Jon Durham for President. You saved my sailing season. I followed your instructions to the letter and my Tohatsu 6hp long shaft now idles perfectly. I can now motor in and out of a very crowded mooring field without ramming every single boat. Thanks!
That's great ! Glad you got your motor running right. Ours was on the dinghy, so I kept the 10mm socket and a little screw driver in the tackle box and a can of carb cleaner under the seat.
Thanks you Jon, great video. I have the 2.5 HP but it's identical to yours. I also found the vent on the gas cap did not work since new. Took the cap apart, and I found there is a blue rubber plug in there that blocks air flow from the vent. Caused a vacuum in the fuel tank and prevented gas flow.
Good find. With motors designed to be portable, the fuel caps will always some sort of mechanism to allow for the cap to be liquid tight during transport. Always a good idea to check that the tank can breath.
Thanks so much for this video. My Tohatsu 6hp outboard had been put away for two years with ethanol gas still in it (ugghh). I took the carb off and cleaned all the gunk out with Gumout carb cleaner, but though it ran better it still wasn't smooth at low idle. I followed you advice and drilled out the brass plug for the low idle jet. I used a 1/16th bit and followed with a tap and then I was able to pull on the tap with vice grips to remove the plug. Lo and behold! Under the plug it was exactly as you described. I unscrewed the jet being mindful of the spring and cleaned the jet with carb cleaner (using a magnifying glass to make sure it was clean) I cleaned the orifice with carb cleaner and flushed it through several times. Reinstalling the jet and the carb was simple. I flashed up the engine and it has never run better!! The engine has full range of power and ticks over at low idle beautifully!! Thanks so much for your video!! Cheers! 😃
You my friend are a genius! I am literally an hour from finally getting rid of this motor and I felt bad that I was selling it with a rough idle. I had previously drilled out the brass plug and had adjusted the idle (just a hair past 3/4 turns) but idle was still up and down. I had given up and was going to drive the motor over to seller tonight. I pulled the needle valve and spring and sprayed some throttle body cleaner down there (lots of it) and go figure, the thing is now idling like a champ.
Good job man. That jet is only the size of a couple human hairs. It clogs easily. It’s amazing how nice these little motors run with just a couple shots of carburetor cleaner to get that jet open.
Thank you so much for making this video! I have a hangkai 6.5 HP outboard motor and it's a copy of the mercury/tohatsu outboards. Your video actually covers the issue I've had with my carburetor. Thanks
This is awesome, thank you! However, I unscrewed the screw, took it out and cleaned it, but what I *should* have done was screw it in first, and see how many turns it was backed out from snug. Can you tell me how far out it should be? Thanks much!
Thanks Jon, great video...I took my Merc 3.5 carb off & cleaned but idle was still a little rough. I pulled what i thought was the idle jet (also has a spring loaded jet w/ 2 turns) but i think it is the pilot jet, a bit confused. What is the difference in the two? Also, i have a consistent hesitation on throttle up (hiccup) from throttle start position, any thoughts on that problem? Thanks for the help.
That is the throttle / high jet. The whole carb and clean it. The best thing is an ultrasonic cleaner. It's a liquid bath with low frequency sonic vibrations. It will clean the whole carb thoroughly. You can get one at harbor freight, or you can do like I did and swipe your wife's jewelry cleaner.... it's the same unit. Carb comes off easily and easily reinstalled.
The only purpose of the plug is to prevent you from servicing the idle jet. This has historically been a serviceable item. I will not speculate why a tamper - proofing plug was placed there, I will only say that as evidenced here by the successful users, that this jet is serviceable and removing the tamper plug to access it does zero harm to the carburetor. I would add that a retired, 30 year Coast Guard Maintenance Chief taught me this.
Jon Durham for President. You saved my sailing season. I followed your instructions to the letter and my Tohatsu 6hp long shaft now idles perfectly. I can now motor in and out of a very crowded mooring field without ramming every single boat. Thanks!
That's great ! Glad you got your motor running right. Ours was on the dinghy, so I kept the 10mm socket and a little screw driver in the tackle box and a can of carb cleaner under the seat.
Thanks you Jon, great video. I have the 2.5 HP but it's identical to yours. I also found the vent on the gas cap did not work since new. Took the cap apart, and I found there is a blue rubber plug in there that blocks air flow from the vent. Caused a vacuum in the fuel tank and prevented gas flow.
Good find. With motors designed to be portable, the fuel caps will always some sort of mechanism to allow for the cap to be liquid tight during transport. Always a good idea to check that the tank can breath.
