Small outboard service/Seattle area

[Dubs]

Seeing/hearing of multiple Yamaha dingy motor issues at Poets Cove, I returned home and searched for a small local shop to perform a carburetor cleansing. Found a great one! This gentleman (Keith) works out of his garage along Lake Washington in Bellevue. Between Craigslist and word of mouth, he keeps as busy as he wants servicing 2-30 HP outboards. He did a great job on my Yamaha F2.5; the little engine that could runs like a champ now. On our Poets trip, after 2 seasons of flawless performance, all of a sudden the motor was sluggish and would only run/accelerate with the choke on. This is a sure sign of ethanol fouling the carburetor. Keith found severe ethanol residue on the carb. His rates are reasonable and he turned the job out in less than a day. Time to get our RIB back on the water - right after I find a no-ethanol gasoline supply!

REF: Kicker Motor Wizard - cell 206.321.9923 - email kickermotorwizard@gmail.com - shop is off exit 9 on I-405.

 

[baz]

Dubs: FYI... The Port of Edmonds Marina's Fuel dock sells ONLY non-ethanol gasoline/petrol. Plus the nearby (within 500 feet of the Marina) Jacobsen's Marine will service Yamaha engines.

 

[Brian B]

For my dinghy O/B ( Honda 2HP) I buy 1 gal at a time and add stabilizer. After about 4 weeks what I haven't used goes in the car and I buy fresh gas for the O/B. I would do this for Ethanol or Non-Ethanol. This will prevent a lot of carburetor issues. I do the same for all my power equipment.

 

[Echobay]

Dubs,

I have learned from many small engines that the culprit is usually the pilot jet in the carb bowl. It controls the idle to 15% - 20 % (more or less) of the throttle fuel feed. This also happens on dirt bikes and using a partial to full choke can be indicative of this. I have learned that if there is gas left in the bowl it will evaporate and foul the jet with the residue. The jet can be removed and cleared out but the jet is a tiny tiny opening on very small engines. I install a gas shut off on the gas line and when I am finished with the motor and do not think I will run it for a few weeks I turn off the gas and let the engine run till it quits. I always do this when the engine is hot. Some may disagree but this works for me.

Also, ethanol is a better solvent than gasoline and will dissolve the rubber on the diaphragm (and other rubber components) in older cars (especially English) and other engines. I wish I didn't know this much about these problems but I have been stuck in the desert with a bike that doesn't run right (pilot jet) or had my Austin Healey towed home (leaking rubber diaphragm).

So, based on my experiences, I would suggest always use ethanol free gas and a dry carb bowl.

Morgan