85 hp Suzuki hard to start

My father bought the 85 Suzuki new in the early 1980's. It is a 3 cylinder oil injected 2 stroke. The motor has farly low hours on it and is on a 17' Whailer that he gave me. The motor has been hard to start since new if it has sat for over one week without being run. To start it you must unscrew the spark plugs, squirt in a little gas and replace the plugs. It fires right up and runs perfect. Once started in this manner it will start right up with just the key being turned anytime after unless you let it sit unused for over a week.

The electric choke is working. The carbs have been rebuilt a couple of times over the last twenty years with no change and my father just cleaned them last month to make sue I would have no problems. The fuel line had been changed several times over the years as it went bad as well as the primer bulb. The plugs are new. The compression is a little higher now than when new, probably from carbon build up or the use of a different compression meter. The fuel filter is clean as is the gas. The impeller is new.

This is a minor problem since I will use it more than once per week most of the year but I would like to fix it.

Thanks for any ideas,

JIM

 

If a squirt of gas is needed to get it started then it sounds like a fuel problem. You didn't mention the fuel pump. If it has one, perhaps it is getting weak or has some other problem that allows it to loose prime. It is not until you get rpms higher than the starter can provide that it starts working. Once primed it stays ok until it sits for a week. If you don't have a fuel pump then there is something else restricting fuel.

 

KenJ, thanks. I will see if it has a fuel pump. I only have owned small outboards in the past and they don't have fuel pumps so I did not think to check for one.

JIM

 

How can it be the fuel pump if he primes with the bulb first?

Prime the bulb reall hard try to make the carbs flood.

It does sound like a choke related problem. It may be clicking but is it shutting properly. Try cranking with your hand over the intakes.

If its still a no go I am thinking reads, crank seals etc

 

Your chokes are not closing all the way. Make sure the slot on the solenoid linkage is vertical or it will bind and not pull the choke all the way closed. If it's an early 80's you can actually adjust each butterfly separately. Pull the front cover off the airbox to verify that they are all closing. It's a very common problem with 75/85 Suzuki's. Phil

 

Thanks, it was the chokes. They looked like they were working properly but were not fully closed. I had a friend push the choke linkage as I started the motor so the chokes would close more and it started right up. Now I just have to adjust them to close all the way when choked.

Thank you very much.

JIM