Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

[smfuel87]

I just bought an 85, invader 171 with an 85' suzuki DT85. I took the seller's word that the boat started and ran great (probably because im gullable and impatient) but when I started to take a look at all the components the next day I realized that A.) The oil reservoir is missing and what I think are the oil injectors on the carbs are plugged and B.) I cant figure out how to start it because on the remote there seems to be a knob in place of a key input on the ignition with no way to insert any key. Firstly, is it possible to have bought a boat where the previous owner modified the engine by removing the oil injection system and safely ran the motor by pre-mixing the oil and gasoline? and second, on a suzuki NA12S remote where there should be a key input, was there a variation made with just a simple knob in place of the key? The knob seems to just have two positions, off and one click to the right where I can activate the power tilt/trim. Am I just overlooking the fact that there is some sort of protective cap over the key hole or the key is some other unconventional shape? I dont want to pull too hard or turn the thing too far for fear that I might break something expensive that I dont understand. I cannot figure out how to activate the ignition. Is there any advice anyone has on starting this motor and the workings of a keyless NA12S remote? Im at a loss guys, this is my first boat and Im pretty much mechanically un-inclined. thanks for reading.

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

Firstly, is it possible to have bought a boat where the previous owner modified the engine by removing the oil injection system and safely ran the motor by pre-mixing the oil and gasoline?

Hey smfuel, welcome to Iboats!

First off, Yes it is certainly possible that someone removed the oil injection and now you need to use mixed gasoline. It is very common. I did the same to my motor, though it is an Evinrude not a Suzuki.

To be safe you need to mix 2-Cycle oil with your gas at a ratio of 50:1. Thats 50 parts of gasoline to 1 part of oil. Use only a 2-cycle oil that has the TCW3 rating on it.

It doesn't matter if the oil injection has been diabled or not, running mixed gas will be OK for the motor. Better to be safe than sorry


I don't know about that model of Suzuki but it may have an internal oil tank; hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in. Also can't help you on the ignition system.

Do not try to start the motor when it is not in the water. You either need to have the boat in the water with the leg submerged or you need water "muffs" which allow you to hook up a garden hose to the leg to provide cooling water. Starting the motor with no water for even 30 seconds could destroy the water pump so don't do it!

Cheers and good luck. Hope that helps. Post lots of questions and you will find lots of helpfull advice on this forum.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

your ign switch is a magnetic key. first click to the right is ign on,continue and starter is engaged. however you must have the magnetic key that fits on the knob on the control box.
shift handle must be in N position.
some models used a push to choke feature some had a seperate switch, its old enough I cant remember when they changed.
yes the oiling system can be removed and the engine run on premix.
I wish you the best of luck as your probably gonna need it.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

pictures would be most helpful.
why disable an oiling system thats basically flawless?
usually its done by the untrained on the advice of the unkowing.

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

pictures would be most helpful.
why disable an oiling system thats basically flawless?
usually its done by the untrained on the advice of the unkowing.

I wasn't recommending that he disable the oil injection. It seemed he couldn't tell if it was disabled or not in the first post. Running 50:1 premix is the safest choice until he figures out exactly what the state of his oil injection system is.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

trendsetter
wasnt suggesting you were recommending.
poster already stated the oil tank is missing and the oil nipples on the intake are capped off.
usually a sure sign the untrained have been working with the unknowing.
1985 goes back a few years and my memory gets fuzzy but suzuki has made changes over the years to the control box and keyswitch assemblies, thats why I asked for a picture.
that engines oil tank wa originally under the cowl and gravity fed oil to the engine oil pump.
as long as the tank and oil line filter was maintained it rarely failed.
cant say I ever saw one fail other than some pump shat seals leak and that lead to over oiling and was easy to detect and fix.
if the engine has not been run for over about 6 months most all manufacturers reccomend reccomisioning on a premix to insure the oil in the pump,lines or filters hasnt jellied.

 

[zem]

Re: Help! Just bought my first boat and Im at a loss with a few things.

hi, i have a suzuki control box the same although i havnt used it yet but it has a red button like thing (which needs to be held out with a 'u'shaped device attached by a spring cord) under the key switch which is the safety cut off switch if the driver strays too far from the helm, it will cut the engine out. as already stated pics would b a great help, and there are some other threads on here relating to that control box