Kicker motor

[jotruk]

I have an old Nissan 2.5 kicker for my dingy. I have been having problems with it and took it to a shop (found out that they don't make parts for a 1975 model any more) any way I was told that the gas and oil had separated and that it was getting straight gas. the mechanic told me that you have to use some kind of stabilizer to keep the ethanol from breaking down the mixture something about the gas going to bottom and oil staying on top. I ask him what kind of stabilizer and he said that just about any one would do as long as it was designed for ethanol based gas. Looks like if I can make this kicker last about 6 months I'll be getting a new one that will be a 4 stroke.

[s/v Faith]

There are products that advertise that they prevent this separation...

They don't.

I was a Yamaha / Honda motorcycle wrench puller in HS, we had a guy come from Yamaha and hold a fuels school.

He told us that pre-mixed 2-stroke oil was good for about 90 days.  After that, the oil starts to gel and you run an (oil) lean mixture.... he advised us to start working on any outboard or dirt bike by dumping pre-mix and re-filling fresh.   It was my experience that this 'fixed' a LOT of problems... then and since.

We learned about alcohol in fuel (new, and rare then).  Phase separation is what they call it when the alcohol draws moisture from the air and collects in the bottom of the tank.   If you are using common alcohol blend fuels with a 2 stroke motor you are going to have a problem eventually.

So, there are 2 separate issues that may affect your (great little) outboard... phase separation (from alcohol added to the fuel) and oil break down (less a problem with synthetics, but you still have the alcohol problem....

Products like Sta-bil claim to prevent phase separation.  Boat US and Practical Sailor have both tested these claims and found no 'cure all' for the problem.

You might try some fresh (alcohol free) fuel and oil in your motor... you may be surprised with the results.

Good luck!

[jotruk]

Thanks will do.

[s/v Faith]

Hope you get it sorted out.

BTW, you may not want to get rid of that 2 stroke.  The 4 stroke (small) outbaords are not nearly as reliable, powerful, or easy to handle.

You have a treasure there.... if you can keep impellers in it, and good fuel you will probably be happy with it for some time.

[Cruise]

Thanks for the info Faith. I bought a new dinghy recently that came with  2.5 HP 2-stroke Mariner.