# 2-Stroke Refresher



## SeaFaring (Jul 20, 2018)

Hi everyone, I’ve been away from the forums for a while (new job + new baby). I hope all are well. 

I’m using my 2 weeks of paternity leave (during which my main responsibility seems to be to keep our 4 year old from driving my wife nuts) to FINALLY get my tinny going for the summer, and I cannot get my 3.5 Johnson started for the life of me. 

It has fresh gas and will run on starting fluid, so It’s got air and spark. This tells me it’s probably a clogged jet, but I’m not sure how since I ran the carb dry before putting the boat up for the winter. 

Could someone give me a suggestion or two on how to get this thing running?

Thanks!
John


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## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 20, 2018)

I have a 4hp Evinrude & had same starting problem. I put in a new float, needle & seat, also replaced the packing around the mix needles. Cleaned it well.

The float was original cork one!

Not a hard job.

It starts 1 pull now, so well worth the effort.

The kit was about $20, get an OMC one.


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## SeaFaring (Jul 20, 2018)

CedarRiverScooter said:


> I have a 4hp Evinrude & had same starting problem. I put in a new float, needle & seat, also replaced the packing around the mix needles. Cleaned it well.
> 
> The float was original cork one!
> 
> ...



Carburetors are my kryptonite. Sigh. I guess I have to get over my phobia at some point. 

Thanks!


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## LDUBS (Jul 20, 2018)

Congrats on the new baby and the new job!! =D>


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## SeaFaring (Jul 20, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> Congrats on the new baby and the new job!! =D>



Thanks! My daughter, who is 4, offered to teach him to fish [emoji476] 

Life is pretty good sometimes even when a #%^*ing carburetor is clogged. Again. 


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## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 21, 2018)

The worst part of the job was removing the cheesy wire hose clamps.

Look for a utube how-to. Lay out the parts you remove in order on a bench.

Set float height by turning upside down & look that it is parallel with carb body.

Bend tab with pinch nose pliers to change it (I had to), but it doesn't take much.


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## SeaFaring (Jul 21, 2018)

CedarRiverScooter said:


> The worst part of the job was removing the cheesy wire hose clamps.
> 
> Look for a utube how-to. Lay out the parts you remove in order on a bench.
> 
> ...



Thanks!


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## jethro (Jul 23, 2018)

SeaFaring said:


> This tells me it’s probably a clogged jet, but I’m not sure how since I ran the carb dry before putting the boat up for the winter.
> 
> Could someone give me a suggestion or two on how to get this thing running?
> 
> ...



My experience with small motors is that running them dry is not good. The reason is that the jet ports are so small in these carbs that they can varnish almost instantly when you run them dry. I would suggest not doing that in the future and keeping the jets in a bath of liquid gas instead, but that is just my experience. Also air is a killer. Oxidation and corrosion is kept at bay when gas is present. I always just store my small equipment full with treated gas rather than running them dry.

I would take the carb apart and soak the jets concentrating especially the float valve jet.


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## SeaFaring (Jul 23, 2018)

jethro said:


> SeaFaring said:
> 
> 
> > This tells me it’s probably a clogged jet, but I’m not sure how since I ran the carb dry before putting the boat up for the winter.
> ...



That makes sense to me - thanks!

I treat all of my gas since I don’t have ethanol free available nearby. I will definitely give that a try. 


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## SeaFaring (Aug 4, 2018)

So, I finally just pulled the carb. The needle had fallen out of its seat, so the gas was basically in free flow regardless of the float height. 

I fixed that, and it will run with the choke on, but not otherwise. Looks like I need to rebuild the damn thing. 

I’m getting a bit more confident with carbs, but wow, do I ever hate the infernal things. 

I picked up a 2001 15 hp Johnson for (very) small money, but it also needs carb work and a new recoil spring. I guess I’ll do that one first since the rebuild kits are easier to come by. 

Does anyone know why the Johnson kill switch assemblies are so effing expensive? It’s not like a kill switch is a piece of sophisticated equipment. $100-$150 seems nuts. My 15 hp motor has one, but it looks a little suspect. I know there are aftermarket universal ones for cheap, but it’s the mounting bracket for the switch that I really need. 

John


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## CedarRiverScooter (Aug 4, 2018)

SeaFaring said:


> Does anyone know why the Johnson kill switch assemblies are so effing expensive?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



My guess would be lawyers.

Regarding your 3.5 carb, you could try taking the low & hi spp\eed needles out & squirting carb cleaner in, maybe rinse & repeat a few times.

There wasn't any other passages on mine. I cleaned up the needles with a scotchbrite pad, go easy on them!


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## SeaFaring (Aug 5, 2018)

CedarRiverScooter said:


> SeaFaring said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know why the Johnson kill switch assemblies are so effing expensive?
> ...



Thanks for the tip - it is a really simple part. 

Re: lawyers, as much as I hate to say it (being a lawyer myself, although not a trial lawyer) you’re probably right. Sigh. 


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## turbotodd (Aug 6, 2018)

I get the same story day in and day out at work. "I run it out of fuel every time"...yet the carb(s) are still dirty/plugged/restricted with staled fuel. How? When the engine dies, we assume the carburetor's dry. It's not. The jet doesn't go all the way to the bottom, so there's still fuel leftover sitting in the bottom of the bowl, it stales and then causes issues. Do not know about OMC, but a lot of Brunswick and also a lot of the Japanese outboards that I've worked with have a drain screw in the bottom of the bowl, which drains what's left. Same for the VST on the fuel injected outboards. Good practice to drain it if it ain't gonna be used for a while. The other option...which I had success with on my old 25, leave the fuel line hooked up all the time. As fuel evaporates from the bowl through the vent, it's replenished with fuel from the tank/line(s). Never had a single carburetor issue doing it that way, and yes it did sit for a few months at a time during the winters.


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## Pappy (Aug 9, 2018)

Only problem I see with the fuel line remaining connected to the engine is if the boat/engine is stored inside a garage or enclosure. If the needle/seat assembly got a piece of debris stuck between it then the system will free-flow as Todd explained. In an enclosed area this could spell disaster. Not sounding an alarm.....common sense prevails !


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