'79 Rude 70 idling poorly in gear

[jtexas]

Idles smoothly in neutral, and runs great from headway speed thru WOT, but it wants to die when idling in gear. Very irritating when loading on the trailer or pulling up to dock. <br /><br />Usually starts back up with just a bump of the key but sometimes needs a bit of throttle to restart. <br /><br />Spark plugs (champions) are a little oily after warm-up, insulators are uniformly light tan, the gap on #2 seems to wear down just a bit faster than the others. I do troll on occasion but it's just a slight fraction of running time.<br /><br />Oil is pre-mixed at 50:1.<br /><br />If you advise me to clean the carbs I'm going to ask if continuing to run it as is will cause any damage to the motor, because I haven't yet rebuilt a carb & want to put it off as long as I can. <br /><br />thanks very much,<br />jtw

 

[Monark78]

Re: '79 Rude 70 idling poorly in gear

This cant hurt to try:<br />Buy a spray can of carb/choke cleaner, take a friend with you and shoot it into the carbs as you go. The cleaner will choke it so you will have to be ready to goose the throttle.<br />You might want to try this out of gear since its a low-end problem but I'd run some through will I was flying too. Good luck

 

[ddaigle]

Re: '79 Rude 70 idling poorly in gear

I dont think I would spray carb cleaner into a 2 stroke especially at high speed. You will ruin the oil fuel mix and its ability to lubricate the motor. Plus spraying directly into the carbs does nothing for clogged jets or sticking floats or for that matter anthying in the carbs. Why not just raise your idle speed a little.Since you dont want to mess with the carbs, It should just take the turn of one screw on the side of the motor.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: '79 Rude 70 idling poorly in gear

You might try some Seafoam in the fuel tank. Mix according to can instructions.

 

[stsmith]

Re: '79 Rude 70 idling poorly in gear

Seafoam is a good product and works well if a little dirt is the problem. Turning the idle screw will help, as long as when you put it back in neutral it doesn't run away with you. Try the seafoam, maybe a SMALL turn of the idle screw. If that don't do it, rebuild the carbs. They are EASY!<br /><br />Smitty