a boat

Hi Dan, the part on the right looks like a grommet that goes under the powerhead for the shift shaft. The other part-I can not identify. WD-40 is a water depersant and should never be sprayed into the carbies. There is a product called aero-start that some engines need to run, but only if compression is low or it has weak spark, but if everything is OK you do not need anything except power tune every couple of years to clean the ring grooves of carbon. Your thermostat is under the cover on the port side of the engine above the exhaust plates. Also in there is your water pressure valve that can also be checked when doing the thermostat. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Ross, generous offer, but we sent some to Netic via courier yesterday. Stevo, the XD-50 is a TCW-3 oil, just it is a much better oil than some other brands because of additives that make it burn cleaner as we have discussed on this "engine will not start" topic. I am sure nobody minds but topic do sometimes get off course from the original topic. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Wishin, I do not know about that. The XD-50 and 100 are designed for marine use. If Ryobi recomend a TCW-3 rated oil than buy the litre bottle of XD-50 and you will be fine I guess. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Nectic, we would be about your closest dealer. Another one at Windsor, but about the same distance. For $10 we can get a bottle of XD-50 or 100 couriered to you. Mr Genuis, the XD-50 and 100 oil are desinged for oil injected and pre-mixed engines and what we tell our customers is if the boat has not been used for a while to shake the fuel tank before use or on bigger boats the travelling on the road to the ramp would be enough to mix the fuel and oil before the boat is started on the water for a days boating. Thanks for your input though and you bring up a good point. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Live baiter, if it goes according to plan and no surprises happen you are looking at about $400. The yearly service or 100 hourly entales new impeller, plugs, change oil and grease. We check cylinder head bolt torque and a few other things like the oil system as Rod mentioned, but it is usually a pretty easy service and being late model your anodes will be fine especially if it has lived on a trailer all its life and the head gaskets do not need to be replaced until about 10-12 years old. Once done we give the engine a run and make sure the thermostats are reaching operating temp and check everything out. PM me if you would like any more details, Cheers, Huey.

Hi Iceman, no i am sorry we can not get any smaller than a gallon bottle. You can buy the semi-synthetic in litre bottles and though not as good as XD-100, it would probably better than what you are running in your 15HP Johno at the moment and is what i would use in your engine. It is priced at $12 with Raider discount. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Netic, any BRP dealer should be able to get you XD-100. We sell the gallon bottle for $60 and we have a bulk 55 gallon drum coming in that refills will be $50, so as I mentioned it is expensive compared to the other mineral based TCW-3 oils on the market, but in my humble opinion it is worth it. It is what I run in my DI 225HP HO Evinrude. You can buy XD-100 in 5 Gallon drums, but at present it is on B/O, due soon though and I am selling that for $270 to fellow raiders and it can be freighted in Sydney for $10. Hi Jewgaffer, yes any petrol engine either 2 or 4 stroke benefits from power tune and if using mineral based oil I would be doing every 100 odd hours, with the clean burning oils like XD-100 having an additive that does the cleaning for you and you do not need to do it then. It is easy to do and a can is around $20, so not that expensive. As mentioned any engine will benefit, either 2 or 4 Stroke from this, the thing is that 4-Strokes outboards have really not got to the age that it is required yet, unless you have one of the very first 4-Stroke outboard of the bigger HP (say 40HP and up) that are now getting to about 12 years old. When I used to have an older carby car I used to run it thru every now and then and it did help performance with my older Datos I used to run in my younger years. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Dan, take it for a spin and see how it goes, did you get a chance to make sure your engine has a thermostat in it? We see it all the time where so called experts take out the thermostat and at idle the engine runs way too cold and not well. I would be running the plugs you are, they are the right ones. Roylo, power tune/engine tuner and the like are great products for older carby engines. It is sprayed in the throat of the carbys and you let it soak overnight or for at least 24 hours and it will chemically clean the ring grooves of carbon that as I mentioned can lead to loss of compression and worse, if left unchecked the stuck piston rings can cause the pistons to get too hot and therefore too big to fit in the bore and the engine will seize or "pick-up", causing damage in older engines that is too costly to repair considering the value of the outboard. What I would do if I had an older carby engine that never has had it done is run it thru once and then switch to the modern semi-synthetic of fully sythentic oils like XD-50 or XD-100 which burn alot cleaner and do not produce the carbion that can stick piston rings and the lack of smoke is great. The old saying of "oils aren't oils" is very true with outboard oil and the oil that you buy in &&*&*& etc are no where near as good as say XD-50 or 100. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Dan, that is an older engine than the one I was talking about. Your engine is US made detuned 40HP and is a great little engine and is a MUCH better engine than the 30HP Merc/Mariner of the last few years. Ignore the thing about the ignition system, your engine runs a CDM system which has not given us any real trouble at all. The plugs are the right ones, but the gap is too big. Put two new plugs ones in, make sure the sprak is capable of jumoing 1/2 an inch, make sure the thermostat is there and working right, run XD-100 oil and you will be fine. Cheers, Huey.

