New Suzuki not peeing

[Brinormeg]

Got a problem guys! Went to fit the tach and get the 20hp outboard started for the first time today, in preparation for its first trips! But there's not water going through the pilot hole?

Thought perhaps crap in the hole although it's new, so checked with a bit of wire, then used the garden hose flush adapter thing (with engine switched off). It has a good flow as expected!

But engine running in a large bucket of water......just a slight dribble if anything at all?

Is there something we've missed?
Water intake vents and pipe seem clear!

[Oldman2]

Silly question but do you have enough water in the bucket, or perhaps try a deeper bucket. Some engines like water quite high up the leg.

[chipko]

Agree with advice above.

Try and get water level a good few inches above AV plate. The impeller is well above the intakes and not self priming, so if above water level won’t start pumping.

[Brinormeg]

We did wonder how high up the leg the water needed to be with the suzuki.
We had it well above Anti cavitation plate, and wasnt sure if that was enough so used a higher bucket to fill roughly the height of the 2 smaller fins at the back mount side of the ob in line with the anode I suppose if that makes sense.

So do you think it should be abover the 2 fins to be sure there is enough water coverage?

[chipko]

Oh. Well the water level sounds plenty high enough. Perhaps worth trying in the bucket again with water at same level. Connect flushing hose which should prime the system and then start motor. Hopefully will then carry on pumping like a trooper🤞

[Brinormeg]

Originally Posted by chipko

Oh. Well the water level sounds plenty high enough. Perhaps worth trying in the bucket again with water at same level. Connect flushing hose which should prime the system and then start motor. Hopefully will then carry on pumping like a trooper��

We've never had and outboard before and we were afriad to run it without any flow to the tell tale in case we damaged the ob. Will give it another try tomorrow with the flush hose in as well as the bucket and see what happens.

Maybe it was airlocked somehow.

How quick would the water come out from start up normally in the water?

Is there anything else to check if it doesnt work, as long as the vent intake and pee hole is clear?

Positive is the tach picked up the 850 idle straight out of the box for the few seconds we had it running!

[paintman]

As it's a brand new engine then presumably it's under warranty & you might be best to have a word with the seller & ask their advice before doing anything else.

[TmMorris]

Does it definitely pee when cold? Some don't start peeing until the blocks has heated up and the thermostat opened.

[Pikey Dave]

We have the same engine & it can be a bit reluctant to “pee”. How long were you giving it? Ours can take 30-45secs before anything happens.
Echo the comments above re. Depth of water, it needs to be well up the leg past the anti ventilation plate. Also give it a blip on the throttle to get things moving.

[Fenlander]

Had just the same as PD when we first had ours in 2016. First time I shut it off before it peed as it seemed too long. Then a longer run and throttle blip got it flowing ok. It seemed to me it was never quite as slow as that first time… or perhaps I just got used to it.

[mickter]

According to my local Suzuki dealer all Suzuki engines need very high water level to get enough water pressure when using bucket.

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by mickter

According to my local Suzuki dealer all Suzuki engines need very high water level to get enough water pressure when using bucket.

True this is why it's better to use muffs. Problem solved.

[Fenlander]

Here is my test bucket with the Suzuki. Water about 1" above AV plate.

[chipko]

Snap. Never had an issue with ours either.
Must be like transom wheels…yellow works best. [emoji3]

[Limecc]

Muffs might not be as cheap as a bucket but I prefer not to use the latter unless forced. Aside the time and effort filling, when the engine is running there's a lot of air being sucked due to exhaust gases aerating the bucket. Also the water becomes oily over time and oil might become deposited on the walls of the water jacket. You can't rev the engine in gear either.

[Brinormeg]

Cheers folks. That was the same type builders bucket we tried a few times with a good few inch of water above the plate. Although we were afraid to leave it more than maybe 10-20 seconds max.

We then tried a deeper bucket but by that time everything was hot and we were leaving it even less time before panicking and shutting down.

Anyway will try it again today even deeper and see what happens.

On looking on youtube I do think muffs would be a handy addition as well, and actually not that expensive in comparison to what we've already spent.

And i can always wear them to dampen down the nagging noise when something else drops through the letter box from ebay

Ahhhh.....our bucket was a red one......bugger thats what was wrong

[Fenlander]

I honestly think if you are already 2" over the AV plate you need go no deeper. The key is 20secs plus with revs a bit above idle.

I think once it's had a sniff of water through the system it will be hooked for all subsequent starts and you'll be away.

Edit: Have you tried a hose on the flush port to get some water in the system?

[Old seahorse]

My ( 6hp) Suzuki needs pretty deep water to get it to pee, and is a bit hit and miss.
I like your trailer dolly adaptation for outboard. Is it a permanent fitting?

[Steve509926]

Hi Brian, my Merc EFI is a very slow dribble until it's warmed up and above 1000 rpm, after that it pee's like a goodun

Perhaps they're like us men, 3 or 4 pints and not one vist. Release that valve and its a visit every 15 mins!

[treerat]

Muffs would be my suggestion and usually that of dealers too. Stick them on, turn on water, turn on engibe and after a few seconds all should run with water.

Don't try and use the flush points with the engine running, they are still flush points only.