Gamefisher 7.5 - Start problem

[billnyg]

Hello, I recently bought a used Gamefisher 7.5 (217-586612, cover says 5hp but factory tag inside says 7.5, believe it's a Tecumseh). The guy I got it from had a recent video of the motor starting and running on the third pull, and told me the compression was at 120psi. Took it home, got it to rumble a couple of times but never for more than 2 or 3 seconds or so. Heard a couple of backfire sounds once or twice, which I assumed was from lack of fuel. Discovered there was a problem with the fuel line (he had swapped out the line from the external tank and the new line had the fuel bulb pointing the wrong way, plus the adapters were cracked) and replaced with a new bulb.Thought I'd be good to go after that, but when I pull to start, the cord pulls pretty nice the first time, but then hitches and catches on subsequent pulls and is very slow to retract. I pulled the spark plug, saw what appeared to be some fuel or oil on there, then went to pulling the cord with the plug out. When the plug is out, the cord pulls nice and smooth everytime and retracts as it should. Then once the plug goes back in, I get the same hard pull and slow retract issue. Needless to say I can't get the thing started either. Any ideas?

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Gamefisher 7.5 - Start problem

Just a guess, but if the carb's float needle is somehow remaining open (leaky float?), then when you prime it you're flooding the cylinders with fuel mix - which does *NOT* compress - resulting in the hard-to-pull condition.

 

[billnyg]

Re: Gamefisher 7.5 - Start problem

Thanks for the input. I went out earlier to possibly start getting into the carburetor, and decided to clear it and give it one last shot. Popped the plug, pulled 8 or 10 times, put the plug back in, checked the fuel delivery at the quick connect, and gave it a whirl. And suddenly, it actually started. It idled very, very rough, especially when the idle was turned down to the "shift" position. Stalled several times but got it re-started after one or two pulls on most occasions after a stall. I shut it down once, left it for a minute, went to re-start it and it wouldn't go. I'm thinking about just grabbing a new plug to test it out, but is there anything else obvious that I may be missing that is causing the stalling/rough idle/no start?

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Gamefisher 7.5 - Start problem

Remove and clean the carb.

General rule of thumb when tuning a small engine carb with two (hi spd/lo spd) adjustments: Get the hi-spd agjustment where you want it first, then adjust lo spd.