I am in the process of rebuilding an old boat and ran across a 25 hp honda longshaft electric start only tiller. I went to look at it sitting in a barrel and could not check the lower unit oil. The motor looked good other than the top had been bounced down the highway at some point. The engine looked like there had been some dirt dobbers in the hood. The engine had been sitting since last season and started immediately. The owner bought another honda same model but with manual start/electric start. It started to go from smooth to rougher idle and then you could see and smell the raw fuel smell coming from the tank. I pulled the cover and the top carb was leaking for sure and hard to tell about the rest because they were wet also. The motor shifted smooth and started easily. I wiped them all off with a rag and we shut it down and talked. after about 15 minutes I reached over and started it again and it ran like a sweing machine for about 10 seconds then it seemed like it was loading up with fuel and started to idle a little rougher and the top carb was wet again and the fuel was discolored like it was old. The motor was not running rough like a two stroke but it wasn't right.. I shut it down and walked away to do research. Apparently everything I read is pull the carbs and do a full clean and adjustment. It also needs an impeller which i would replaced anyway. the serial number tag is slightly damaged so it is hard to get the number to verify they year. This motor is an hour away from the house and priced at $1500. Carbs and impeller would probably get worked on no matter what motor I find so just wanted some input from the guys that run them. There aren't many in this area to compare.
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