jerni21

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Hey guys long time since ive been here, anyways i've got a gas boat that ive had a homelite engine in that recently wont start, it hasnt had alot of time on it, maybe three runs, but ive tried everything and i cant get it started so ive got to get a new engine but i was wondering if any weed eater motor will work such as ryobi, or echo or some other brand i just havent had good luck with homelites but will engines such as a ryobi have the square drive like i have on my homelite now?? also are the exhaust bolts the same?? the reason being is that i bought a quad exhaust for my homelite and it sounded awesome so i want to continue using it.

martno1fan

Hi three runs isnt much use so maybe you should try to find the cause of your problem before you buy another motor.As regards ryobi and other motors yes they can be used but the bolt spacings for the exhaust most likeley will be different.The motor i just installed for a guy has different bolt spacings for the header thanthe zenoah so i needed to make an adapter from ali billet,i drilled and counter sank the bolts to bolt it to the motor then tapped the billet to accept the header flange bolts.Most weedy motors have the square drive,i didnt use it on this one as i didnt want to use the clutch,i found a flex collet to fit the thread on the output shaft which was m8 thread and i used a cmb 90 type collet.
Mart

Justaddwata

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Iagree with Mart - problem can be traced back to fuel supply or spark. Easy to check each. Will save you the trouble of replacing anything and get you on the water sooner and with more $$ in your pocket.

Let us know how you make out - your not that far away from me and would gladly lend a hand if it has you stumped

MrMikeG

probably carb if it was sitting with fuel in it for a long time.

jerni21

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yea it would be good if i could fix this engine, not sure what happened it ran great for like a year then i let it sit and of course i didnt drain the gas out of it, prob no 1 problem so this year i put some gas in it and tried to fire it and it ran for a litlle bit but real rough so i was trying to tune it up and i think it overheated as it shut down and there was some smoke coming off the head, it is air cooled, i never water cooled it, and since then it wouldnt start, i tried re adjusting the carb and everything allcould find was the hsn and lsn needles should be 1 1/2 turns out correct? for a baseline. and i still couldnt get it started i know for a fact it's getting spark because i have one of those spark checkers that light up when you pull the cord and it is getting fuel because the plug is wet so whats left, compression?? it seems to me like it has enough compression but i dont know, maybe over heating it that one time pushed it over the edge. any thoughts?? ideas??

Justaddwata

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If it is aircooled I think you would have a tough time overheating it just running no load on a bench.

I would pull the carb off and pull it apart and clean everything with carb cleaner (or try a replacement carb). But carb cleaner works wonders cleaning gum off all the innards. I usually end up doing the same thing for my father in laws chainsaw every spring.

MrMikeG

Throw a new ring in while your letting your parts soak.

jerni21

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would it be the carb though because the plug is wet so its getting fuel, also where would i find a ring for this engine??

lewisdf4

pop into your local mower shop they will probably have heaps. Also If you are worried you over heated it pop the head off and check the bore and piston / ring. I suppose it could have grabbed the bore and stripped some chrome off if it got hot enough, but unlikely especialy if it still turns over freely when you pull it. Coil? Mine wouldnt start this weekend, I checked spark, still wouldn't start. Plug was working fine, but I changed it anyway and it fired first pull. Weird but worth doing as well.

Cheers, chris

P.S. How wet is the plug? Maybe too wet?

Justaddwata

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The carb may still pass fuel when gummed up - but does not mean it is delivering the right mix at the right time to start or keep the motor running.

How old is the fuel your using - Ihave had problems with gas more than 6 months old sometimes.

jerni21

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The fuel im using isn't that old, and the plug is pretty wet, the plug is also giving a spark, i also pulled the head off the motor and it looks virtually brand new and is turning over so im guessing either one of two things, either the coil is shot or the carb is gummed up, any tips on dissassembeling these kinds of carbs and what i should do to clean it?

lewisdf4

Is it a walbro? Carby's are intimidating but in reality not hard to work on. Have a nice clean bench and go slow, take photo's if your not sure you'll remember where " that bit came from"  Also change you're fuel just in case, and as I said my plug had a good spark but it wouldnt fire. Change it just in case while your going. Post some pics of the engine and carby may help

