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Tohatsu 4stroke 8 new idle trouble

heartbeat

New member
"Hello.

I purchased a new T


"Hello.

I purchased a new Tohatsu 4-stroke 8hp long shaft for my Catalina 25 this spring. Until yesterday is has ran flawlessly. I probably have about 4 hours on it now, and have yet to use more than 1/2 throttle.

My problem is that as of last night, it does not seem to idle. It starts fine on full choke (1/2 when warm) and runs fine. 1/4 - 1/3 throttle pushes us at hull speed, at it works great there. I cannot get the engine to run at (choke off) less than the "restart" position.

I am thinking I may have gotten some bad gas or something growing in the gas. Should I have added a filter? Do I need to pull the carb and clean the idle jet?

Thanks in advance.

Matt
Heartbeat
Catalina 25 Tall
BYC - Detroit"
 
Almost certainly a dirty carbu

Almost certainly a dirty carburetor from not running the gas out of the engine after use. Clean the carb.
 
"Hrm. I have been pulling the

"Hrm. I have been pulling the gas lead and letting her die... but it only gets ran every week or so.

Still, will do. I have been through half a dozen motorcycle carbs and the behavior is typical. Never had it happen so fast, though.

Thanks.

Matt
Heartbeat
Catalina 25 Tall
BYC - Detroit"
 
Small orifices in the carb. Ke

Small orifices in the carb. Keep in mind it's a small cc engine and it doesn't take much evaporation to gunk it up.
 
"Yeah, makes sense. It took m

"Yeah, makes sense. It took me several rounds with a 325cc motorcycle a couple of years back.

I am on my second round of cleaning now, and hope to give it try tomorrow night.

Thanks."
 
"Well, it idles again. A good

"Well, it idles again. A good cleaning helped, but I wonder if the last time or two I didn't let it warm up enough.

The book says it needs ~3 minutes to warm up. I can't seem to get it to idle before 10-12. Is this common?

Additionally, there is a very steep curve from "high idle" to "shiftable idle." It is also very shaky at the low idle. I wonder if the CDI is not working at low speed. I'll take my inductive timing light and check to see I am getting spark in both plugs at low idle.

Thanks."
 
"Warm up time depends on the o

"Warm up time depends on the oil you use, water temp, air temp and RPM. Ten minutes is a pretty long time though. You should be running 10w-30 in a dino oil. You should also consider taking it into a dealer to determine if there is a problem."
 
"10W-40 dino oil from Castrol.

"10W-40 dino oil from Castrol. I'll probably switch to synth at the 10hr oil change.

It was cool in Detroit yesterday - air in the 60s. I have not paid attention to water temperature. I can check it on the knot meter next time I am down.

Is there an easy way to check RPM? I have a dwell tach, but without standard points/coil ignition, I am not sure it will read RPM...

I'll look for a local dealer. Thanks!"
 
"Switch to 10w-30 and do not r

"Switch to 10w-30 and do not run syth. Synthetic oil actually makes the engine run cooler and in all outboards, thats a bad thing. We use a factory tach and I can't say yea or nay on anything else. You can call Tohatsu at 972-323-6003 and they might have have an aftermarket they could recommend."
 
"I have a six hp tohatsu 4 str

"I have a six hp tohatsu 4 stroke, three years old, just cleaned the carb and it still doesn't idle well. It's hard to get a good idle setting that's not too high or too low with adjusting the screw. As soon as I put it on idle it shuts off, and it won't idle after starting either - I have to sort of gun it, let the rpms down, then shift quickly into forward."
 
drill the wlech plug out to ex

drill the wlech plug out to expose the mixture needle their usaully set to lean at factory
 
Your carbuetor is still dirty.

Your carbuetor is still dirty...Clean it again. Do not drill out the welch plug as your carburetor is NOT set too lean at the factory. Where do you people come from?
 
well i came kitty hawk north c

well i came kitty hawk north carolina i have been a professional outboard mechanic for 50 years i use to race old mercs back in the 50'S when america actully knew how to build engines. i have worked on almost every modern outboard since then
including tohatus have to they knew how to build a good 2 stroke and the 4 strokes are good with alittle tweaking i had one last year idle like crap when throught carb cleaned it really well still idle like crap so i drilled the plug that cover the idle needle and tweaked just a little bit run flawless done on every one since you sirprised what a little tweak can do for you mr guru
 
"I' wouldn't be surpri

"I' wouldn't be surprised at all at what a little tweak can do. But your statement that they are set lean at the factory is simply not true. The mixture is set at exactly what it needs to be set at. By changing the mixture you are allowing more fuel to flow through which is a violation of Federal law and increases fuel consumption. It is also completely unnecessary if the carburetor is cleaned correctly. I'm not saying that it won't work in some situations...I'm telling you it's bad advice to give out on the net where people will try it without realizing that it voids their warranty, violates the law and isn't necessary."
 
