!!!yamaha 55 Help Please!!!

EllWilcox · 12 June 2008, 12:56

Hello

I have a few problems and wondering if anyone could help me??
I am about to buy 2nd hand yamaha 55 2 stroke engine 1983 to 84, electric start, I have been in contact with a guy and he has the engine is ok except for this -

(what he has said) - - -

- slight problem on tick over. may need card ajusting, as new spark plugs very clean tidy engine, runs great on muffs.

- It is electric start, 21 inch leg, I have it to a 20 inch transom works great, like I said it just needs a tune up (fuel mixture/idle speed needs sight adjustment).no problem at speed just the tick over fuel mixture may be a bit week or idle speed.

- Runs ok at speed in water but on idle cuts out, this is because of weak fuel/air mixture or needs tick over turning up.

Can anybody tell me is this a easy problem to fix??, he said a service will probably sort it which is what i was going to do anyway.

He is selling it at £400 and i think that is a good price, again a little help??
Everything else about the engine is good for me the transom height etc and i am a bit desperate for a engine an do not have to much money... if anyone knows about these types of problems, what it is? can it be fixed without too much cost? and is it worth buying the engine overall?

PLEASE HELP
A.S.A.P

THANKS
ELLIOTT

ollyit · 12 June 2008, 13:09

I guess this is the earlier 2 cylinder job, check the usual things mate.

Good strong tell tale, check the gears forward and reverse engage, excessive noise (bearings) - yamahas tick over very nice some say like a sewing machine even 2 strokes, I biased but do agree - I'm quite sure an idle problem can be sorted with carb adjustments even cleaning

NOS4R2 on here is very knowledgeable about outboards, I'm sure he'll say his peice, hope its a good un mate - £400 for a good runner isnt bad at all - electric start is also great

It'll go well on a 4m, mine went well with a yam 60

best of luck

9D280 · 12 June 2008, 13:13

Mine had that problem when I bought it.

Carb cleaning notwithstanding, there is a simple idle speed adjuster screw on the bottom carb. 1/2 ish turn on that and I'll bet it goes fine!

This one being 2 cylinder machine isnt quite as "sewing machine" as the next generation 3 cyl autolube ones were......

Let us know what happens.

Poly · 12 June 2008, 13:27

BUT - if the seller is so sure its just a simple idle mix screw needing adjusted or perhaps a scoosh of carb cleaner - why hasn't he done it - it would take an almost OK engine into the fully running class, and so add value.

9D280 · 12 June 2008, 13:41

As a Suz dealer put it to me when I bought a replacement part off an engine he was breaking - "Engines this age even if I only spend 10 mins on them I still can't get my money back by turning a dead engine into a runner".

To put it in perspective, by replacing the 2 anodes and a plastic bush on mine, I added 20 odd % to it's value!

I suspect dodgy vs fully running on a 25 year old engine will make virtually no difference to the selling price.

EllWilcox · 12 June 2008, 15:15

Hey guys thanks for all the usefull suggestions and help

This is what the guy selling it said as well with regards to what you have been saying - - -

- - when i talk about fuel mixture I mean the fuel/air adjustment screws on the carb as just cleaned carbs out and might be running a bit weak, but if you are thinking of getting a service they will sort that out. Runs ok at speed in water but on idle cuts out, this is because of weak fuel/air mixture or needs tick over turning up.- -

The bottom bit i already posted, but the rest of it i didn't. Does it sound ok like the things you were thinking about or something else?? its got parts of what has been said.

Last question - do you think it will be a worth while investment?? I can not afford a 4 stroke as i am just getting in to boats so i'm kind of after suggestions if it would be a good move to buy it?? What do people think??

Thanks for the help
Elliott

Nos4r2 · 12 June 2008, 16:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by EllWilcox

Hey guys thanks for all the usefull suggestions and help

This is what the guy selling it said as well with regards to what you have been saying - - -

- - when i talk about fuel mixture I mean the fuel/air adjustment screws on the carb as just cleaned carbs out and might be running a bit weak, but if you are thinking of getting a service they will sort that out. Runs ok at speed in water but on idle cuts out, this is because of weak fuel/air mixture or needs tick over turning up.- -

The bottom bit i already posted, but the rest of it i didn't. Does it sound ok like the things you were thinking about or something else?? its got parts of what has been said.

Last question - do you think it will be a worth while investment?? I can not afford a 4 stroke as i am just getting in to boats so i'm kind of after suggestions if it would be a good move to buy it?? What do people think??

