went out that morning, the thing(25 Merc) would not run. Put fresh mix in, and once the old gas was though the lines, it ran fine. | |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Hi Ranger- Old gas was bad idea-but I remember your "9HP" racing engine was bit hard starting in the mornings up on Cass Lake last year- Maybe good idea to either get the shop manual & go through tune up/carb adjustments or take it to a Merc dealer- ESOX Maniac was a real pig at starting- went and got the shop repair manual-adjusted the carb(s) linkage & seems to be fine now. ~$35 for shop repair manual on my 150HP Johnson- definitely worth it if you aren't intimidated by engines & mechanical thing's. Al | |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | I use last years mixed gas in everything I own that is a 2 stroke. I have never had a problem with it and never add any type of stabilizer. I think if it was 2 or 3 yrs old it might become a problem.
I would start with the basics..
1) Fuel Filter
2) Fuel Lines
3) Vent and pick-up tube
Then get into it a little deeper if you need to like the carb and reeds.
Good luck, a tough running motor is frustrating for sure. | |
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Posts: 3907
| Ok, seems the majority agrees with my hunch that I screwed up by using old gas. Now I've got to find an appropriate way to drain the lines and get rid of the 5 gallons that are in the tank. And find some of this Seafoam stuff.
I wonder if I can find the tune up specs on the internet?? As opposed to buying the whole shop manual. hmmmm...... | |
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motor problems (15hp Merc)