Hello all! I am a first time poster looking for some helpful advice. I searched for the topic I am asking about with no luck, but pardon me if this is a redundant question.
I recently purchased a 12' v-hull with a 5hp Tohatsu OB engine. The engine ran on my first outing, how well I am not sure due to my inexperience. This past weekend I replaced the water pump and changed the lower unit oil. The impeller was in poor shape and I managed to get some of the "gunk" out that I could easily get to. I fired it up in my driveway with a bucket of water and the water coming out of the "peehole" was still as weak as before. But the engine ran slightly better than before. We put the boat in the water the next day to enjoy some fishing. The tide was rather low and in no time I found myself in very little water and stiring up alot of sandy bottom. Once back into deeper water I hit another soft bottom and the engine "poped up" and, without me noticing, stayed up. By that I mean the motor wasn't straight down anymore, it was on an angle and prop hardly in the water. After about 1-2 minutes of WOT the engine dies and that is when I noticed the angle of the engine. We sat anchored a while, I removed the engine cover to let it cool, and fished hoping it would start back up and get us to shore. After a sufficient amount of time passed I attempted to start the engine and it ran at idle for less than a minute and died again. More fishing occured! Again after time had passed I started it up and did not hesitate on giving it gas so we can get moving. The motor got us about 100 yards, about a minute worth of time, and died again. And you got it, more fishing! This sequence of events happened one more time and upon reaching shore, as we launch off the beach, I lowered the rpm, which seemed to let it run slightly longer, and the motor got us to shore. I did not flush the engine with clean water yet in attempts to not cause anymore damage by starting it than what might already be.
1. Could there be a lot of sand in the water pump/line causing it to die?
2. Did running it again after dying cause permanant damage?
3. Does a 1997 Tohatsu M5B, 2 cycle OB have a thermostat?
4. Should there be a steady "strong" stream of water coming for the "peehole"?
5. How do you clear the water tubes that cool the engine of obstruction, if any?
6. And any other advice as to why the engine is cutting out after the above events would be greatly appreciated!
I bought a compression gauge and plan on testing the compression tonight, as well as checking the impeller/lower unit for sand and/or blockage of some sort. And by the way, during the first time on the water the engine ran at WOT twice for about 30-40 each time with no problems.
I would greatly appreciate any advice, and sorry for such a long post!!
I recently purchased a 12' v-hull with a 5hp Tohatsu OB engine. The engine ran on my first outing, how well I am not sure due to my inexperience. This past weekend I replaced the water pump and changed the lower unit oil. The impeller was in poor shape and I managed to get some of the "gunk" out that I could easily get to. I fired it up in my driveway with a bucket of water and the water coming out of the "peehole" was still as weak as before. But the engine ran slightly better than before. We put the boat in the water the next day to enjoy some fishing. The tide was rather low and in no time I found myself in very little water and stiring up alot of sandy bottom. Once back into deeper water I hit another soft bottom and the engine "poped up" and, without me noticing, stayed up. By that I mean the motor wasn't straight down anymore, it was on an angle and prop hardly in the water. After about 1-2 minutes of WOT the engine dies and that is when I noticed the angle of the engine. We sat anchored a while, I removed the engine cover to let it cool, and fished hoping it would start back up and get us to shore. After a sufficient amount of time passed I attempted to start the engine and it ran at idle for less than a minute and died again. More fishing occured! Again after time had passed I started it up and did not hesitate on giving it gas so we can get moving. The motor got us about 100 yards, about a minute worth of time, and died again. And you got it, more fishing! This sequence of events happened one more time and upon reaching shore, as we launch off the beach, I lowered the rpm, which seemed to let it run slightly longer, and the motor got us to shore. I did not flush the engine with clean water yet in attempts to not cause anymore damage by starting it than what might already be.
1. Could there be a lot of sand in the water pump/line causing it to die?
2. Did running it again after dying cause permanant damage?
3. Does a 1997 Tohatsu M5B, 2 cycle OB have a thermostat?
4. Should there be a steady "strong" stream of water coming for the "peehole"?
5. How do you clear the water tubes that cool the engine of obstruction, if any?
6. And any other advice as to why the engine is cutting out after the above events would be greatly appreciated!
I bought a compression gauge and plan on testing the compression tonight, as well as checking the impeller/lower unit for sand and/or blockage of some sort. And by the way, during the first time on the water the engine ran at WOT twice for about 30-40 each time with no problems.
I would greatly appreciate any advice, and sorry for such a long post!!
