Should I trust my new auxiliary?

jgrace · 27 June 2006, 22:28

I've just bought a reconditioned 2nd hand Yamaha 4hp 2 stroke as an auxiliary. I had it on the boat today for the first time and couldn't get it started. Brought it back to the dealer who told me the needle valve in the carburettor was sticking. He said it was a brand new part and it was just one of those things, "a gremlin" he said.

Now to my mind the most important point of having an auxiliary is to give peace of mind. And now I've spent five hundred euro and I don't have much.

Can anyone reassure me that every engine has a gremlin event very occasionally and that I really oughtn't to worry? Or is the thing a dud that I should get shirty about with the dealer?

I'd be grateful for any advice on this one.

Jim

Rogue Wave · 27 June 2006, 22:58

is the engine working now?

jgrace · 27 June 2006, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

is the engine working now?

Yes. When I lifted the boat, I drove straight to the dealer. He had a look, took the part out, said there was nothing wrong, no dirt in the petrol, just " a gremlin". He put it back together, and ran it in his tank while I watched.

He did mention that this could usually be cured by tapping the carb with a hammer, but it didn't seem to work in this particular case.

Poly · 27 June 2006, 23:22

If there was such a thing as a 100% reliable engine you wouldn't need the Aux would you? However it makes sense to check the Aux starts every time you go out as then you know it will work (and because generally engines don't like sitting idle for months at a time).

Nos4r2 · 27 June 2006, 23:24

Was it the 1st time it'd been used for a while when you tried to start it?

jgrace · 27 June 2006, 23:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

If there was such a thing as a 100% reliable engine you wouldn't need the Aux would you?

Fair point!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Was it the 1st time it'd been used for a while when you tried to start it?

Sort of. It had been run briefly in the dealer's tank when he recently fitted a t-connector for an external tank for me, but the time before that was probably a number of months ago.

Actually the engine's had a slightly odd history. Apparently it was an aux on a Ruffian. It wasn't often used so had little wear on the engine. The shaft trailed in the water though, so the dealer had to renew the entire lower half.

Nos4r2 · 28 June 2006, 00:01

Thats probably why it wouldn't start then. Start it regularly and it should be fine.

RAS · 28 June 2006, 09:42

I've had a Yamaha 4 on my 2.7 meter Rib that I used as transport out to my fast fisher that was on a mooring, for the last 5 years. Apart from one occasion when I tried to start it on old (Sept-April) fuel, it always started and ran reliably. I don't think you could find a more reliable Aux providing you start it every couple of weeks, let it run for about 5 mins and then switch off the fuel and let the engine stop when the fuel runs out. This will avoid the needles and jets in the carb being gummed up by oil remaining in the carb as the fuel evaporates.
Best of luck.

BogMonster · 28 June 2006, 12:34

My bike is just like that, if you run it every 2 weeks it starts straight off, if you leave it for 4 weeks it is a pig of a thing to start....

If tapping the carb with a hammer cures it then on many small engines it is likely to be a sticky float in the float chamber of the carb, stuck in the closed position, fuel evaporates/leaks out overflow when the engine is tipped up, tapping it unsticks it and lets the fuel get in

not sure of the internal anatomy of a 2 stroke (just re-read your post!) but could be similar problem I guess?

It happens to anything though. Many years ago (1976 I think!) my father bought a new Cessna 172. On the first flight out of our farm, the engine stopped... thankfully close to the runway! The cause turned out to be something that had been left in the carb when it was built (some sort of plastic bung I think) that was sucked over some inlet in the carb cutting the fuel off. The scary thing was that it had only just been ferried about 8,000 miles down from the USA by a ferry pilot.... including a lot of flying across water! And you won't find a more safety conscious industry than aviation ... so it can happen to anything (though hopefully not too often in aeroplane engines

)

I've got a new 6hp on order to use as an aux and I intend to use it a fair bit when I first get it just to run it in and make sure there are no gremlins there in case I really need it

fast fred · 28 June 2006, 12:55

i'v have had new ones out of the box do just that( thares a check list to run down, to do it right , you got to burp it in the tank) had two over the years with a small peice of hose, just a chip in thare, but just enuff to choke it off.

if it helps you, you need 3 things to get a her to run
fuel, compresion,spark, with them 3 workin she will run.

jgrace · 28 June 2006, 15:56

Thanks for all the advice guys. On foot of which, I've decided to suck it and see how well the engine performs in use.

Thanks again.

Jim