Hi, I imagine it is quite a late model one, if so, make sure it is running B7HS-10 plugs and the thermostat is working correctly. Also try and run XD-100 which is a great oil. One thing to remember if it is what I think it is, the ignition system on those engine are a watse spark system, and if one plug is fouled and shorted than both cylinders will not have spark and therefore no spark no go. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Troutboy, get yourself the lightest deep cycle battery you can source. We have fitted a few very light batteries to race boats and they are fully sealed gel batteries that work great, though they are deaer than traditional batteries. If you are in Sydney try ringing Apollo batteries on 9674 6322 and asking the guys there what would be the best battery for your application and then we can order that battery. As for a charger get a good qualtiy one from Repco or the like and you will be fine. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning and to Fishraider. There is a good looking V19R for sale in the swap and sell section. It has a late model Suzuki 4-Stroke on the back so the fuel consuption would be good, and unless you have a late model "clean Tech" engine your fuel consumption will be alot higher than his. It might be worthwhile to PM him and see if he can answer your queries. Cheers, Huey.

Good Monring Dan, sorry to hear about your dramas, but it sounds like you have a bit of mechanical experience and you were able to get some time on the water. As a few have asked, what is your engine? Start with the basics first and make sure you have good strong spark, at least able to jump a 1/2 inch gap on a spark tester, make sure the compression is bouncy and even and the fuel/air mixture is correct at idle. Also make sure you have the right heat range plugs for your engine and that the engine has a thermostat that is operating correctly and keeping the engine temp high at idle. All this is pretty easy to check and you will need to make sure all is OK before going further. On the smoke, try using a synthetic oil like XD-100, it will cost you more, but it is the best oil for any 2-Stroke, wether it is carby of DFI and if you used that at 50:1 you will not see any smoke and it burns alot cleaner causing less problems with carbon build-up that can stick piston rings, which can cause lack of compression or worse engine failure. If never done the engine would benefit from spraying power tune or the like in the carby. letting it soak for a good 24 hours and than giving it a good hard run in the water, but make sure the above things are looked at first. If you have any questions please feel fre to ask, Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Dashe, get yourself at least a 90Amp/HR deep cycle battery ( from about $220 to $400 depending on style-less with Fishraider discount) and if you are extending the factory fitted power leads make sure you use the same size or bigger leads. The fitting of the unit will be easy for a home handyman with a few tools and yes your electronics will work fine off the deep cycle. Deep cysle batteries can handle full discharges and recharges better than a cranking battery and they are designed for the type of use an electric outboard needs. You can buy on board chargers, or use a voltage sensitive relay that charges the cranking battery first and then sends the outboard charge to a second battery-this is the best way in my opinion and at the end of a big day on the water running your leccy all day. just get yourself a 240 volt charger and put battery on charge overnight. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Brad, if it has not been run for about 3 weeks, than I think it will be beyond repair due to damage to the crank and condrods. If an engine goes for a swim, you need to get it running ASAP, if it goes 2-3 days without getting a good run it will be lost for good. If you can not get it looked at the best thing to do is leave it underwater, because corrosion only starts to happen once exposed to air. If it has not seized by now bring it in and will can spend 1/2 an hour on it and see if we can get it going and see what it sounds like. If damage has accorded to the bearing surfaces you can hear it. As a few guys have said though the engine may not be worth spedning any money on and you can get a brand new 2.5HP outboard for $740. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Mate, tell him to check out www.bia.org.au There is a list of jobs vacant and he also can put his details down under the jobs wanted section. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Guys, for me it would be C , A than B with the first two a close run thing. You can always get help with a flat tyre on the road side and most trailers run 13 inch HT Holden stud pattern that are cheap and easy to find, but if your battery dies, which can happen with warning, without a second battery it can be hard to get back to land. Nowdays the battery systems that are avialable are great and you can get a system that will charge and look after a second battery without you even worry about switching a switch. If you want to check out what is available goto www.bla.com.au, who I am sure most of you know are wholesalers, and see what is there and we are able to supply anything on that site, at good Raider discounts. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Thunor, you are probably going to get alot of differing opinnions, so here is mine for what it is worth. I like self draining in boats, it is just another saftey aspect. Yes in some boats that will decrease freeboard, but in the brand we sell Stacer, the freeboard is no differnent between say a 489 Baymaster with self draining and the 489 Baymaster SVS without self draining, the only difference is the price you pay extra for self draining. I personally would be looking for a boat that has self draining, auto bilge pump and foam underfloor and honestly that is why we chose to sell Stacer becasue they offer all of these safety features. The truth is you will proablably never need such features in a 4.9M boat, but it is nice knowing they are there. Just my thoughts, Huey.

