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2.5 HP Suzuki


Jknight611

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Hi all, happy to report out CS20.3, Southern Express is performing up to our highest expectations!!! This week we went sailing about 4 hour trailer to the lake. When I mounted the DF2.5 Suzuki it was hydro locked with engine oil. I removed the spark plug and pulled the cord several times and got it cleaned out. I have a chock built into the starboard lazzeret that carries the motor with the tiller side of the engine down , just like the owners manual shows. This makes the carb above the cylinder, which seems like it would cause oil dilution with fuel. Anybody have this experience with this engine? Runs great, quiet, reasonably smooth, light, nice engine so I don't want to damage it .

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Jay, I have planned to purchase this motor for my boat. I have a Honda 2hp longshaft right now. I haven't looked to see if it's a float style carb or a diaphram, but I think the former. They make it easy and warn you that it's important to shut off when storing/transportng. From the Suzuki manual it looks the same. Is it possible you forgot to shut the fuel off? And if it was gas that migrated, it seems an oil change is imminent. I'll be curious as to what you find in the long term. I'l be ordering one of these soon. My Honda is reliable, but noisy being air cooled.

 

BTW, a friend of mine has a crudely constructed fold up three sided noise shield made out of some kind of neoprene foam. On longer journeys he locks the tiller and pops up the sound guard. It makes a huge difference and is easy to store. If I get a picture I'll post it, but we're three months from sailing.

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Jay,

 SAME exact thing happened to me last Winter as I was sitting on the launch ramp at Flamingo, Everglades park.( Due to time constraints I hadn't had a chance to run the engine before heading South so it was actually my first time firing it up). Couldn't figure it out until someone came by and suggested that maybe there was too much oil in the engine. SO we pulled the motor,drained the oil,dried the plug, and started over again, with a little less oil in her this time. Haven't had a problem since that day. I think part of the problem is that even tilting the motor for a few minutes changes the apparent level of oil in their little 'view window', and once she sits upright for a bit you get a true picture of how much is in there.

GREAT engine,plenty of power at partial throttle, and easy to co exist with when you have to run it for extended periods of time,as Lenny G. and I did while fighting the incoming tide at Boca Grande pass a few weeks later. Glad i went with this model....

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I had the fuel shut off.......I think...... The little engine is a jewel, I don't want the connecting rod poking a hole in the case! Thanks! I will drain the oil and reservice it with the exact amount of oil. It will push a CS20.3 almost as fast as she will sail! I run it at 1/4 throttle and it will trot right along for a long time on a tank of gas. We sailed up a rigolets for 8 or 9 miles with a following wind, great fun, really zooming! Then we tried to sail out, then motor, Zuki earned her keep that day!

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Yea, that isn't our problem, once we dry it out it runs beautifully. Engine oil in the cylinder after a long ride in the lasseret is the problem. I have lowered the oil level to just above the lower level in the site glass... Back to work for a few weeks then we will go to Cat Island for a few days. One of our favorite places to sail to. It is a barrier island shaped sort of like a cat's paw so there is always a calm anchorage. With our "other" boat we have to stand off in 5-6 feet of water, with our Core Sound we will be on the beach! About a 3 hour trailer ride to the Gulf, that should see if lowering the oil level solves the problem.

Anybody want to join us? A mini mess about, with crawfish?

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Jay,... QUESTION: Is the motor always (while in transit) resting UPRIGHT on its tiller as recommended by Suziki? If not, that might be the problem. I recall that you had a neat kind of padded "blanket" that you wrapped the motor in. I thought it pretty neat and simpler than my motor chocks. But maybe it doesn't always keep the motor strictly upright. Recall my posting at:

http://messing-about.com/forums/topic/9736-suzuki-25-hp-transport-bed/

Maybe something like that would help.

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Hi Pete, it seems to ride ok wrapped in it's cocoon. I like your cradle, I may build one and just "drop " it in place if I figure out that is causing my problems. I may put the pad in the back of my truck and take it for a ride for a few days, to see what is going on in more " controlled " conditions. Hard to evaluate much when you have a audience and are blocking the boat ramp!! I have ultra white epoxy paint through out the area so with out a major grinding of paint I will refrain from that party!

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  • 3 months later...

Last July we purchased a Suzuki df2.5s for our Melges 24 racing sailboat. We went through the break in period following all the directions, the engine ran admirably.

