2004 Honda 30 HP for stroke question

[Jeremy Goodison]

IM purchasing a used boat this weekend and went to leave deposit and fire it up. He's only had boat out one time this yr (which is why he's selling). So when starting it, it took quite a few times turning over to get the first"pop". After it stalled then popped then stalled it finally took good and at high idle hung right in there. But lowering the neutral idle lever the boat didn't want to be down at low idle. So kept having to idle it up. What should I be looking for or doing. First four stroke I've dealt with. Sounded perfect at high idle just not low. Bulb stayed firm. New plugs this year Thanx for advice. maybe just needs a good running and fresh fuel?

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[dukhnter8]

Has the gas been sitting around since the last time he used it and did it have any stablizer in the fuel? Any gas that sits around longer than a few weeks without stabilizer of some type is more than likely bad/separated. If it was me I would put fresh gas in and see how it runs then start troubleshooting if needed. i have a friend that works on small engines for some extra income and enjoys it and he says most problems today are due to crappy gas or gas that sits too long. 

[Shellback]

There are very small diameter jets in the 4 stroke carbs. Do to lack of use and stale fuel, chances are there could be some corrosion from ethanol fuel in the idle jets of the carbs. Base your offer on the boat based on having the carbs rebuilt. Don't count on a fuel treatment to cure the problems.

[Jeremy Goodison]

Well I drained of the fuel put fresh gas in and idled in my driveway for good half hr. Definitely ran better but not perfect. I took it on water today to heart it under load. Started a little finicky but not bad. At idle she was bouncy and when I would give a little throttle it would stutter then jerk as she took the extra fuel. At full throttle it ran pretty smooth. It would also after full throttle stay at a "little high idle" when I backed it all the way off. So at this point I'm expecting mechanic to clean carbs, oil changer, plugs, tube up? Any good suggestions for a mechanic for a 2004 30HP Yamaha for stroke. That hopefully isn't a month out. Thanx

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[Shellback]

You could try running a concentrated mix of Sea Foam additive and gas through the motor. If you have a portable tank, mix 1 can of Sea Foam with 1 gallon of gas, then run that through the motor. You might get lucky.

[lrg355]

I have a friend with a 2003 40 Merc 4 stroke. Back then it was actually a Yamaha and has the Yamaha logo on the block. It has been troublesome with carb problems. I have also noticed comments on a Yamaha blog about the troubled 4 stroke carbs in that HP and timeframe. Very problematic with ethanol and bad gas.

[Jeremy Goodison]

Been meaning to follow up. The mechanic I normally use and feel comfortable with unfortunately doesn't work on my new Yamaha. So I blindly googled mechanics and ended up at McMillan marine on irondiquoit bay. Once they hot ahold of it they found one carb plugged shut and other two were filthy. Then they found original owner had advanced the idle to compensate and it was idling at 1900 rpm. So they pulled the carbs, soaked,and cleaned. Then re balanced and set the idle at 875 rpm. It blew my mind when I got it back.I average maybe 1.5 gallons of gas while fishing six hr at a time, pin quiet, and smooth as silk. Seemed kinda pricey but work was spot on , they squeezed me in and were extremely friendly to work with. He basically told me always have K100 in fuel . I've always owned 2 strokes and would never go back. I can actually talk to my buddy at full throttle. However the two stroke was good at drowning out my wife tell me she wanted to get of the water. There is always a trade off.

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[kayaker919]

Been meaning to follow up. The mechanic I normally use and feel comfortable with unfortunately doesn't work on my new Yamaha. So I blindly googled mechanics and ended up at McMillan marine on irondiquoit bay. Once they hot ahold of it they found one carb plugged shut and other two were filthy. Then they found original owner had advanced the idle to compensate and it was idling at 1900 rpm. So they pulled the carbs, soaked,and cleaned. Then re balanced and set the idle at 875 rpm. It blew my mind when I got it back.I average maybe 1.5 gallons of gas while fishing six hr at a time, pin quiet, and smooth as silk. Seemed kinda pricey but work was spot on , they squeezed me in and were extremely friendly to work with. He basically told me always ha owned ve K100 in fuel . I've always 2 strokes and would never go back. I can actually talk to my buddy at full throttle. However the two stroke was good at drowning out my wife tell me she wanted to get of the water. There is always a trade off.

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