2003 Honda bf50a problems

"My 50hp Honda has been having

"My 50hp Honda has been having some problems lately. Once I get it cranked it won't hold idle without me constantly revving it up. When in the water I have to give it a hair of choke in order for it to get on plane. If I don't give it a little bit of choke, it will die when put under load. But once I get it running full speed I can push the choke back in and it will run fine until I try to idle down, where it tries to die once again. Anyone know what my problem might be, and what I can do to fix it? Thanks."

"Initially, It sounds like you

"Initially, It sounds like your carburators need to be cleaned with extra attention to the idle and transitional passages.

You may want to drain your carbs into a glass container to see if there is any debris or water in the fuel. If there is water, drain the carbs and flush the system. Use a fresh source of fuel and try the motor again.

Most likely you have some blocked or semi blocked passages. Some try to use Sea Foam or similar additive to the fuel to help clean the passages. You could try that but if there is no flow in your idle passage it will not get cleaned out without dismantling and specifically cleaning out each passage.

Be sure to get a manual to do this if you are attempting to do it yourself. There are several steps and many different things to look for."

try startron for eth and keep

try startron for eth and keep using it

no such thing as a mechanic in

no such thing as a mechanic in a can

"Thanks for all of your input

"Thanks for all of your input guys. I have not decided whether to tackle this myself or hire an outboard mechanic to fix it up. If I were to hire it out, does anyone have an idea of how much it would cost to get these carburetors cleaned? Thanks again!"

"A lot depends on what parts t

"A lot depends on what parts the mechanic needs. If he replaces all the o ring sets, the float valves, base gaskets, intake maniford and silencer gaskets and possibly the idle jets, the parts alone can cost up to $210.00 (worst case) Not to mention the possiblity of spark plugs and fuel filter... The labor... compression and spark check, fuel check and possible system flush, disassembly, cleaning, reassembly, adjustments, carb balance, and water test under load can be 4 hours or so. Depending on how bad they are.

Since your carbs were not working correctly, you may also have oil cantamination so you may need an oil and filter change.

I just had one today, that needed it all in additon to flushing his tank due to rusty water in the system. And it had water separating fuel filters. I hope yours is not that bad."