Iowaboy 1

Ahh is that the beverage of choice for Sheldon? If so and he’s willing to share his knowledge, I’ll have to hook him up with some should issues arise down the road.

buckybadger wrote:

Running the synthetic Amsoil injector oil has been a godsend though. You can hardly tell it’s a 2 stroke when idling.

Curious what exact oil that is. I have been running nothing but Merc’s oil but the price the last time I went to pick up a gallon of it I had to pick myself up off the floor.

buckybadger wrote:

Ahh is that the beverage of choice for Sheldon? If so and he’s willing to share his knowledge, I’ll have to hook him up with some should issues arise down the road.

I left him with a bottle of Travelers Whiskey. After I left a few miles down the road I got a text that read “Ssmmooooottthhhh!!!”

John Rasmussen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Running the synthetic Amsoil injector oil has been a godsend though. You can hardly tell it’s a 2 stroke when idling.

Curious what exact oil that is. I have been running nothing but Merc’s oil but the price the last time I went to pick up a gallon of it I had to pick myself up off the floor.

My 2000 2.5 Optimax has never seen anything but Amsoil and I have roughly 1,600 hours on it, Amsoil is not cheap at the cost of engines it keeps mine happy.

I just looked it up and it’s cheaper than the merc brand I have been using. Probably switch up.

John Rasmussen wrote:

Curious what exact oil that is. I have been running nothing but Merc’s oil but the price the last time I went to pick up a gallon of it I had to pick myself up off the floor.

Amsoil makes their own products, and they make quality stuff. Nice range of products now. I only wish their gun cleaner/lube smelled like original Hoppe’s Gun Solvent, and their two-stroke oils had a smell like Klotz. I was raised around Klotz and I can identify it by smell from a long way away – used to run it in snowmobiles and dirt bikes – told my fellow riders that since they can’t keep up with me, they’ll have to follow my scent. Man, I miss those days. I would actually wear cologne if somebody made one that smelled like classic Hoppe’s Gun Solvent.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I just looked it up and it’s cheaper than the merc brand I have been using. Probably switch up.

The annual membership is cheap, and their other products are a very good value. 100% synthetic firearms cleaner and lubricant, 100% synthetic marine grease (excellent for trailer bearings), snowmobile engine and chain case lube, chain saw engine and bar oil, ATV lubes for 2 and 4 stroke, full spectrum of automotive oil, penetrants and lubes and filters, plus all the marine oils for 2 and 4 stroke as well as lower unit lubes – all 100% synthetic and of the highest quality. Once you are a member, you get the discounted pricing, plus free shipping over $99 (and they occasionally offer a free shipping deal), you also get $5 credit for every $100 spent and if you spend $500 in a year (not hard to do if you have friends with outdoor equipment) you get membership for free.

I can get it from a couple different reps through my shop. I have used there products at times before. I used to laugh at die hard Amsoil guys saying they loved the product so much they would poor it on there pancakes.

Buckybadger,, the best way I can explain what the air compressor does on an opti is this:
It creates high air pressure that blows fuel droplets to bits, imagine one drop of fuel becoming a hundred tinier drops of fuel, what has that accomplished??
You have increased the burnable surface area of the fuel and when you mix more droplets of fuel with air you get a much bigger bang for the buck, this is how and why optis are so dang efficient, you are burning more of the air/fuel charge.

How is this done?? the air compressor supplies air pressure to the fuel rail, and its regulator is what determines fuel pressure, on that era of opti, the air pressure regulator opens at around 95 PSI, that air pressure in a sense pushes on the fuel pressure regulator causing its pressure to rise on average 10 more pounds higher than the air pressure, IE.
95 Lbs air psi equals 110 PSI fuel pressure, the fuel pressure has to be higher than the air, always.
The fuel is blasted into the air injector as they set on top of each other in the fuel rail, fuel goes into a fuel injector and it shoots the fuel into the air injector which blasts it to bits directly into the cylinder above the piston.

I read where your opti is of same era of Johns, and if it has never been opened up, its due, I would remove the belt, the pulley, and the bolts holding the upper main cover on and look at the connecting rod journal on the crank, back then this was a big problem, the journal would start fretting shedding shards of metal into the cylinder wall, in turn, the would start scoring the cylinder and metal debris would start going into the fuel rail as that air is not filtered on the pressure side.
Once metal got into the air injectors it was a matter of time before an air injector failed and the motor would start feeding on itself.

Not trying to scare you, but if you want that baby to live have it checked and if I am right, it will be due for replacement, air injectors are almost 700 bucks each, and if you do have the exact same compressor as Johns, that baby is 1800 new!!
John lucked out because my Merc vendor had one off of a motor that only had 123 hours on it.

IF I can be of further help, PM me and I will forward my cell number to you.
Long live the OPTI’s!!!

Hate to solicit you for free info but Sheldon what’s your opinion on changing the timing belt on an outboard . Mines an 05 Yamaha 150 . Looks brand new . Probably 500 hours on it . Called local marina for them to do it and they said not to waste your money they never see issues with them . I know Yami says 10 years or 1000 hours but I’m well past 10 years. .Belt looks like new and is a garage princess her whole life . I do all the other maintenance myself but was worried about timing issues . I have changed the dreaded harmonic balancer issue in this motor and recommend anyone with an older 150 to read up on that . Thoughts ?

