Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

[ERIC ANDERSON]

My Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke has about 7 hours on it.

Last week I started on a cruise and about 2 miles out it quit. It would restart a few times and then run for 10 to 30 seconds. I thought it might be water in the gas so I replaced the gas.

Had new plug and started on first pull after the winter.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

If it is less than three years old you should take it into a dealer. Or, clean your carburetor yourself.

 

[ERIC ANDERSON]

Re: Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

Thanks Elvin,

It appears that I'd wait a long time to have a dealer do the carb cleaning. How big a job is it once I get the motor in my garage? Also, I've been thinking about the alternator option. If DIY is reasonable for the carb cleaning would it make sense to install the alternator at the same time?

Might it make sense for me to try some auto carb cleaner in my gas tank before attempting the "bigger job"?

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

There is no cleaner that you can add to gas or spray into a carburetor that will fix an existing problem. Those products should be considered as preventive maintenance. The actual procedure to clean the carburetor is pretty straight forward and can be done by the average non-tech. The DIY alt/rec kit and carb cleaning require different operations with nothing in common, so I wouldn't wait to do one because of the other.

 

[ERIC ANDERSON]

Re: Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

Elvin,
Thanks again! I won't try to add the carb cleaner to the gas tank. Is there a URL that describes the carb cleaning process in enough detail so I can do it myself?

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu 5 Horse 4stroke trouble

Not that I am aware of. Manufacturers tend to sue anyone who distributes their PDF manuals on the web.