1988 Suzuki 140hp 2 stroke outboard Problems!

Kentucky_boater

Recruit
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
1
Hi, My 1988 Suzuki will run fine when you first put it in the water, but if it cools off it doesn't want to start back or if it does it runs poorly and it dies out every time you put it in reverse. I have already checked the compression it ranges from 110 psi - 115 psi (cold). Any help would be greatly appreciated. - Will
 

stylesabu

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
Messages
849
Re: 1988 Suzuki 140hp 2 stroke outboard Problems!

what about forward? this isn't a compression concern. either spark or fuel. some more info would help. how long does it cool? will it run ok after 2minutes sitting and re-start or does it take longer.If it sits til tomorrow does it run ok?
 

gimp99

Recruit
Joined
May 16, 2012
Messages
4
Re: 1988 Suzuki 140hp 2 stroke outboard Problems!

what about forward? this isn't a compression concern. either spark or fuel. some more info would help. how long does it cool? will it run ok after 2minutes sitting and re-start or does it take longer.If it sits til tomorrow does it run ok?

I know this is an old post but the problem sounds like the one I had when I bought my boat. It has a 1984
dt
140.
the guy took my first lowball offer so
i should have been suspicious.First time out it ran nice testing it. Next time out was first fishing trip and the bugaboos started. Started right up and ran fine at first. As day went on it got harder to start. would not run at low RPM and would quit. Full throttlke was fine but since my boat is a 17ft aluminum Gregor. full throttle with the suzuki was just this side of out of control ride'. Tried it two more trips and the problem just got worse.I am a old mechanic but never worked on outboards. The Suzuki shop changed my mind when they quoted me a price for doing the carbs.After brain storming it with some friends I decided it was a fuel problem but an odd one. I removed the manifold and carbs and went through each one looking for problems. It looked as if they had been rebuilt beforre but the previous owner said no.It seemed as trhouh the top cylinder was the problem child so I did that carb last. It too looked great till I started taking it apart. When I went to remove the needle seat the screw was already loose as in remove with your fingers.I determined that the loose screw was allowing fuel to enter the carb up through its threads. Obviously it would be a slow process but as ythe motor was running it would eventually overfill the fuel bowl even wiith the needle seat completly shut and raw unmetered fuel would enter the cylinder at any speed thus flooding the cylinder.No problem at high speed but a huge one at mid and lower speed. Extremly hard starting and if it did fire unless you hit the thottle hard and kept it there it would just die out again. Solution.: tightened the damn thing up properly and reassembled the carbs and put them along with the manifold back on. No new gaskets and just a little form-a-gasket to reseal the manifold.. No manual no fuss and about a 2 hr job mostly because I was hunting a problem but I was not sure what. The motor has worked perfectly since then.No rpoblems at any speed or idling. For some reason I have very high compression in this motor and my top cyl;inder is about five pounds less then the highest cylinder.The rest are even. Probably ring wear from the cylinder being floodedbut as that cylinder is 139 pounds of compression there is no reason to pull it apart. I have no idea how long this problem existed before I bought it but I had some fun and called the old owner and told him about it. He of course denied he ever had that problem but when I told him what it was and that it was a zero dollar out of pocket fix, he sounded depressed and waxed on about missing the boat, IE he could have got a ot more for it . Yeh long story but I thought it might help if I gave the long version so you could compare the problem you have and if it sounded similar. Hope this helps but as your posting is pretty old you may have either found the solution or just come up with something else.
 

warrior1

Seaman
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
56
Re: 1988 Suzuki 140hp 2 stroke outboard Problems!

i find it helpful. it just reinforces what can sometimes be the smallest of overlooked details can have a huge impact on the operation of the engine. thanks for posting.
 
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