2 Stroke Carb Jet Cleaning

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Glad you got it running right!

I use Seafoam but more for storage purposes..

I do use the RF on a regular basis in EVERY GAS MACHINE I own.. (carberated engines-mowers, weedeaters, generator, etc).

I also use K100 as a fuel stabilizer/ water "remover" in only my outboard along with the RF. (K100 makes the water mix with the fuel and burn it off instead of collecting at the bottom of the tank or getting injested)

I've used RF at 2-3x the suggested amount for engines that ran crappy with no visible issues. Most times, it'll clean out what ever orifices you missed as well as the top end(combustion chamber). I've never cleaned the carb on my 10 year old Snapper mower, weed eater.

My 1997 hull has the original tank in it (drained and re-filled about 6 months ago). Still have the original VST filter(I do drain that occasionally), injectors in my OB engine still original (10 years old now). Was out last weekend, boat / engine ran great. NO Ethonol and RF at the recommended amount for the boat.

The RF is NOT cheap however, it's cheaper than a tow, getting stuck, trouble shooting, easier than a manual carb clean / gaskets, etc- no labor...

My 2cts..

[boscoe99]

Your model uses a #78 idle jet. A #78 jet has an orifice diameter of .016 inch. 16 thousandths. Pretty damn small.

Take that small of an orifice and coat it with any sort of varnish, gum, junk, what have you and the flow of gasoline is going to diminish. The engine will run lean. Now couple that with the use of ethanol, which causes a motor to run leaner than without ethanol, and the problem gets worse. Now couple that with a float setting that causes the fuel level to be on the low side and the problem only gets worse.

Glad to hear you found and fixed your problem.

Oh, I don't use any additives of any kind whatsoever.

[Jason2tpa]

Oh boy, here we go. Townsend swears by the additive, boscoe does not. Things might heat up here lol.

I do agree with townsend on preventative maintenance for any kind of engine though. PM is rarely cheap, though it's cheaper than replacement and/or time spent fixing. And that isnt to imply a fuel additive is prevetative maintenance. But the expert on the label says it is...so what the he'll its only $$$ right.?

If yall know of a good online reference for learning carb air/fuel flow please let me know. More of one for a carb like mine. Ive seen the cut-out diagrams for your basic single barrel. But my carb has air and fuel passages everywhere. When I pulled the carbs and opened I couldn't believe how many pin hole sized inlets and outlets there were. One could spend an hour on each carb just shooting compressed air to clear all the passages.

[boscoe99]

Boscoe neither knows nor cares if anyone chooses to use whatever additives they find success with. I don't have a dog in that hunt.

In my 67 years of life I have been so damn fortunate and simply never found a need to use them.

Might I get bit in the arse in the future? Possibly.

Oh, for all of my cars (bought new) over the last forty years I paid cash and never carried a lick of insurance except for liability. Was/am I at risk? Yes. But til now it has paid off.

Best that I can hope for now is to die a sudden death. Don't want any lingering drawn out illnesses or maladies. Best if I go to sleep in my Lazy Boy chair with my dog Boscoe in my lap (great feeling) and never wake up. Unfortunately, we don't get to choose much how we go out of this world.

[scofflaw]

Boscoe neither knows nor cares if anyone chooses to use whatever additives they find success with. I don't have a dog in that hunt.

In my 67 years of life I have been so damn fortunate and simply never found a need to use them.

Might I get bit in the arse in the future? Possibly.

Oh, for all of my cars (bought new) over the last forty years I paid cash and never carried a lick of insurance except for liability. Was/am I at risk? Yes. But til now it has paid off.

Best that I can hope for now is to die a sudden death. Don't want any lingering drawn out illnesses or maladies. Best if I go to sleep in my Lazy Boy chair with my dog Boscoe in my lap (great feeling) and never wake up. Unfortunately, we don't get to choose much how we go out of this world.

agree 100 %. Just say no to snake oil. 65 years on planet earth with garages filled with trucks , cars ,motorcycles , and every other internal combustion engine known to man. boats included, ethanol gas in all of them. Can honestly say I have had no issues what so ever

[zenoahphobic]

Re #78 idle jet.
If you regard that jet as very small then logically it has a small influence, atleast from damaging an engine point of view. Lean at idle would hardly "damage" except for the idle itself. Almost oximoron.

