07-19-2004, 06:06 PM
Hey guys,
I asked for and received some very nice help in earlier posts concerning my Sears Gamefisher 5hp motor. I though (and maybe did) have a problem with the float sticking. I took the bottom bowl portion of the carburator off and gave it a throurough cleaning. It really didn't need it however as it was immaculate. The float no longer sticks and I took the boat out today. I had mixed results and it appears I'm going to need further help if anyone has any suggestions... I'm going to detail my problems as throuroughly as possible and then hopefully someone will have some advice for me.
The motor does not start easily, however I can always get it to start. Once started it will idle in a pretty rough fashion... changing the choke positions helps, but sometimes it idles better on the half choke position than in the no choke positions, but not always. The motor will sputter and die for no reason at any speed, but it seems to run very nicely at it's lowest speed. Though still a bit rough. When I run it at top speed it will go for a few minutes then die. The amount of time changes and I don't think it's a heat issue as I checked the engine under the cowling and it appears to be normal(not overheating). The impeller has been checked and it does work as well. The frustrating thing is when it's wide open it will sometimes hit the "sweet spot" and really show me what it can do. When this happens it is the perfect motor for my little 12ft semi v-hull boat. I can run it just under wide open for a much longer time and towards the end of the day it ran for 20 minutes straight in that position.
No matter what, the engine alternates between rough and nice at any speed. Also after it dies after running at full speed it makes a whirring noise for a few seconds afterwards.
I had mentioned before the motor is 15 - 20 years old, but had less than 5hrs on it when my buddy gave it to me. The gaskets I took out of the carburater were basically brand new, and I haven't changed the plug because it looked fine as well.
I'd really like to get this engine running nice, but am at a loss as what to do. I don't want to take it to get repaired because if I'm gonna do that I'd just as soon buy a brand new engine.
I've tried three mixes of gasoline 32:1 40:1 and 50:1(suggested ratio on cowling). This really didn't seem to make much of a difference. I've also played with the idle screw and pretty much have it at the best setting I could determine.
If you have any advice, please feel free to post or email me. I was able to use my trolling motor today, but Lake Mead is much too large for me to rely on it. Also all that restarting of the motor is killiing me as I have a bad back and tendonitis in my shoulder. Not to mention the blisters.
I appreciate your time in this matter.
Mark
ps. I've done quite a bit of auto work in the past, and I've been trying to get a manual for the engine off of ebay, but the bottom line is I basically have no small engine experience and am at a loss as what to do.
[signature]
I asked for and received some very nice help in earlier posts concerning my Sears Gamefisher 5hp motor. I though (and maybe did) have a problem with the float sticking. I took the bottom bowl portion of the carburator off and gave it a throurough cleaning. It really didn't need it however as it was immaculate. The float no longer sticks and I took the boat out today. I had mixed results and it appears I'm going to need further help if anyone has any suggestions... I'm going to detail my problems as throuroughly as possible and then hopefully someone will have some advice for me.
The motor does not start easily, however I can always get it to start. Once started it will idle in a pretty rough fashion... changing the choke positions helps, but sometimes it idles better on the half choke position than in the no choke positions, but not always. The motor will sputter and die for no reason at any speed, but it seems to run very nicely at it's lowest speed. Though still a bit rough. When I run it at top speed it will go for a few minutes then die. The amount of time changes and I don't think it's a heat issue as I checked the engine under the cowling and it appears to be normal(not overheating). The impeller has been checked and it does work as well. The frustrating thing is when it's wide open it will sometimes hit the "sweet spot" and really show me what it can do. When this happens it is the perfect motor for my little 12ft semi v-hull boat. I can run it just under wide open for a much longer time and towards the end of the day it ran for 20 minutes straight in that position.
No matter what, the engine alternates between rough and nice at any speed. Also after it dies after running at full speed it makes a whirring noise for a few seconds afterwards.
I had mentioned before the motor is 15 - 20 years old, but had less than 5hrs on it when my buddy gave it to me. The gaskets I took out of the carburater were basically brand new, and I haven't changed the plug because it looked fine as well.
I'd really like to get this engine running nice, but am at a loss as what to do. I don't want to take it to get repaired because if I'm gonna do that I'd just as soon buy a brand new engine.
I've tried three mixes of gasoline 32:1 40:1 and 50:1(suggested ratio on cowling). This really didn't seem to make much of a difference. I've also played with the idle screw and pretty much have it at the best setting I could determine.
If you have any advice, please feel free to post or email me. I was able to use my trolling motor today, but Lake Mead is much too large for me to rely on it. Also all that restarting of the motor is killiing me as I have a bad back and tendonitis in my shoulder. Not to mention the blisters.
I appreciate your time in this matter.
Mark
ps. I've done quite a bit of auto work in the past, and I've been trying to get a manual for the engine off of ebay, but the bottom line is I basically have no small engine experience and am at a loss as what to do.
[signature]