Hi DT, it is rubbish about not being able to get gaskets or more correctly o-rings for the carbies on your engine. You would be able to get all the parts you need to service the carbies, if you PM me your serial number it is pretty easy to check. Once done, make sure the engine is reaching operating temp at idle, if not replace the thermostat and that it should idle fine. That said, make sure you have the basics first like good even compression between the cylinders and a nice strong spark. If you have those than it would be worth doing a bit of work on that engine, with the only problem being that to pay anyone around $80/hr the cost can rack up quiet quick and cost you more than the engine is worth. What I would do if I was you and you felt confident in doing the work yourself, is make sure the basics are there then remove and service carbies, remove and service cylinder head gasket and thermostat, service water pump(if not done in the last coupld of years) and make sure you are running the correct B8HS-10 plugs and it should be good to go. All of this would not cost too much in parts and worth doing. If you have any questions please ask and I will see if I can help you out. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Guys, Billfisher if we were trading an engine like that I would do a compression check, check the quality of the crankcase oil, check gearbox oil and see if it had its first service done at about 10 hours, which is critial to replace the oil and any metal particles that might be in the oil from new. If it is still running with original oil in crankcase I would be wary and I would want to make sure the hours are correct, but unfortunately with older carby engines there is no way to confirm or deny unlike newer EFI engines with ECU onboard that keep an accurate engine log. The other hassle with older carby 4-Strokes is the sycronisation of the carbys-they are a real pain in you know where and you need expensive vacuum gauges to do correctly, so water test the outboard and see how it runs. PM me if you like with the price they want and I will let you know what I think. Pel, yes there is a recomended service schedule and time chart, but as you mentioned with the cars it is only a guide and engines that have been used in salt water tend to take a bit longer the older they get. The warranty claim hour rate per job is also way out, and it always surprises me how the manufactureres could get a certain job done in the time they list, but not much you can do about it, they pay as per the factory time chart. We charge as the guys clock on and off and almost all the time it takes less for a 100 or 50 hour service than what the manual states you can charge. Lasty, depending on the age and condition of your outboard a 12 monthly service on your outboard would cost $200-$250 if it goes according to plan. If we find that bolts are siezed or extra parts are required we notify the customers before the work is done. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Choad, as Geoff said the first service is at 10 Hours and then every 50 Hours or what we tell our guys with 4-Strokes once a year. The yearly or 50 hours(whichever is first) service for a 4-Stroke including the water pump is about $350-$400 and the first service should not cost you more than $150. Also check with any Yamaha dealer and see when the valve clearances need to be checked, because with the brands of 4-Stroke we service and sell it is at 300 Hours and the timing belt should also be checked and replaced if necessary. When you are comapring price also add a SST prop to the price-sorry I could not help myself. I have run all brands of 60HP 4-Stroke and the only one I like for performance is the Suzuki or Johnson when available, but it is a very heavy engine and does not suit many boats rated for 60HP. I am sure you will like the Yamaha, because they are OK engines, I just believe there is a better engine available but do yourself a favour and water test any engine before you pay your hard earned cash. Best of luck with whatever engine you get, they all allow you to enjoy the waterways. Cheers, Huey.

Good Morning Roberta, the Minn Kota Transom mount range starts at a 28LB Endura model and go up from there with the Riptide series starting at 40Lb and up. To be fair when comparing the same thrust units the Riptide series is about $150 dearer than the basic freshwater unit, but about the same price when you look at a freshwater unit with the same features as the Riptide, so all in all you get what you pay for. When you are ready to buy let me know and you will get the "Raider" price. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Live baiter, the Lancer does only run 3mm hull and that is one of the reasons we dropped them a few year ago, the other two big brands (Stacer and Quintrex) are running plate 4mm or thicker so they do perform better. The Savage Lancer still performs well and I think you go for a test run and see if you like it and do not be worried about the build quality because they are well made, just a bit light on when it comes to plate thickness compared to the other players. The 580 Series hull from Savage are pretty much the new name for the Lancer so the specs will be the same with the second hand boat you are looking at. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Steve, Greg is pretty much correct. The riptide series has an anode and is covered for corrosion, while the freshwater models do not have anodes, which you can buy as spare parts, and will not be covered by warranty if faiure is related to corrosion. That said if you maintain the unit and clean with fresh water I do not see the problem with running the Freshwater versions in Saltwater, and they are a fair bit cheaper. PM me with the Riptide and Freshwater models you are lloking at and I will give you the "Fishraider" price. Cheers, Huey.

Hi Jimmy, good advise and thanks for posting. I think Yamaha should be given a pat on the back for this. I know my mates in the industry who sell Yamaha use the YMF finance alot and I guess the insurance is just as attractive. Hopefully with this next boat you will not be needing insurance for a while. Cheers, Huey.