Also curious on your fuel water separator thoughts and how often you see issues in boats that have underfloor fuel tanks that are actually used and not sitting for 10 months a year . And also using non ethanol fuel . So far I’ve been getting away with not having one but I use my boat monthly and fill it with premium . Been kicking around installing one but haven’t seen the need. .

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Firstly, my thoughts are with Jon Jordan tonight, for those reading this, please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Thank you, Sheldon.

-J.

Hopping on the shoutout train for Sheldon – when I was living in IA, he very generously offered to help me through rerigging my old boat. Shortly thereafter my wife and I had our first son and in addition to running a business, I was strapped for time and we fell out of touch. So, Sheldon, thanks again man!

Do not fly that plane around any corn fields!

Andy, the engineers recommend belt replacement for a reason, a belt is made up of rubber and high tensile threads and they have an age limit.
They are always under tension, and if you look they are cogged, those cogs intersect with the cam and crank gears and those edges wear on one another when the engine is running.
What I have seen most often when someone says, run it, we never saw one break may be telling the truth, or are they too lazy to change it?? it is a bit involved but not a huge deal, about an hour or so to do.
You must have the right sized sockets, a flywheel puller, and a torque wrench to do it correctly, timing the sprockets are not a big deal.

SO, what do I say?? change the thing, you dont want to have one break ten miles from the ramp with the wind in the wrong direction, its getting dark, and you are out of beverages lol.
Sure, someone is going to chime in and say, a new one can break too!! yeah, they can, from improper installation.

Nate !! ya turd! how have you been?? you’ve been awol son!!
Congrats on the new son!!!

EPG, the only way I am going to keep the bird out of the cornfields around here is to move up there,,,, and put it on floats.
Man that corn is a biatch on props!!!

Andy, A fuel/water separator is a good idea, especially if you travel a lot and are dealing with unfamiliar fuel stops.
That said for those reading this, smaller motors fuel pumps are not designed to draw fuel through a filter, that is why they are filtered after the fuel pump which most often is a vacuum/pressure pulse type pump.

Thanks for the intel! I’m going to see what the hours are on it, then hopefully have the local guy I use take a look at it and go from there. We’ve done some work for him in the past and he’s been willing to do some work for me “off the books” in the shop. I’ll start there and be in touch if I find anything out. I owe you when you’re ever up this way! Pool 4, whiskey on me

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Buckybadger,, the best way I can explain what the air compressor does on an opti is this:
It creates high air pressure that blows fuel droplets to bits, imagine one drop of fuel becoming a hundred tinier drops of fuel, what has that accomplished??
You have increased the burnable surface area of the fuel and when you mix more droplets of fuel with air you get a much bigger bang for the buck, this is how and why optis are so dang efficient, you are burning more of the air/fuel charge.

How is this done?? the air compressor supplies air pressure to the fuel rail, and its regulator is what determines fuel pressure, on that era of opti, the air pressure regulator opens at around 95 PSI, that air pressure in a sense pushes on the fuel pressure regulator causing its pressure to rise on average 10 more pounds higher than the air pressure, IE.
95 Lbs air psi equals 110 PSI fuel pressure, the fuel pressure has to be higher than the air, always.
The fuel is blasted into the air injector as they set on top of each other in the fuel rail, fuel goes into a fuel injector and it shoots the fuel into the air injector which blasts it to bits directly into the cylinder above the piston.

I read where your opti is of same era of Johns, and if it has never been opened up, its due, I would remove the belt, the pulley, and the bolts holding the upper main cover on and look at the connecting rod journal on the crank, back then this was a big problem, the journal would start fretting shedding shards of metal into the cylinder wall, in turn, the would start scoring the cylinder and metal debris would start going into the fuel rail as that air is not filtered on the pressure side.
Once metal got into the air injectors it was a matter of time before an air injector failed and the motor would start feeding on itself.

Not trying to scare you, but if you want that baby to live have it checked and if I am right, it will be due for replacement, air injectors are almost 700 bucks each, and if you do have the exact same compressor as Johns, that baby is 1800 new!!
John lucked out because my Merc vendor had one off of a motor that only had 123 hours on it.

IF I can be of further help, PM me and I will forward my cell number to you.
Long live the OPTI’s!!!

Exallent write up on how Opti`s work the only thing I will add is pull the lowers and check the compressor screen for the cooling water for the compressor found on the port side of the engine, and keep up on water pump replacement at most two years if run a lot then every year Mercury recommends every year. What I have found with mine is that they do not necessarily wear out but get hard and take a set and when replaceing replace everything not just the impeller..

I had my water pump impeller replaced a couple years ago not sure if the original owner did it or not. I noticed a little difference in the urine stream. It was hardened and had a slight curl it was stuck in

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Nate !! ya turd! how have you been?? you’ve been awol son!!
Congrats on the new son!!!

Been alright, my man! Busy busy back in the Wisco motherland. Give me a holler if you’re ever up in the Madison area. Fixed up and sold the old boat, picked up a solid but aged 94 Lund ProV last summer that I’ve been slowly rerigging. Spent most of the season in the garage last year, itchin to get out on the water now! Hope you’re well, amigo!