"Ok, but why does it continual

"Ok, but why does it continually gunk up the carb? I should mention that I put a new carburetor in in May 08. Even right after I put the new one in, it didn't idle well, and would cut off if I didn't give it gas after starting it. Or, it rev's really high on starting, even with the throttle off, and then cuts off after 15-30 seconds. It didn't do this when I bought it - what's changed? Can't be just the carb because problem continued right after I put new carb in."
 
"Sanders, I have the same que

"Sanders, I have the same question. Still waiting to get my NEW Nissan (higher priced Tohatsu, as I understand it) engine back from the service center. My "piggyback" question is...*would it be beneficial to use a bit of fuel injector treatment (like I periodically use in my car) to act as a solvent/drying agent in the fuel for my (Brand new out-of-the-box-never-ran-correctly---would never idle) 6HP 4 stroker*? Yes, I am pissed that I spent $1300 and instead of puttering around the river I got to drag this new engine to a service center with a two week backlog and no incentive as it's warranty work and I purchased it online from an out of state dealer."
 
"James,

The most likely pro


"James,

The most likely problem is the fuel that you are using is contaminated and you immediately screwed up the new carburetor. The next most likely thing is that the engine has a problem. You need to take the engine into a dealer and let them find the problem. Assuming that the problem turns out to be fuel:

Screen your fuel through a filter before putting it in your tank.

Only use fuel less than two months old.

Run the engine until it runs out of gas after every use.

Pick up a can of spray cleaner and run a 15 second burst through the engine at least every month.



Mr. Bill,

The answer is a firm no. Your fuel is either clean or not. Your fuel is either fresh or not. Adding any chemical to the fuel is the wrong way to solve a problem. Your first step is to have the dealer find out if the problem is a defective part or whether you had contaminated fuel. If the engine has a malfunction it will be a once in a lifetime event. If it turns out that there is trash in the carb....You will need to make some modifications to your fueling regimen.

Also, the service dealer has every incentive to fix your engine. He gets paid $100.00 per hour to fix it under warranty. I would also suggest that you contact Nissan at 972-323-6003 and ask them to take an interest in your service delay. It's not uncommon for a dealer to be behind, but, generally they can get to it sooner if the right people ask."
 
"Excuse my ignorance, but how

"Excuse my ignorance, but how do you locate and clean the carburator- the Owners Manual indicates that it should be cleaned periodically, but I am not even sure where it is.... the Manual doesn't show it. And my local dealer says don't even try, bring the motor in."
 
its that little silver thing b

its that little silver thing bolted by two bolts to the big silver called an intake manifold on the other side of the carb is a big black plastic peice called an air silencer once its off take it all apart get a can of carb cleaner i get spray cans works great blow threw all the jets and orfaces and then follaw with with compressed air then put it together
 
My 15hp won't idle at 6500

My 15hp won't idle at 6500 feet elevation unless I leave the chock all the way out. To go faster I have to increase the throtle and push in the chock or the engine quits. When throttling down I have to pull the chock out just before the engine quits. I stop the engine by pushing in the throtle while idling. Is there a high altitude adjustment?
 
"Tohatsu Guru, I read about yo

"Tohatsu Guru, I read about you on ripoffreport. Friends: go to this site and pull up Tohatsu info. I also have a 2007 3.5 4 stroke anchor that i wish i had'nt bought. These carbs just suck, and not fuel, that pours out of these pieces of crap."
 
"Fritz,

I don't know wh


"Fritz,

I don't know what your problem might be...But it's not with me. As to the libel on that rag website you are referring to...Pure crap. One is by a Chinese outboard importer and is 99% untruthful( I did refer to him as a low life piece of crap)in a public forum. The other one was partially true. After 30 emails from a nut job in Alaska who kept changing his email address to keep from being put in the junk mail file, I finally told him what I thought of him. He got exactly what he wanted from me...For me to lose my cool. I think that I'm entitled to do that once in 45 years in the marine industry, although I wish I hadn't been as coarse as I was.

Now, what's your problem with your engine or are you just a nut job looking to stir up a stink?"
 
