2000 Johnson random skip at idle.

[tomhath]

...Also the guy's told me that the two carbs they had to pull apart that the clip that holds the float needle was installed incorrectly. They need to be installed from the float to the front not from left to right. They can work there way out and prevent the float from floating. Also they recommend I run marine gas with no additives. Guys I learned some things and I hope this helps someone out there.

Interesting comment about the float needle clip; apparently I've been installing them wrong too.

I assume by "marine gas" they meant ethanol free. That debate has been going on for years now; I use E0 when I can get it.

 

[Faztbullet]

I have been working on engines for 40 years and never seen a worn jet and it was never discussed in any factory service school (OMC/Merc) as a possible problem . And yes the 60 degree motor use no washer under inlet and clip does face a certain way .

 

[racerone]

If brass jets wore out they would have been changed to a better material years ago.

 

[Eemjr]

Well first of all faztbullet 40 years in marine service (and I just looked back at all my post) and you didn't offer one piece of advice to help I think that's called arm chair quarterbacking, secondly racerone the plastic bowls have been an issue forever and they didn't replace them.

 

[ondarvr]

I'll discuss the fuel first, It's just normal gas, E-0 in this case, with TCW-III oil, nothing "marine" about it. And most additives are of little value expect in certain circumstances, nothing new there.

You had dirty carbs that had been assembled incorrectly at one time, they cleaned them, put them back together the right way and the motor ran correctly after that. Worn jets would show up as a very slow and gradual change in performance, you wouldn't notice a difference from one day to the next, maybe not even one year to the next unless you put a lot of (mega) hours on it.

Did they give you the worn jets so you could measure the orifice to see if they actually did wear out? Yes jets can wear over time, but it’s not something that typically creates a problem for outboards, they normally have many other issues that keep them from running correctly, worn jets are so far down the list that you don’t normally get that far before you find the real problem.

 

[Eemjr]

Ondarvr when I say marine gas I mean ethanol free and a few stations around here offer it labeled marine gas which I was not running. So I added stable marine to my gas along with the johnson oil since I premix they suggested use the ethanol free gas and add my oil and nothing else. And yes they did give me back the old jets along with showing me the difference between them and a new one. Bottom line what I was trying wasn't working and what they did corrected the issues.

 

[ondarvr]

The other part of diagnosing over the internet is we only have the information supplied, which may or may not be complete, accurate, or described in the correct terms, there is no first hand inspection to aid in finding the problem. So frequently you start with the most common issues and as more info is gleaned you dial in on the problem and correct action to solve it.

 

[flyingscott]

Are you talking about the brass needle seat? That can wear out and would have caused your idle and high speed problems. The high speed jet would have had no effect on the idle and should outlast the motor. And the low speed screw would not effect high speed like that. A 2000 motor would have no problem running E10 in it that was more of an issue with pre 90s motors.

 

[daselbee]

The only time I ever had a HS jet "wear out" was when I was running 50:1 ratio of Bon Ami cleaner in my gas.....

Other than that, they don't wear out from fuel flowing thru.....no way.

 

[interalian]

Post a picture of the jets the shop changed?

 

[Eemjr]

Well let's see my first post was long and detailed with all the symptoms, secondly I don't keep old parts laying around so no photos available, thirdly I'm glad no one has ever had high speed jets get worn. Y'all are all correct I failed to provide enough info in original post, my jets weren't worn and regular gas is the same as marine grade. So let's just end this trend and agree to disagree and I will enjoy my properly running boat.