Zapcat engine, whats this bit do?

[watersidemat]

Hi all

So i have this zapcat that i dont really know much about but i'm trying to breathe some life into it and getting going fast (because is really isn't right now) so took it out today and it wasn't going quite right. it didn't rev very high in gear and only managed about 18 knots (being generous) but the engine definatley has a lot left in it to give.

It was cakes in grease but now i have cleaned the outside of the engine block and now the flywheel and all the linkages and stuff move more freely and i have some new spark plugs in the post so hope this will help a little.

the engine revved up fine when trying to cavitate the engine but once the water settled around the prop again it got bogged down and the revs dropped off again.

Attached are some pictures and i think there's something not connected up.
i cant really explain it because i don't know what they are but there's a link on the gear selector not connected to anything and a linkage on a cable that runs down from the recoil assembly down behind the black box and looks like it could work in conjunction with the gear lever?

if anyone made sense of that your'e amazing.

so picture one shows the 2 linkages in mid air and i think they go in the black cog in the middle?

and picture 4 i'm hoping will show a small cable pulled out that links to the top of the engine and could be pulled out when the engine is in ahead and pushed back in when in neutral?

[Bombardc2]

What engine is it?

[watersidemat]

honestly i dont know, tohatsu 50hp 2 stroke! 3 cylinder version :S
Possibly M50d2?????

[Bombardc2]

[Bombardc2]

This is my m50d2

[Bombardc2]

I'll try to get some better photo of the linkage for you tomorrow

[watersidemat]

Thank you for going to the effort of taking that, it looks different to mine, i may have a diferent model or maybe the linkages are for a center/remote console control? mines on a tiller if that alters anything?

[HDAV]

Have you done the obvious ,checked air intake, put fresh fuel and oil in.... Does it Rev fine out out the water but bogs under load?

If the throttle Linkages are all fine and it runs ok with no load could be gearbox related,

Check the plugs for Even wear and too see if one cylinder is the culprit.

[watersidemat]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Have you done the obvious ,checked air intake, put fresh fuel and oil in.... Does it Rev fine out out the water but bogs under load?

If the throttle Linkages are all fine and it runs ok with no load could be gearbox related,

Check the plugs for Even wear and too see if one cylinder is the culprit.

Topped up fuel so it's at least 50% fresh.
Ordered some gear case oil so changing that next time round.
Putting in some fresh plugs, as well as fixing one plug socket! I think that's blown in the past so maybe that cylinder wasn't getting full compression.
Air intake not checked, the intake holes look have grease in them so I don't know if any has been sucked in to the carburettor.
Apparently all the lower gearbox has been replaced, or so I've been told when I bought it.

Revs fine out the water ( cavitation and in neutral) bogs down under load.

[lukewhiting]

Is your tohatsu the newer style? (Painted black)

If so that looks like the newer version of the safety feature to stop the engine being started when in gear. If you connect up the rods, put into gear the pull start should lock.

I've had similar issues with my engine.

Fitted new plugs and cleaned carbs then reset the mixtures and all seemed good! If your still having issues after that then my money is on the coils. They're very unreliable!

Also make sure the drain holes in the engine are sealed. When on zapcats water vetted sprayed into these holes getting to the engine.

This can lead to a wet and salty engine and electrical isssues.

Let us know how you get on!

[watersidemat]

Don't know about newer style or its paint, took some of the paint off the other day as it was flaking a bit and we found a layer of pink and blue so as for the original colour it could be anything, the cowling is a zap cat logo one so it doesn't show the original tohatsu design.
I've ordered some snap rods to link all that back together now that I know what it is and I've now since seen an engine that's all linked up!
Thanks for your tips, I'm holding just giving it a clean and doing all the simple stuff will get it running, how labour insensitive would new coils be?
(I'm guessing you mean coil pack on the flywheel?)
I don't know much about engines but I'm learning lots fast!

[lukewhiting]

Originally Posted by watersidemat

Don't know about newer style or its paint, took some of the paint off the other day as it was flaking a bit and we found a layer of pink and blue so as for the original colour it could be anything, the cowling is a zap cat logo one so it doesn't show the original tohatsu design.
I've ordered some snap rods to link all that back together now that I know what it is and I've now since seen an engine that's all linked up!
Thanks for your tips, I'm holding just giving it a clean and doing all the simple stuff will get it running, how labour insensitive would new coils be?
(I'm guessing you mean coil pack on the flywheel?)
I don't know much about engines but I'm learning lots fast!

Coils come with caps, leads and coils in one. Takes 30seconds to change all 3!

Think they're about £70 each but I'd try get 70hp ones for reliability.

[Roflhat]

Change the plugs and see if it helps, if not then do a spark test on all cylinders. This will tell you if the problem is the coils, they are notorious for breaking on tohatsu 50s. If it does turn out to be the coils you're better off replacing them with more reliable ones, nakuru racing coils, tohatsu 70hp, yamaha 90hp etc

[Roflhat]

Your photos just loaded, definitely something that needs connected there...
see if these work