"Guru, Your job must be nerve

"Guru, Your job must be nerve racking, as we can tell by your "what's your problem w/ your engine" blow boy. The same problem as everyone has with these poor performing motors. 50 hours and flooding, no idle, dying...and with all the horror stories i'm reading here, A NEW F%@#ing motor should NOT have to go in for service PERIOD!! There should be a class action lawsuit against your company,you thieves. Grand Theft"
 
"Fritz,

So you have an engi


"Fritz,

So you have an engine that has a problem of some kind and instead of having it taken care of you go off on some childish rant? Consider the following:

1) I don't work for Tohatsu. I operate a dealership in Florida. Therefore your attack on me is unwarranted.

2) You didn't buy an engine from my company. Therefore your attack on me is unwarranted.

3) You didn't bring your engine into my company for service. Therefore your attack on me is unwarranted.

4) Your engine is not new. Therefore your claim is flawed.

5) With rare exception any fuel system problem is the fault of the fuel provider or the consumer. Therefore your claim is flawed.

6) Your warranty(if the problem was covered) is good at any Nissan or Tohatsu dealer. Therefore your claim is flawed.

Now, if you want me to help you, drop the stupid attitude and tell me precisely the sequence events that have occurred. I can then either:

A) Replace the defective part at no cost to you.

B) Replace the defective engine at no cost to you.

C) Tell you how to fix the problem yourself.

Or

You can continue to piss off the one person in the U.S. that can and does resolve consumer problems quickly, fairly and without the usual B.S."
 
"You and i and the public all

"You and i and the public all know how far the warranty goes, so stop the B.S. I would be at your front door if what you say is true. You must work for Tohatsu to tolerate all of this, no one would stand up for an outfit like T/N if they were'nt compensated for it.And being in Fl., shame on you to let people go out with one of these motors only to have Sea Tow or a God send of a sailor tow them in. Or be like me and float for days on end yelling mayday over your VHF because of a bad motor. Now, grow up and take your medicine."
 
"Fritz,

I am not compensate


"Fritz,

I am not compensated in way by Tohatsu for my efforts on the web or otherwise. I actually do this as a public service. I can and do file warranty claims on the behalf of people who deserve them and for the record, none of my warranty claims have ever been denied by Tohatsu. I make no claim that a Tohatsu engine can't have a problem...They obviously can and do. But your tirade and remarks are ludicrous. I have now told you, TWICE, that I can help you. Each of your responses has been nasty and combative. I'll offer one more time. If you choose not to take advantage of my offer to help you then you are a fool. If you are to embarrassed to post here, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I give you my word that I will not post any information about you or your problem in a public forum as emails are considered confidential according to the terms of our website. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain...If you can be civil."
 
"Fritz,
Dude! You mean to tel


"Fritz,
Dude! You mean to tell me you go offshore, far enough away that you have are floating for "days on end" without seeing another boater with nothing but a 3.5hp outboard as your power source??? What the heck size boat are you powering with a 3.5hp that you'd be going that far offshore with? And apparently a VHF radio that isn't worth a crap since you're yelling mayday on it for days on end and nobody is responding? Either you're an idiot or there is something just a bit fishy about your story. Probably a little bit of both."
 
"WTF, Is that what i wrote? I&

"WTF, Is that what i wrote? I've crossed the Caribbean 10 times. Ran a 73' trawler, 343 Cat you tohatsu lover. Stick it if you haven't got anything to add here but that blow boy"
 
"Fritz,

I think it is a sig


"Fritz,

I think it is a sign of the times that you can go to a machine in the comfort of your home and ask a question about a product you purchased that does not work well. I say this because my 5 HP Nissan was / did everything that people have been talking about. Following instructions of Tohatsu Guru I finally was able to fix my sailboat motor. Never thought it would be a fuel issue. So just maybe you are barking up the wrong tree here. We are paying way to much money for a gallon of junk gasoline. They do tell us how much ethanol they put in the gas but what about the other crap that is in there too? Seems to me when fresh gas is used these engines run great. So what about "shelf life"? Looks like the new gunk doesn't work in these hi efficient 4-stroke little engines. Go talk to a Yamaha tech and ask him about the gas we have today.
My boat came with a back up motor 5 HP Honda 4-stroke meets (2006 emissions regulations), and when you remove the cover it looks like the Tohatsu. Almost the exact motor, correct me TG I don't think the Honda BF5A is a Tohatsu. But it does /did the very same thing as the Nissan but thanks to Tohatsu Guru's instructions it's now running great too. So as my grandson would tell me,," Grandpa !! it's the gasoline you dim-wit"

So Tohatsu Guru "HANG IN THERE" I.m sure I'm not the only one that appreciates you.

BTW if you don't think the oil company's have a handle on the market and can do what they want just look at how quick they are letting the price of oil fall. I bought gas the other day $2.72 gal"
 
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