1981 35 HP Seahorse will not start

[Wolfsong]

First off let me say I am total novice to 2 cycle engine repair and troubleshooting. After 4 years of great service ( 2-3 times a month at least) to me I went through a 9 month period where I could not use the engine. It was not winterized nor was the fuel stabilized. Guess what, now it will not start for love nor money.
Seems fairly obvious the carb needs to be cleaned as well as the fuel lines. I pulled the air filter off and shot carb cleaner into the carb many many times. The engine will hit and then sputter for less that 2 seconds ( while the carb cleaner is being shot into the intake) and then nothing. I pulled the plugs and put in new ones, same problem. I checked the screen filter in the fuel pump, all clear. Shot carb cleaner into both cylinders, sputters for 1 second then dies. I found the carb kit w/ float and am wondering if I should do the fuel pump at the same time? Can I test the fuel pump w/o the engine being able to start? I am fairly mechanically inclined and have a digital camera to take "before and after" pics to keep the parts going where they should.
What I do not want is to spend the next 2-3 weeks chucking parts and kits at this thing only to learn that the ____________ ( fill in the blank) is shot and the motor needs to be tossed.
ANY advice would be helpful.

Mike

 

[bktheking]

Re: 1981 35 HP Seahorse will not start

You shold stop with the carb cleaner unless it's carb cleaner with 50:1 oil mix which doesn't exist, no oil in carb cleaner, use 50:1 gas/oil in a spray bottle. You need to check the compression on your motor with a compression gauge before anything else to see if it worth putting money into, then you got from there. As for the fuel pump, priming the bulb till hard fills the carb bowl for initial starting, it is more likely carb related if the comression is good. What about spark, have you checked both cylinders with a spark tester?


Welcome to Iboats!

 

[Wolfsong]

Re: 1981 35 HP Seahorse will not start

Thanks for the reply. Spark is good based on visual inspection. Plugs pulled and then connected to plug wires, starter engaged ( in the dark) plugs light up a very pretty blue when grounded to engine block. Dangerous I know. One turn of the starter and no gas exposed on the block. Where do I get a compression tester? What psi am I looking for?

 

[bream master]

Re: 1981 35 HP Seahorse will not start

Gday mate,you said in your article that u done a carby kit on your motor,r u absolutely sure u done this procedure properly.Sounds to me like the float hasnt been seeded properly,re-inspect the carby and make certain that the float is properly adjusted,otherwise your engine will b starving for fuel.Compression test the motor,it should read around 115psi or higher,and relatively equal in both pots,use fresh fuel at a ratio of 50 to 1,also adjust slow speed setting to 1 and a half turns from closed till u hit that sweet spot.Hope all this helps..........CHEERS.