motor hard to start, then quick burst of smoke

[djohnson52]

I took out the boat (268 islander w twin 150 hpdi Yamaha's) and after the second drift I noticed the starboard motor was hard to start and then kicked out a quick burst of blue smoke. Once the motor started it ran fine, just gave me a little trouble starting.

I noticed a tiny puddle of oil sitting under the motor while tilted all the way up on the transom before I started the motor. I took the cowling off and it appeared the oil was dripping from the small reservoir mounted to the motor. The oil level in the reservoir was within the maximum/minimum range.

It seemed like it was getting to much oil at the start and burnt it off when it fired up. Once running it ran perfectly normal.

The other thing I should mention is the starboard cable is slightly off from the port cable. Could that be the issue as the control may look to be in neutral but may slightly be in forward or reverse? Anyone know how to adjust the control cables?

Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[the.devo]

Sorry I can't be of help, try to post this on "The Hull Truth" It seems to be a more traveled site

 

[Parthery]

If the motor is in gear, it won't start (assuming your neutral safety switch is working...)

There is a link and sync procedure that sometimes needs to be done on these motors to make sure that everything is tight and opening/closing at the proper time. Your motor may need this....

More than likely when you trimmed it up fuel ran back out of the VST tank...and if you have to crank it a bit its refilling the VST and pressurizing the system....the smoke is just a bit of oil burning off....

 

[seasick]

I took out the boat (268 islander w twin 150 hpdi Yamaha's) and after the second drift I noticed the starboard motor was hard to start and then kicked out a quick burst of blue smoke. Once the motor started it ran fine, just gave me a little trouble starting.

I noticed a tiny puddle of oil sitting under the motor while tilted all the way up on the transom before I started the motor. I took the cowling off and it appeared the oil was dripping from the small reservoir mounted to the motor. The oil level in the reservoir was within the maximum/minimum range.

It seemed like it was getting to much oil at the start and burnt it off when it fired up. Once running it ran perfectly normal.

The other thing I should mention is the starboard cable is slightly off from the port cable. Could that be the issue as the control may look to be in neutral but may slightly be in forward or reverse? Anyone know how to adjust the control cables?

Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The oil dripping from the oil tank is a common issue but not related to hard starts of smoking. The oil drips out of the sensor cap. Sometimes just re-seating the cap will clear that. Some folks put a tie wrap around the edge of the cap to seal it tighter.
There are a lot of things that can cause the hard start. Here are a few of the more common issues in that motor.
With respect to the smoke, assuming it is an issue with excess oil, the first place to check is the oil pump synchronization linkage. That adjusts the oil ratio based on the throttle position. There is a section in the service manual on how to adjust it. Often the linkage breaks or comes loose causing the oil pump to pump at maximum ratio.
If that is an issue it probably doesn't explain the hard starts. Both smoke and hard starts may be due to one or more leaking low pressure pumps. In that case, fuel can run into the exhaust housing. That means that the proper amount of fuel may not be reaching the VST pump AND raw fuel and oil will get burned up in the exhaust when the motor finally does start Now oil pumps into the VST at normal rate but fuel may be low causing a high oil ratio and therefore blue smoke.

Adjusting the linkage is fairly east as long as the cable mount at the motor is OK. Sometimes they crack. To adjust, you need to remove the clip on the clevis and screw the linkage in or at as needed to get the cable in the correct position. Note that a bad cable can change the adjustment and the correct way to fix that alignment is to replace the cable. If the cable is internally broken, it usually is worse when moving in one direction vs the other. For example, you may be able to get into forward gear normally enough but reverse is a problem or visa versa..

If you want to tackle these tasks, you need a service manual to guide you.

 

[Grouper Duper]

Do your primer bulbs get hard when you squeeze them? If not, that's another common symptom of failing low pressure fuel pumps (along with hard start, extra smoke, and sometimes failing idle).

 

[djohnson52]

Thanks guys for the responses.

I went down to the boat yesterday and did not see any new oil drippings. I tried the motor and it fired right up. I let it run for a few minutes and then shut it off. About 30 minutes later I tried it again and it fired right up. I didn't have time to actually take it for a spin and try and recreate what I did the other day.

My gut tells me the cable was not completely in gear. I think the link and sync idea is what I truly need. Hopefully it was just a flukey thing. I never looked at the primer bulb as he motor started up on the second or third try(normally I barely need to turn the key for more than a second or two).

Thanks again, I will let you know if it happens again but unfortunately it might be a week or two before I can get out again.

 

[Grouper Duper]

You should never need the primer bulbs to start the motors (at least not since some old, carved 2-strokes). But, they are great diagnostic tools in a couple situations, and this is one of them. The LPFPs on one of my HPDIs got so bad you could flood the motor while it was running by squeezing the primer bulb.

 

[djohnson52]

Just an update for anyone who is curious.

Ran the boat last Friday and when I came into the now wake zone in the marina the starboard motor died (the one giving me the issue). I tried to start it again, it started up and ran for a couple seconds, then shut off. Once at the dock I used the primer bulb and the motor would fire up and run for a bout a minute at idle an then shut off. I swapped the water separators a few days later and still had the same result. I went down today and swapped the two low pressure fuel pumps. When I removed one of the pumps I noticed the plastic connector was snapped off, the end prtion that mushrooms was stuck inside the hose. It turns out the piece that snapped off was clogging the line. I swapped both pumps just to be sure since I was already in there and the motor fired right up when done.

I can only think the pump was changed a few years ago before I owned the boat and the connector tip snapped off when connecting the line. Over time it must have shifted within the line causing the clog.

Thanks again to all that contributed prior. Just glad my fishing season still has a few weeks left to go now. If the new pumps didn't solve the issue I was pulling the boat for the season.

 

[seasick]

Thanks for the update. It is good info to know.

 

[djohnson52]

My pleasure.

I was doing some more thinking last night and realized I had my VST filter changed over the winter. The fuel pump that was damaged is located right behind the VST filter. I am wondering if the mechanic hit the line and connector with a wrench or screwdriver and broke off the end inside the hose. I don't see how re-connecting the fuel line would have cracked the plastic connector if the pump was replaced prior.

Thanks again.