2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

[4chase4]

HELP!!!
I bought a brand new Nissan 9.8 last Thanksgiving from www.onlineoutboards.com for the boat I just built. I launched the new boat last week. So far I have used the boat three times for a total of approx. 4 hours. I have been following the break-in procedure, and on the 1st trip the motor shut down after 15 min of operation while running a little below 1/2 throttle. It acted like it ran out of gas. The primer bulb was soft so I reprimed the bulb and after a couple of pulls it was running again. The same thing happened three more times within the 2 hours of the first trip. I went home checked the tank, pickup filter, in line fuel filter, fuel pump, carb, jets, fuel bowl and blew out the fuel line, all checked out to be clean. I went out for a second trip for one hour and everything went normal with no problems. Today I went out again for an hour and it was back to the same problem. When running at low speed it will turn off, when running at 3/4 it will pulse then shut down. 2/3 of the time the primer bulb is soft and 1/3 of the time of the shut downs it if firm. Motor always starts back up with 1-4 pulls. During the third and last trip today it shut down 4 times within an hour. I just can't figure it out!!!

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

Take your engine into a dealer for service. You have a three year warranty.

 

[4chase4]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

Yes that is the obvious choice, but the motor only does it in the water. I have ran it for a long period twice with muffs and it never missed a beat. Dealer will probably say worked fine for us!

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

The dealer will run it in a test tank.

 

[pvanv]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

The dealer will run it in a test tank.

Yep. Get thee to a dealer. That's why there is a warranty. Intermittent problems are the most difficult to isolate. A tank test will simulate operation under load, and is a good technique. Of all the 9.8's we have done, the only issues have been caused by operating outside of proper conditions: Too much oil in the crankcase, junk in the fuel, water contaminated fuel, etc. Doesn't mean you don't have something else, but only testing/inspection -- preferably while the failure is happening -- will diagnose it with certainty.

 

[4chase4]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

Which dealer would you guys recommend for my area? I am at zip code 27310 in North Carolina.

 

[4chase4]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

I called www.onlineoutboards.com to see which dealer he could recommend in my area. I told him about my problems, first he said probably a bad gas cap (seems to vent fine in my opinion) or a bad bulb (could be). But what I told him which I forgot to mention to you guys is that there is some oil residue coming from somewhere around the air box and start coil shroud. I put in 800 ml but he said maybe there was some oil left in it from the factory, or maybe the fuel pump is bad and the gas has made more oil. He said I could drain oil to see if gas is in oil (bad fuel pump) and measure to see if it is more than 800 ml. If more than 800 ml and no gas in oil (either some was left from factory or I put in too much). He said if gas in oil take to dealer!

 

[Yetii88]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

You have opened the vent in the tank? Sounds like vapour lock (vent not open) or a hole in th fuel line letting in air on the engine side and loosing the fuel flow.

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

Anything is possible...But, that is why you are supposed to take it into an authorized dealer for a warranty evaluation. It is not abnormal to have some gas filter into the crankcase oil. In fact, all 4-stroke outboards do it to some degree...Especially new ones during the break-in process. It's a matter of the degree of oil dilution as to whether or not the engine has something wrong with it or whether the engine is being operated incorrectly.

 

[4chase4]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

I drained the oil in a measuring cup and it read 900 ml??? Oil also had gas smell so I replaced with new oil. I put 700 ml this time which gives you 2/3 reading on the acceptable area of the dipstick. Went out for an hour and fifteen minutes. The motor didn't miss a beat nor did it have any oil residue coming out of the air box this time. Motor now has around 5 hours on it. Either some oil was left in crankcase from factory or the motor made oil, I put exactly 800 ml in the motor when I mounted the motor. I am going to keep an eye on it to see if it makes more oil.

Not vapor locked, tank vent always opened upon use.

I am not trying to be hard headed about going to a dealer, but looks like the closest dealer is an hour away, taking over there, dropping off, waiting couple of days, going back to pick up, and have they really even figured it out? Some things are easier to do yourself. Now if the problems get major it will be at the dealer for sure!!!

Thanks for the feedback!!!

 

[pvanv]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

You are fortunate in that it appears you didn't trash anything due to overfilled crankcase oil, and the resultant extremely high crankcase pressures. I have seen several 4-strokes of various brands that had severe damage due to overfilled oil.

Here's "the talk" that we give every new 4-stroke owner, and, at the expense of being a bit self-serving, another reason why real, bricks-and-mortar dealers can provide better customer education and support than what typically occurs when buying a unit in a box from a mail-order house:

The amount of oil you add has little to do with actual oil level in the crankcase, because there is already some oil in there. The oil volume posted in the specs is the total amount of oil in the entire motor, not merely the sump. All Nissan/Tohatsu 4-strokes above 3.5 hp have trochoid oil pumps, which will hold some oil in the galleries even when the crankcase is drained. 15-30 hp motors also have spin-on oil filters, which will retain a significant amount of oil. Always, always, always... VERIFY the correct oil level, using the dipstick. Half way on the dipstick is the ideal fill point. Never overfill, not even a drop. Oil fill/overfill information for the NSF9.8A3 is on p49 of the owner's manual in the CAUTION box.

All 4-stroke outboards will "make" some oil, especially during break-in. See the FAQ's about that. To reduce the phenomenon, break-in the motor correctly, and always remember that 4-strokes prefer to be run hard and hot. Babying them with extended idling, especially in cold water, particularly during break-in, will definitely increase the making-oil phenomenon.

Use non-synthetic, NMMA-certified FC-W, SAE 10w-30 oil, especially during break-in. The FC-W certification means that the oil is specifically formulated for water-cooled 4-stroke outboards, and has more corrosion inhibitors. Oil that is thicker than 10w-30 will contribute to making oil. Synthetics will also contribute to making oil. After break-in, if running in very hot areas, 10w-40 will be OK.

While on the oil topic, VERIFY that the LU lube is all the way full. Running with low LU lube can contribute to driveshaft bearing and LU failure, which is considered abuse, and may not be covered by warranty.

[Soapbox mode ON]:
At our dealership, we do a PDI (pre-delivery inspection) on every motor we sell to our walk-in customers... so, our customers already have these chores (and more) done before they use the motor the first time... and they receive this information as part of taking delivery. Mail-order motors-in-the-box cannot have this done, as one can't ship a motor that has oil in the crankcase, due to likely spillage, oil leakage into the cylinders, and US haz-mat shipping laws. Nothing against mail-order-only houses -- many can offer great prices due to reduced overhead (not providing customer consultation/education or PDI's)... but those customers -- all customers -- need to understand proper operation, maintenance, and their responsibilities with a new motor.
[Soapbox mode OFF]

That said, I suspect that your stalling problems have been corrected, and I wish you well. Happy boating!

 

[4chase4]

Re: 2010 Nissan / Tohatsu 9.8 shuts down???

I want to say thanks to pvanv your fist post to my question helped me solve the problem.

Also I want to show that if you look at the new 2010 NSF8/9.8 Operators Manual on page 35 directly above the caution box it states;

"Replenishing engine oil:
If the engine oil is low, or at lowest
mark, add recommended oil to
the upper dipstick mark."

I was under the impression that you should have it at the upper mark and no lower. But now knowing what I know I think you should only fill to the halfway mark as stated by pvanv just in case your motor makes oil you have some room for it to go!

Yes, I have been using FC-W certified 10w-30 oil!

Thanks again for the help, if you are interested in seeing the boat I built for this motor you can check it out at www.ncboatbuilder.com