Nissan 6 HP 4 cycles

[maikelc]

This is embarassing. Thought I was doing everything right.
Laid boat up on hard a year ago after the trip to the Bahamas. Flushed and drained motor, ran it dry. Left it in place but wrapped lower unit. Took out plug squirted in oil and put back plug. Now I'm getting ready to relaunch.
Here's problem; motor turns, but with difficulty. Is it just that the oil i put in is turgid [I think that's the right word.]? Should I drain oil, put in some diesel or kerosene, turn it over by hand to flush thickened oil see if that loosens things up.
The motor is only three seasons old so I don't need to take it apart...unless what's making it hard to turn is rust, in which case I assume there's some risk of scoring moving parts and causing unecessary wear. Anyone been there? Have advice. Thanks Maikel

[carl291]

I don't think you did a bad thing at all, are you trying to turn the engine over with the sparkplug in?? If so, remove plug and spin the engine and let the oil squirt out the plug hole. Put a few squirts of Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinder , let it soak for a short period and again spin engine letting that exit the plug hole and you should be fine.

[maikelc]

Had plug out when i tried to start it. Didn't put in enough oil for it to squirt out plug hole. Motor turns, but not freely/fast enough to start. MM oil is good idea.

[c_amos]

also do not forget to clean the oil off of the spark plug. The oil will not allow the motor to fire if left on the insulator.

[pbryant]

I've been using the Tohatsu 0utboard 6 HP long shaft for two years now in the S.F Bay and Half Moon Bay areas. It'll push Ad Astra, Ariel #75 at 3 knots dead into a 25 knot wind. More than adequate power and astounding fuel efficiency. One caution: the pull-to-start cord has a plastic T shaped handle. Inside that plastic is a V shaped metal insert through which the pull cord is run with a half-hitch stopper knot on the bitter end. The hole in the metal insert is stamped and has a sharp edge. The condition of the pull cord at the bitter end is invisible since it's tucked away inside the handle. Mine cut through the pull cord after a few dozen pulls -- leaving me holding the T handle whilst the pull cord went "zing!" and wrapped itself back inside the engine. Very inconvenient. I replaced the T handle with a piece of wooden dowel with a hole drilled in the middle so I can now see and inspect the bitter end of the pull cord. That configuration has lasted several hundred pulls with no signs of wear.

When installing the engine in the engine port, if the engine is offset to the starboard side and you tilt it just a little as it goes in, you will snap off the gear select lever, which is just a piece of plastic press fitted to a short metal shaft. I installed vice grips on the gear select shaft (which will rotate out of the way if pressed upward) and that has worked fine for two years.

I leave the engine in the water - after calculating that a new engine is cheaper than either back surgery or contraptions like a lifting davit. The drive shaft has survived two years of immersion in salt water!

If you find the engine deflects water into the engine compartment while under way due to it tilting in the water flow, attach anchor chain around the drive shaft that's fastened to the engine port. If the engine climbs up the mounting board, install a piece of aluminum bar stock across the outer forward top of the engine port to prevent the mounting plate from climbing. Those mods made peace between me and the engine.