On 2/18/05, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
Just curious - did you put fuel stabilizer in the mix before you ran
the carb out?

Nope. I usually just hook up to a garden hose to flush when I get
home, then unplug the fuel line and let the carb run dry. We don't
really have an off season here (Gulf Coast) so I don't do any sort of
winter storage procedure. I can never predict how long the boat will
go unused though.

I'm also a little suspicious about the carb being gummed up after
10/12 hours.

That's run time though. The gummy part happens, even to a new motor,
when any fuel is left sitting in the carb for a few weeks. Three weeks
in this case.

I've got a brand new Johnson 25 out back that I fired up
yesterday after 4 months of lay up

Yuppers. I've got a '68 model 6hp Evinrude that fires right up even
after a year or two (although I am pretty good about turning it over
by hand every few months to make sure the piston hasn't frozen to the
cylinder wall). I've never had a prob with gummy carb as long as I run
the fuel out after each use. Same with an old 200hp Mariner I've had
for years. The tech tells me I might as well get used to it with this
4 stroke Honda though.

This should be a warranty deal after that short a period of
time.

If cleaning the jet doesn't resolve the issue, I agree. I'll go that
route.

Two, spray it down with a good carb cleaner first and see if that
frees things up.

Plan to do that when I get the carb apart. Mainly just to spray the
jet passage. The tech tells me it's so small you almost need a
magnifying glass to see it. Therein lies the "easy to clog" problem.

I have a parts list (drawings) for my other motors. I wish I could get
one for the Honda. For taking things apart and putting them back
together, those parts blow ups are as handy as a shop manual imho.

Good luck.

Thanks.
and thanks for the come back.

Rick