Tohatsu outboard service near Rochester NY?

[1lastweekend]

I have a 2012 Tohatsu 6hp 4 stroke kicker that is in need of some attention.  It only wants to run for a minute or two before stalling out.  It is hard to start and seems to have that "lean sneeze" backfire/smoke through the air intake when it stalls.  I have gone through a bunch of steps in trying to fix the issue, including:

- soak carb in cleaner overnight, disassemble and clean out all jets and passageways with compressed air

- check oil level in crankcase(it was fine)

- replace fuel pump

- try running on both a remote 6 gallon tank and the fuel line connected to the main tank of the boat(yes with 1-way check valve, etc)

- replaced female fuel connector on both 6 gal and main tank lines

- run motor in test tank with a can of Seafoam mixed in 3 gallons of gas.  This definitely seemed to help, I actually thought I had it fixed, but I took it out on the lake for a test run and it was doing the same thing...

 

So now I am looking for a place local to Rochester where I can have an outboard mechanic take a look at it.

 

TIA!

[Sk8man]

If all else fails try Trident Marine in Honeoye

[MCF]

Tohatsu website shows Trident plus two other dealerships in the Rochester region.  I did not look up Nissan.

[rolmops]

If you go into I-Boats and ask this question, there is a very good chance that a licensed tohatsu mechanic will answer your questions.  The guy lives in Buffalo.

[Frogger]

Agree with the Trident Marina suggestion from Sk8man. 
 

Not sure if you did a compression check on the cylinders or changed plugs. Just rounding out the trouble shooting. 

[Shakemsam]

I thought Southbay on Empire was a dealer for Tohatsu?? Either way, I heard their service was pretty good.

I would also check Eastlake in Hamlin and Pugsleys in Ontario.

[Sk8man]

I think as Shakemsam mentioned South Bay Marina was a dealer for Tohatsu at the time I bought mine elsewhere in 2016 so if they are still around worth a chack

[1lastweekend]

On 8/26/2023 at 4:26 PM, Frogger said:

Agree with the Trident Marina suggestion from Sk8man. 
 

Not sure if you did a compression check on the cylinders or changed plugs. Just rounding out the trouble shooting. 

I did compression test, it was only reading 50 psi.  So before I started to tear the motor down I looked down the spark plug hole with a camera I had bought from HF.  No scoring on the cylinder, no hole in the piston and no metal chunks in the engine or oil...So I started to think a valve issue was to blame.  I ran a can of seafoam diluted in 2 gal of gas through the motor, and within 5 minutes it started to run a lot better.  I let it run for about 45 mins on the seafoam mix, and it was able to run through the RPM range and in forward and reverse.  I thought I had the problem fixed, but then out on the lake the other day it would run for 2-3 mins and then quit.  One thing I didnt do is change the spark plug, I will try that today.  I do have an inline spark checker and the spark from the coil looks very strong, but I never though to change the plug.  If thats it Frogger I owe you a 6 pack of your favorite beer LOL!

[1lastweekend]

Also as an FYI to all, I did call Pugsleys in Ontario as they are right down the road from me, and they only service Johnson/Evinrude and Mercury/Mercruiser at their shop.  They might have mentioned they also service one of the Japanese brands, but it wasnt Nissan/Tohatsu...

[Frogger]

All good on the beer, hell there’s people on here I owe bottles of 10yr old whiskey…. 
fyi to your comment on the valve thing. I do remember at one time reading a post on I think Hull Truth about compression and a valve needed to be adjusted on the exhaust side ( I think). They have had some issues apparently with that. Good luck