Cheers, Chris

jerni21

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alright ill try and go through it

jwsavage

In adition to fuel and spark you need to make sure the exhaust is clear. Ihad a similar problem with my Homelite trimmer and the exhaust was clogged with the matting (mice?) a couple years ago when I went to use it in the spring. It had good spark and the plug was soaked but would not fire over untilI removed the muffler.

jerni21

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yea i checked that and the mufflers clear, i read that somewhere also.

jerni21

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alright guys, heres the scoop, i completely dissasembled the carb today and cleaned it up i did find a metal mesh screen under the primer bulb that was completely clooged with crap so i scraped it all out then took my airhose and blew out all the passages i could find  so i re assembled and reset each needle to 1 1/2 turns out from closed and put the carb and engine back into my boat  so i just brought it out  side and kind of got my hopes up because i thought that clogged screen was a problem so i tried to start it and, nothing just like it was before so i pulled the plug again this time and it was damp but not as wet as last time, i also checked the spark and got a nice blue spark from the plug, so right now im not sure what the next step is, could it just be a tuning issue, or could the spark plug gap have changed? what's the gap supposed to be? any other suggesstions would be appreciated i mean the engine looks brand new inside and has a ton of compression so i dont have any idea what's going on lol.

Justaddwata

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Could be as simple as tuning. Any chance you could share a pic or two of the motor?
There are several "could be's" like replacing the plug (gap usually does not change and is not so critical). If you have a spare resistor plug handy you may consider giving it a try.

You have any free time Sunday? Buddy and I were thinking of running at Beach Pond which is about an hour from you. I am sure we could get her running and you may even see her back on the water once more.

jerni21

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yea ill try and get a couple of pics, i prob can't make it sunday but thanks anyways also am i using the correct settings to go back to stock?? and i prob can try another plug out of a weed wacker

black talon

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i have gone down to .015 plug gap and i'm very happy with it, consistency wise.

jerni21

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Heres some pics

PEERPSI

Are you trying to start it with the throttle cable off? If so it does not appear to have an idle speed screw so the throttle would be completely closed. That won't work.

Second, I'm guessing that the motor has a fan attached on the opposite side of the pull cord that is intended to circulate air to cool the engine. If so then the red casing that was cut away was intended to direct that cooling air. Not there, not working. Also you have excessive gasket material next to the cooling fins on the exhaust and intake side, not helping either.

Can't see where the exhaust goes, is it possibly plugged?

Justaddwata

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Pics do raise a few more questions than answers.

On the topic of gaskets - the gaskets for the carburettor - do they have the small pulse port holes in them to supply the fuel pump?just not sure if they are factory gaskets. As mentioned by Peerpsi they are a little oversized and could be cut down to improve airflow over the motor.

That are the two small green wires I see attached to the motor rail for?

jerni21

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the carb gasket is factory, the exhaust gasket isnt, when i put on the exhaust, they gave me that, didnt know i was supposed to cut it down, also the exhaust tube goes to the back of the boat to that quad exhaust in the back if you look at the pics you see little tubes coming out of the transom, it's a quad exhaust and no it isnt plugged. also the two green wires, one goes to ground and the other goes to the coil and the other ends go to that little black switch by the servos so i can shut the boat down, they are disconnected right now so i know that i'm not grounding the coil out. Last but not least the carb does have an idle screw and it's open enough to start the engine i just removed the engine and put it back in so i havent hooked up the throttle cable yet. Thanks for all the ideas hopefully we can solve it

PEERPSI

The two gaskets, one on the engine side of the carb isolator and one on the carb side of the isolator definitely do not look factory. Just add wata raises a good point. Is the pulse port blocked?

However, if the prime bulb works and fills with fuel I would expect it to start even if the pulse port is blocked and run until the prime bulb is drained.

Fresh fuel and spark plug?

jerni21

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the two gaskets are factory, thats how they were, i dissasembled the motor from a weed wacker from new and i havent done any carb work to it but where do i check for the pulse port to be blocked, not sure what that is, however the primer bulb does work and it still isnt starting so im guessing that's not  my problem but it wouldn't hurt to check anyways. the fuel is fairly new, i mix a gallon at a time for my weed wackers and leaf blowers and they have all been running and i did try a spark plug from another weedwacker and it still didnt start but that was before i cleaned the carb, the plug that is in it looks really good and gives off a nice fat blue spark so i think that's good unless you think otherwise i mean i could go get a new one and try it, will any weed wacker spark plug work?