 

However, we have had nothing but problems with it. To make a long story short, laying the engine on the correct side only, is not just the only parameter that must be followed.... the engine is EXTREMELY sensitive, to having the engine head below the level of the prop, even just for a few seconds, but it took us several months to get an answer from anyone. 

 

With this racing sailboat the outboard engines are not used while sailing and are placed away in a storage area. Typically, the engine is inserted into this type of boat by lowering the head of the engine first, and taken out by lifting the propeller out first, almost turning the engine upside down. Even when doing this briefly it will contaminate the cylinder with oil and cause the starting pull cord to lock up and force the spark plug to be removed and the cylinder exercised to get the oil out before a long frustrating effort starting.

 

The disappointment was not just the sensitivity to any temporary imbalance, but that Suzki had no help to offer whatsoever, no technical support no advisement, just to read the manual and call dealers off the website. We requested Suzuki if they would research the problem with the home corporation, any advisement they could find out about, but they just flatly refused any help "we are just a distributor, we dont educate on service", not even apologetic..... sorry but not acceptable to me.

 

After calling many mechanics all over we finally found a great source with H&M in Sausalito CA. They had dealt with the problem, not just with that engine but also in combination with our specific model of boats,,,, and were super considerate and helpful to provide a solution we could communicate to our local outboard mechanics, seeing as how they are a 4 hour drive away from our location.

 

Thank you to Ethan at H&M, no thanks to Suzuki,

 

fyi Yamaha just released their new 2016 2.5, which you can lay on any side upside down whichever whatever and it will have no problems, its almost as light as the Suzuki..... 38lbs to Suzuki's 31lbs..... Just missed it by a few months darn it! well worth the extra pounds for the convenience and dependability

 

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Krakski -- Newbe,

Thank you for the Suzuki info. I have a 2.5 that will be used with the Core Sound 20 Mk III that I'm building. I'll sure be careful to keep the prop lower than the engine -- especially when monouvering it in or out of stowage. You mentioned that H & M was "super considerate and helpful to provide a solution." Could you provide our forum members with the basic elements of their suggested solution ?? Thanks in advance from all Suzuki 2.5 owners.

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FYI, my Honda has the same problem. It would seem any 4 cycle engine would suffer from this. Rings seal the piston but have gaps. They leak a bit of air, but the stroke duration is so fast it doesn't matter much. But oil will go through the gap and eventually make it's way to the top of the piston and combustion chamber and cause a lock. I'd be interested to note what's different about the Yamaha that would prevent this.  I happen to have my Suzuki manual in front of me and it mentions a bit about tilt but certainly doesn't make it obvious that you shouldn't invert it.

 

In designing my chock system for securing the engine during storage, I plan to have the prop go in first and the head directly below the locker opening on it's good side. I hope that works. The goal is to keep the weight forward when sailing and trailering, but also minimize the possibility of flooding the cylinder head with oil. I'll probably put a shelf above the prop to hold stuff I above it.

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Ring gaps are staggered, which is why there's a proper side to lay the engine down on, when transporting it flat. Full seating rings can help a lot in this regard, though this is a typical race setup and I don't know if a full seating ring is available in these sizes. If the engine is inverted, the oil has several paths to the top of the engine and you'll have issues, if not left to drain back down to the crankcase, which on a small engine, can take quite a bit of time. If a small outboard was inverted for more than just a short amount of time, I'd be inclined to pull the plugs and slowly rotate the engine to prevent any hydrolock.

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  • 2 months later...

Has anyone tried storing the Suzuki "nose down" in a horizontal position, rather than on it's side?  This would be with the carrying handle (and thus the piston) up.  I've had two bouts of the oil lock problem as well.  Very frustrating. 

 

I've also noticed there are two ways to store it on the proper side.  The throttle handle makes kind of a fulcrum, and it can either rock forward or rock back, so to speak.  I had been putting it rocked "back," which is the way the dealer put it in my trunk.  That led to another bout of hydro lock.  I'm going to try rocked "forward", which raises the rear higher, see if that helps.  Keeping the oil level low is a good suggestion.  I was ready to put a rope on it and use it for an anchor the other day and resurrect the 1940s oil-spewing antique from the corner of my garage....

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Paul, I have surrendered to the Suzuki and let it have it's way. I have been letting it ride on the transom bracket when in the trailer and when we want to put it in the lasserette I prop it up roughly duplicating it's angle when it rides on the transom. For the amount of motoring I do, a small light 2 cycle is looking pretty good!

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