[rodbolt17]

lean sneeze engine damage I have seen in the past 30 yrs or so.
blown fuel pump diaphrams.
blown reeds.
blown crankcase cover to block gaskets.
blown out crank seals.
sheared flywheel keys that damaged the crank snout or flywheel or both.
snapped cranksnouts and crankshafts brokenat the center main bearing.

but hey
it is just a lean sneeze.

[boscoe99]

Small stuff can have a big influence. A common "nail" is a small and seemingly inconsequential part, having little influence. However, remember the proverb:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Oh boy, here we go. Townsend swears by the additive, boscoe does not. Things might heat up here lol.
.

Its not a matter of if Townsend agrees with Boscoe or vice versa. I posted my experience with the product.

*Even thou Rodbolt DID NOT post his opinion on it here, HE USES IT(posted previously), along with a fuel stabilizer. He fixes Yamaha's for a living, hands on, and obviously has way more experience than me.


Note: The majority of the fuel I previously pulled out of my tank (previous post) was close to 2 years old (big tank, little MPG, not enough use). The fuel was still fresh, just as clear as new, still smelled new. My neighbor bought it, ran it in his boat(ran great) and car as well. I'm still running it (two year old treated fuel) in my mower and chipper/shredder-NO issues.

I did have a running issue at 5300 RPMs with my yammy, which I thought may have been fuel related(old gas), thus, the new fuel. Still had the issue. Turned out to be the SPARK PLUGS. New plugs, issue gone(and they looked great, 200 hours on them). It'll run up to 5,900RPM / 45MPH with 2/3's a tank(about 40 gallons)...

If I used the boat more often, like every week, and it burned more fuel, I could get by without a stabilizer. But with a 50 gallon tank (won't go with less than 1/2 tank). If I use 5 gallons on a days outing, its a lot.

[rodbolt17]

do I use fuel stabilizer? yes I use the blue startron.
do I use ring free,not much.
its a matter of choice.
roll the dice and hope its 7 and not snake eyes.
but a lean sneeze can cause engine damage.
does it always?
nope.
can it? yep.

question is???
do you feel lucky?

[boscoe99]

do I use fuel stabilizer? yes I use the blue startron.
do I use ring free,not much.
its a matter of choice.
roll the dice and hope its 7 and not snake eyes.
but a lean sneeze can cause engine damage.
does it always?
nope.
can it? yep.

question is???
do you feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?

Fixed it for you.

[rodbolt17]

I left out.
did it cough 5 times or 6?

[Jason2tpa]

Since we're on the topic of fuel additives, let's hear your take about ethanol, even though this topic of 10% ethanol vs. ethanol free has been abused numerous times on this forum.

From my take, if you're gonna run ethanol then a fuel stabilizer is a must because carbon deposits build up more and quicker in ethanol fuel. But then again, that's just what I read.

[Jason2tpa]

Take it from me zeno, having just experienced the LARGE influence the small pilot jet orifice with a diameter of .016 inch has on engine performance. And I agree with you, it doesn't sound logical, as you mentioned. How such a small jet could influence the engine. I would have thought the same as you. But then I pulled the pilot jets, held each jet up to my eyes and couldn't see through them. Cleaned them, reinstalled, presto. I now have more low end power than ever before. Boom.

Re #78 idle jet.
If you regard that jet as very small then logically it has a small influence, atleast from damaging an engine point of view. Lean at idle would hardly "damage" except for the idle itself. Almost oximoron.

[zenoahphobic]

lean sneeze engine damage I have seen in the past 30 yrs or so.
blown fuel pump diaphrams.
blown reeds.
blown crankcase cover to block gaskets.
blown out crank seals.
sheared flywheel keys that damaged the crank snout or flywheel or both.
snapped cranksnouts and crankshafts brokenat the center main bearing.

but hey
it is just a lean sneeze.

Agree, the above are nothing to sneeze about.
Are all these attributed to a small idle jet blockage. I suspect air leaks would have attributed to some of the above.
The way I have understood a lean sneeze is that sufficient (significant) fuel has to be present but also too much air that it does not ignite but subsequent adding of fuel to lesser air, brings the mixture up to combustion, creating a Big Bang far greater than would normally be there at that throttle setting.
Not all doubting that lean conditions caused a pop causing the damage you have seen, but suggest that it is relatively rare and that more often than not there are other contributing conditions surrounding.