fishjunky
Well-known member
I have a 2009 Honda four stroke 20 hp manual start that was bought used with low hours. It has performed flawlessly, other than being a little cold natured (take 3-5 pulls to start first time). I always have run non ethanol 87 with marine stabil added.
It unfortunately sat for three or four months or so without being run. The engine oil was changed during this time. I can't remember if I ran the carb dry at the end of the last use.
I took it to the lake last weekend. It started on the 6th pull and ran great for the first hour and a half trolling at idle speed. At this point I was going to run to another spot. When trying to get on plane the motor would be strong for several seconds and then lose power and then recover. This happened a lot of times.
At this point I basically stopped fishing and just ran the motor hoping the problem would clear itself. The motor would shut off at idle speeds. And skip at higher speeds. The longer I drove around, the better it got, but it never completely resolved itself.
The gas looks fine but am thinking about starting with fresh. I pulled the plugs and they are not fouled I don't think but also don't look new either.
My plan of action is to run seafoam through it and then check the plugs and possibly replace them.
Is the seafoam a good idea? I was planning to unscrew the pickup tube from the tank and put a seafoam gas mix into another container and draw from that. What's a good ratio of mix? I don't want to have too much mix. The motor will idle forever on a thimble full of gas.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
It unfortunately sat for three or four months or so without being run. The engine oil was changed during this time. I can't remember if I ran the carb dry at the end of the last use.
I took it to the lake last weekend. It started on the 6th pull and ran great for the first hour and a half trolling at idle speed. At this point I was going to run to another spot. When trying to get on plane the motor would be strong for several seconds and then lose power and then recover. This happened a lot of times.
At this point I basically stopped fishing and just ran the motor hoping the problem would clear itself. The motor would shut off at idle speeds. And skip at higher speeds. The longer I drove around, the better it got, but it never completely resolved itself.
The gas looks fine but am thinking about starting with fresh. I pulled the plugs and they are not fouled I don't think but also don't look new either.
My plan of action is to run seafoam through it and then check the plugs and possibly replace them.
Is the seafoam a good idea? I was planning to unscrew the pickup tube from the tank and put a seafoam gas mix into another container and draw from that. What's a good ratio of mix? I don't want to have too much mix. The motor will idle forever on a thimble full of gas.
Any thoughts are appreciated.