Thanks for the help
Elliott

It sounds like the seller doesn't have either a clue or a manual but likes to meddle with things if he can't set it up right after cleaning the carbs out. As such I'd be looking at it VERY hard for bodges.

Take someone with you who knows exactly what they are doing with outboards and make sure the seller hasn't screwed any screws in so hard on the carbs that they are seized. IIRC that motor has Mikuni carbs on which are prone to people doing that.

Also take a compression tester and plug spanner. If it reads under 110psi per cylinder bin it, and if either cylinder is more than 10% different compression bin it too.

However you look at an old engine like that though, it's a risk and if there's anything wrong with it then it's usually not worth paying to have it fixed. If he says it needs a service then it's going to be in the region of £200 to have it serviced IF it's mechanically OK on top of your £400. You'd get a pretty good Mariner 40hp for that 600 quid.

9D280 · 12 June 2008, 17:14

"cleaning" a carb can also make absolutely no difference if you don't know about the microscopic little holes that throw the idle fuel into the mix........ I'd have thought if he'd cleaned it properly & not done anything else it would be running rich!

I would tend to agree with Nos that it sounds like someone who has tried to do their own servicing and failed. In the absence of a compression tester crack the throttle open slightly- "does it sound right" is usually a good start!

Turning up the tickover speed is a no brainer - the fact he has suggested it either means he has fiddled with every screw on the carb and genuinely hasn't a clue what's been adjusted, or is trying to cover something up. The scew for the idle speed is on the side (lower carb)and quite obviously pushes against the throttle cam. Take a small screwdrier with you too.....

.

Nos, Sounds like you've got the book of words there, but from memory (not got mine to hand) is the air / fuel adjustment on those carbs not a fixed factory set thing ? or am i thinking of something else? I'm sure Clymer says it;s a factory set thing.

The other way of looking at it - use it to haggle him down by a couple of hundred! For what it's worth, I paid a bit more than that for mine, but did get a free rib thrown in for the price!

Idle air / fuel mix doesn't take a lot to upset.

Nos4r2 · 12 June 2008, 17:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

Nos, Sounds like you've got the book of words there, but from memory (not got mine to hand) is the air / fuel adjustment on those carbs not a fixed factory set thing ? or am i thinking of something else? I'm sure Clymer says it;s a factory set thing.

My book of words doesn't go back as far as 83/84 but it does list 2 models of 55hp twins-pilot screw settings 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 turns.

Mikunis often have 'fixed' screws. It's quite easy for them to be messed with.

Personally, I'd strongly recommend against someone with limited mechanical knowledge buying an outboard from a 'messer' like that.

EllWilcox · 12 June 2008, 18:03

Ok guys thanks for the help,

From your advice i will probably not bother with the engine, even though i am
desperate for one. Other than boats and outboards and ebay do you know of
some good places to get used outboards 40 to 55hp size??

Thanks
Elliott

Poly · 12 June 2008, 18:50

Quote:

Other than boats and outboards and ebay do you know of
some good places to get used outboards 40 to 55hp size??

Personally I think ebay prices can get a bit silly (people get carried away). Is there a friendly dealer/engineer near you - quite often they get talked into taking an old engine as part exchange for a new one.

9D280 · 13 June 2008, 14:11

Elliot,

I just multimapped your location, two of the results I could point you to near(ish) places, the others will need a trip to pick anything up!

One I do know of (tho' probably a bit far north for you) is Ardoran near Oban has (had?) a Honda 50 4- stroke for around £1500.

More southerly, there's Walkers Chandlery in Leigh - on -Sea (Southend, Just off the A127) has an assortment of secondhand stuff on a rack in the shop from 2 - 200 HP, what hangs on it varies from weeek to week. There's another in the Southend area the name of which I forget.

The other way of looking at it - What's your budget? £400 for an engine + £200 to get it properly serviced = £600. If you're looking in the " few hunderd" cateory then realistically there isn't going to be a lot out there that is going to be "plug'n'play at that price. Also if it doesn't idle you can haggle him down a bit, freeing up more cash to get a service..... Engines of that age don't depereciate unless you blow them up properly & totally kill them, so worst case, you can use it as a trade in for a known runner if it turns out to be knackered? .....And if its got PTT I'll give you some cash for that bit!

I say all that based on my "half the fun of an old engine is bringing it back to life" theory!