Thanks so much for this video. My Tohatsu 6hp outboard had been put away for two years with ethanol gas still in it (ugghh). I took the carb off and cleaned all the gunk out with Gumout carb cleaner, but though it ran better it still wasn't smooth at low idle. I followed you advice and drilled out the brass plug for the low idle jet. I used a 1/16th bit and followed with a tap and then I was able to pull on the tap with vice grips to remove the plug. Lo and behold! Under the plug it was exactly as you described. I unscrewed the jet being mindful of the spring and cleaned the jet with carb cleaner (using a magnifying glass to make sure it was clean) I cleaned the orifice with carb cleaner and flushed it through several times. Reinstalling the jet and the carb was simple. I flashed up the engine and it has never run better!! The engine has full range of power and ticks over at low idle beautifully!! Thanks so much for your video!! Cheers! 😃
Great. Anytime she begins to stall at idle, just pull that jet and needle out and spray it clean.
You my friend are a genius! I am literally an hour from finally getting rid of this motor and I felt bad that I was selling it with a rough idle. I had previously drilled out the brass plug and had adjusted the idle (just a hair past 3/4 turns) but idle was still up and down. I had given up and was going to drive the motor over to seller tonight. I pulled the needle valve and spring and sprayed some throttle body cleaner down there (lots of it) and go figure, the thing is now idling like a champ.
Good job man. That jet is only the size of a couple human hairs. It clogs easily. It’s amazing how nice these little motors run with just a couple shots of carburetor cleaner to get that jet open.
Just what I needed and the engine is finally running at idle again.
Thank you so much for making this video! I have a hangkai 6.5 HP outboard motor and it's a copy of the mercury/tohatsu outboards. Your video actually covers the issue I've had with my carburetor.
Thanks
Thanks to you my engine is running as new. Go figure why Tohatsu has hidden the idle screw behind a plug!!! Cheers, Richard
This is awesome, thank you! However, I unscrewed the screw, took it out and cleaned it, but what I *should* have done was screw it in first, and see how many turns it was backed out from snug. Can you tell me how far out it should be? Thanks much!
On most all carb needles, start with 1 1/2 turns out from snug and adjust until you reach a smooth idle. On my Mercury 3.5, 2 1/2 turns idles well.
@@Mrportajon Excellent, thank you. I'll give it a go. Cheers!
Thanks Jon, great video...I took my Merc 3.5 carb off & cleaned but idle was still a little rough. I pulled what i thought was the idle jet (also has a spring loaded jet w/ 2 turns) but i think it is the pilot jet, a bit confused. What is the difference in the two? Also, i have a consistent hesitation on throttle up (hiccup) from throttle start position, any thoughts on that problem? Thanks for the help.
That is the throttle / high jet.
The whole carb and clean it. The best thing is an ultrasonic cleaner. It's a liquid bath with low frequency sonic vibrations. It will clean the whole carb thoroughly. You can get one at harbor freight, or you can do like I did and swipe your wife's jewelry cleaner.... it's the same unit.
Carb comes off easily and easily reinstalled.
That should say "remove the whole carb and clean it".
Thanks Jon.....Is the "high jet" also set at 2 1/2 turns from snug?
@@kerrywages9631 The general rule for carbs is to start at 1 1/2 turns and adjust from there.
You rock man, thank u
What are the symptoms? Mine ran great, now I can't start it, even a tease. Would this keep it from starting?
How do you set the pilot jet or does it even needs to be adjusted?
Mine does well if you back it out 2 1/2 turns from being snuggly seated.
@@Mrportajonthat’s correct, manual says 2 3/4 +- 1/2 turn
So, you "yanked that freakin' plug out a there" and sprayed the jet. Great! So, you've drilled it out, now what? You wrecked it.
😂😂😂 when you try to criticize someone only to show your own ignorance.
Nope, I'm not criticizing in the least. And yes, I am ignorant. That's why I'm asking. @@thesaltysquirrel3425
The only purpose of the plug is to prevent you from servicing the idle jet. This has historically been a serviceable item. I will not speculate why a tamper - proofing plug was placed there, I will only say that as evidenced here by the successful users, that this jet is serviceable and removing the tamper plug to access it does zero harm to the carburetor. I would add that a retired, 30 year Coast Guard Maintenance Chief taught me this.
Awesome! Thank you very much! I'll give it a shot. And I'm ashamed to admit it, but I currently work for the Coast Guard. (Canadian)@@Mrportajon