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First Post - 1988 70 HP 2 stroke hard to start when cold

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  • First Post - 1988 70 HP 2 stroke hard to start when cold

    Hello,

    I purchased a very nice MKV boat a couple of weeks ago. The boat is in such good shape that I couldn't pass it up. The 70 HP Yamaha motor was running on the muff in the sellers driveway and seemed OK. He said he hadn't run the boat in over a year but had put stabilizer in the fuel. He said the motor had been running strong and based on the condition of the boat I think he takes care of his stuff. When I got the boat home I've discovered that the motor is very hard to start when cold. By hard I mean nothing for 20 to 30 seconds of spinning the starter with the choke on. Then one cylinder will start to pop, than a second and suddenly it fires up and idles fine. It's probably more than a minute before it's running. I don't run the starter for a full minute but I start and stop probably 10 times before it finally catches. After its started and running you can stop it and you just have to touch the key and it starts. The easy starting will stay for a couple of hours after it's warmed up and than stopped. I haven't have it on the lake yet as I wanted to address this hard start in my driveway and not the dock. Battery is new. Compression is between 135 - 140 psi on all 3 cylinders. The electric choke is working. I've removed the fuel filter and cleaned it and I've replaced the fuel line from tank to motor as the old one was looking old. One thing that I notice is that when squeezing the bulb it never gets that hard. It almost seems like I'm priming the tank and not the motor. That's why I replaced the line. I'm going to replace the plugs but I doubt that is the cause as it runs perfect once it starts. It almost seems to me that it's losing all of its fuel as it sits and each cold start is a re-prime of the entire system? The other thing that I find sort of strange is when it's running applying the choke doesn't kill it that fast. Especially at higher RPM. It almost seems like the choke isn't entirely closing off the intakes but it looks to me like they are closing all the way. Today I'm going to get a new fuel tank and fill it with fresh high test gas before I dig in any further. In the mean time I thought I would post in case this doesn't solve things and I have to dig deeper. Sorry about the lengthy first post but I'm hoping someone has seen this before. Any advice will be appreciated. I'll update after I try the new gas and tank.

  • #2
    I would be looking for why the primer bulb never gets firm
    does it feel like it is pumping gas at all?

    disconnect the line from the motor if it has a quick connect, and pump the primer bulb.
    does it still not get firm pumping into the dead end sealed fuel connector?

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    • #3
      I disconnected the line from the motor. It gets firm. I think I might have figured it out. I bought new plugs and when I took the old ones out they were soaked with gas. I also bought a new tank and put premium in. After changing the plugs and connecting the new tank it started right up. I did not squeeze the bulb. I'm thinking the combination of old gas and over priming was flooding it. I'll know for sure tomorrow morning. If it starts easier I'll be relieved. Will take it out for its maiden tomorrow afternoon.


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      • #4
        sounds to me like the carbs are flooding the cylinders while priming, which they should not be able to do if the floats seat the needle as they should.

        Maybe the fuel pump is leaking, but that should only flood #3 and not the top 2 cylinders
        Last edited by 99yam40; 09-25-2020, 07:11 PM.

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        • #5
          Take the intake cover off the carbs and squeeze the primer bulb hard as you have been doing. Look in the carb throats and see if there is fuel there. If there is, the needle valves are probably worn and not stopping the fuel when the bowl is filled, thus flooding the engine. That would not be uncommon for an engine that age.

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          • #6
            Update - Well I took it out on the lake today and found another symptom. First I tried starting it in my driveway on the muff. I only squeezed the bulb twice thinking I had been flooding it. Again it took a lot of spinning to get it started so that is still a problem. I still wanted to try it on the lake and give it a good run. I'm only about 5 minutes from the launch and so I put it in. It started OK because it was still warm. It idled good and backed out in reverse with no problem. I went out to the channel and applied some throttle. At this point I discovered that it would not pull above 2000 rpm. Nothing more than a slow cruise speed. WOT would kill it. I kept putting around out there and it improved slightly but never more than 2500 rpm. Just no power. At this point for some reason I flipped the electric choke on. Suddenly there was a surge of power. I found I could work the throttle further and further and by using the choke I got it all the way up to 4000. At this RPM the boat was in full plane and was doing about 25 mph. It still wouldn't take WOT and I wasn't able to get it above 4000 rpm. I went up and down the lake for about 30 minutes and it held the speed well. A couple of times I took it down to idle and applied the throttle slowly. It seemed to pull OK up to 3000 rpm and than bog down. A bump of choke and it would surge up to 4000 again and run there fine.

            After about 45 minutes I went in. At the launch it idled in perfectly, did not stall and was running very well.

            So I guess there are now two symptoms that I'm assuming are related. First is the cold start problem and second that lack of power under load. I'm thinking this is a fuel system issue and am wondering if there might be an issue with the fuel pump?? I think that might explain the lack of power under load unless choked but I'm not sure about the cold start issue. panasonic mentioned the needle valves not closing off the bowl when full but I don't think worn needle valves would explain the lack of power. It sure seems like it is starving for fuel under throttle. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

            Thanks

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            • #7
              Sounds like two different carb issues... Choking it and then it accelerates momentarily indicates the main jet (or main circuit) may be clogged.

              You should be able to squeeze the primer bulb till it gets hard, further squeezing SHOULD NOT FLOOD it (normally)..

              .
              Scott
              1997 Angler 204, Center Console powered by a 2006 Yamaha F150TXR

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              • #8
                I would go thru the carbs and clean them all properly.

                running a sick motor for 30 or 45 minuets hoping it will get better can and will hurt it.
                lean cylinders can hurt pistons and bearings in not getting the proper amount of fuel and oil

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by 99yam40 View Post
                  I would go thru the carbs and clean them all properly.
                  I agree - started to do that yesterday. First one (top) looks fine and the carb float is seating properly.

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                  • #10
                    Make sure part #4 :https://www.boats.net/catalog/yamaha...tlg/carburetor gets pulled and cleaned.

                    There's some super small orifices in there.

                    (That link may not be your exact carb but you get the idea). All the jets labeled there and the orifices the bolt to also....


                    .
                    Scott
                    1997 Angler 204, Center Console powered by a 2006 Yamaha F150TXR

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