Question about Tohatsu

[bladedancer]

Question about Tohatsu 0utboard

    This is embarassing. Thought I was doing everything right.
    Laid boat up on hard a year ago after the trip to the Bahamas. Flushed and drained motor, ran it dry. Left it in place but wrapped lower unit. Took out plug squirted in oil and put back plug. Now I'm getting ready to relaunch.
    Here's problem; motor turns, but with difficulty. Is it just that the oil i put in is turgid [I think that's the right word.]? Should I drain oil, put in some diesel or kerosene, turn it over by hand to flush thickened oil see if that loosens things up.
    The motor is only three seasons old so I don't need to take it apart...unless what's making it hard to turn is rust, in which case I assume there's some risk of scoring moving parts and causing unecessary wear. Anyone been there? Have advice. Thanks Maikel

[Grime]

Did you fill the cylinder with oil and then put the plug back in? Never heard of putting oil in a cylinder what would the reason be for doing this?

[jpfx]

is it in gear? mine's significantly more 'notchy' if I attempt to start it in gear. That and the choke can make a difference.

[Michael Homsany]

Two or four stroke?

[bladedancer]

It's a 4stroke.
I squirted in a little oil with the idea of preventing rust on cylinder walls from condensation and keeping rings from sticking.
It's in neutral.

[Sooner]

Is your battery really all the way up? -- battery connections? -- also check the starter motor gears for hard grease.  Is it also hard to pull over with the rope? 
jim

[s/v necessity]

Might try removing the plug and seeing how hard it is to turn the motor over  (It should turn over pretty easily by hand with no plug in it).  If an engine has been setting for a while, I like to pull the plugs, add a little bit of oil and turn her over a few times. 

[bladedancer]

It's a pull start so not battery. With plug out it's still 'stiff"....be surprised if i could get it turning fast enough to fire and start.

[Frank]

Just a thought (from my ole snowmobile days)  If you put too much oil down the cylinders for storage...it may need to be removed. Oil doesn't compress like vapourized gas......can't pull over if too much. Try removing whatever oil you put in the cylinder.

[Michael Homsany]

Does the difficulty come and go as you're pulling (that would be consistant with too much oil in the cylinder), or is it a constant friction?

If not intermittent, I would check if maybe rust had built up on the mag(and sensor?) under the flywheel, and that could be scraping on the magnets.  Our current outboard went for a swim when the bracket broke, and about once a month I need to give things a spray of CRC to keep the rust monster under control.

If not that, you may need to drain the oil, and replace it with diesel with a bit of light oil added to it.  Let it sit for a bit, pull through, sit.  After you fire it up, run it for a min or two, then replace with the proper oil again.

Last option would be bearings in the lower unit.  Whether or not the engine is in neutral, the shaft still turns.  It's not hard to remove the lower unit from the engine unit, just takes a while to unbolt all of the junque to get to the four bolts (one of which will shear off, it's a natural law).

[bladedancer]

Thanks to all, and particularly michael H. I'm taking a day off from marches to go work on it tomorrow. will let you know. maikel.

[w00dy]

Hey Maikel
Long time no see!

One thing in particular about the Tohatsu's (mine anyway):

When storing on the side, you must keep the tiller arm oriented up. Something about the design of the engine will allow oil to enter the cylinders if you lay it down on the wrong side. Not sure if that's your problem, but hope it helps.

Hope to drink another bottle of wine with you someday!