Suzuki DF30?

[mirrocraft16]

I'm looking at a used boat and motor, the boat is not an issue, but the motor is. The guy says it won't idle or stay running.
The motor plate says DF30 and April 1999 right on the transom bracket, but I can't find any info on a DF30 until the 2000 model year.
Did they maybe offer the DF30 in 1999 in Canada? (All the info in in French and it state that it complies to all Canadian requirements).
Can I assume its the same as say a 2000 model here in the states?

The boat is being bought long distance through a friend, so I won't have the chance to really go over the thing myself and can't check the basics like compression and oil, but it sounds like a case of it just sitting too long. Its been sitting for at least 8 years unused in a barn in Maine.

Did these motors have any known issues to look out for?
We don't have any local Suzuki dealers here, at least none that sell parts, so any parts needed will need to be had online.
The boat is just a basic open 16' aluminum fishing boat, and by the pics that looks great but the motor looks a bit roughed up but he said he also used it on his duck boat in the fall, so it got carried laying down in his truck as well, but I'm not too concerned about cosmetics, just the mechanicals.

I have the choice to take the boat with or without the motor, for a $400 difference in price, if these motors have issues, then I'll probably just buy the boat.

 

[99yam40]

no local dealers means no local service so I would not recommend the buy,
but it has no reference to the motors reliability

 

[mirrocraft16]

The no local dealer doesn't bother me much since there really isn't any local dealer of any brand, the closest is a Yamaha dealer, but I've yet to run across a used Yamaha in my price range, most go for as much as a new motor. The closest dealer is still an hour or more away. Beyond that, there's Mercury dealer about an hour in the other direction but their in a busier area and don't stock much in the way of parts. I waited two weeks for a carb kit and water pump kit over the summer for my 2004 9.9hp four stroke Merc.

My concern is not knowing if a particular model is good or bad, I had issues with an 50hp Yamaha four stroke a few years ago, I bought the boat used, it had stalling issues when I pulled back on the throttle. Four dealers I called told me to sell the thing and buy a new motor and that all the carbureted 50hp motors that year had unsolvable issues. I and five dealers all tried to get it right but in the end it was no better. The guy I bought it from said he had the same issues but had just gotten used to it. I don't want a repeat of that with another unfamiliar brand.
I eventually tossed the Yamaha 50 and hung a 30 year old two stroke Johnson that ran great but needed the fuel to be premixed.

The Suzuki supposedly ran fine till he let it sit, so it sounds like a gummed up carb or two, or three. I priced carb kits from the nearest dealer, about 200 miles from me, and they said they weren't sure they could still get parts for an old motor like this. They didn't want to be bothered by the sound of it.
I'd have made the drive if they had all the parts, but they couldn't find the exact model number and were going with parts for a 2000 DF 30A, which they said was the same from 2000 to 2003. Later motors are fuel injected.

The guy who has the boat and motor has no idea where the motor was bought, his son bought the motor new but he said he often took trips to Newfoundland with the boat. He said his son told him the motor acted up one day and he replaced it. It sounded to me like he may well have bought it up in Canada while on vacation.

The guy wants 400 for the boat and $600 for the boat, motor, and trailer with the fish finder, remote controls, and the side console.
He started out at $1300. A buddy found it in Uncle Henry's up there a few months ago and when it didn't sell he went to see the boat but it was listed as a 14', not a 16'. Its a Lake Fisherman hull, which is their largest 16' hull, much like the one I just sold for far more than what that boat is for sale for.
I guess for $200 I'll just chance it and hope the thing just needs carb work. What concerned me is that I did a full 50 state search for other DF30 motors for sale and only turned up one parts motor with no compression on eBay. I can't believe that they're that rare.

 

[lakensea]

DF30's were produced from 2000 until 2007. Parts are readily available from any authorized Suzuki dealer. The fuel system can be very fussy. If you remove the carbs, you will need synchronize them with a vacuum synchronizer in a test tank or in the water with a load on the engine. In order to clean the carbs properly you should remove the idle mixture screws and use an ultrasonic cleaner. If you insist on doing your own service I highly recommend purchasing a factory service manual.

 

[mirrocraft16]

One of the pics I got of the DF30 shows the motor tag and it reads April 1999, does this simply mean its an early 2000 model?
The full model number is DF30 3001F-031059 that's all on one tag, there's another tag that reads "This spark ignition system complies with Canadian ICES-002"
and down in one corner it reads 1999, with a small APRIL just above it. That same decal reads Rated Power: 21.1 kw.
When I gave the full model number to the dealer he said I'd have to bring him the motor, he's not sure what I had.

Either way, I gave my buddy the OK to bring the boat to NJ, knowing him he may even be able to negotiate a bit more off the price.
Meanwhile, while I get the DF30 sorted, I have a 20hp Honda I can hang on it to make use of the boat.

I should have it here by the end of the week. I suppose that even if it were junk, the parts alone have to be worth more than $200?

I've got a vacuum synchronizer that I use on motorcycles, it should be adaptable to an outboard fairly easily.
I rebuilt a set of Suzuki carbs on a boat I owned down in FL about 10 years ago, an older DT85, which I got after no one there seemed to be able to make it run right. After an in depth cleaning it ran great. I sold it when I moved to NJ. Suzuki was common in FL.

I can't recall the last time I saw a boat on the water here with a Suzuki motor on it but from what I was told, some of the Suzuki 4 stroke motors are the same as a few Johnson 4 stroke motors.

 

[99yam40]

here is a place to look at serial #s that may help you
looks like the 1st 0 in 031059 stands for a 2000 model
if you look at the DF30A serials they start with 51 so that would rule it out
http://www.brownspoint.com/store/pc/suzuki/df30.asp

Not sure on the Yamaha F50s ,but the F40 could be made to run better with a change of jets.
They were so small and ran so lean already , larger jets made a difference

 

[mirrocraft16]

here is a place to look at serial #s that may help you
looks like the 1st 0 in 031059 stands for a 2000 model
if you look at the DF30A serials they start with 51 so that would rule it out
http://www.brownspoint.com/store/pc/suzuki/df30.asp

Not sure on the Yamaha F50s ,but the F40 could be made to run better with a change of jets.
They were so small and ran so lean already , larger jets made a difference

According to that chart, mine is a 2000. I guess their model year began early on these.

I ordered a factory shop manual for this. I should have by Wed, along with the boat.

On my Yamaha, they kept changing carbs, three times it got brand new carbs, They tried larger jets, but that made the low RPM range worse.
I've talked to two others who went through the same problems with the same year motor. No matter what they tried it would die every time I pulled the throttle back from anything more than about half throttle and it refused to restart after sitting for a few minutes. It started fine dead cold. It acted as if it wasn't getting fuel after it sat a while. A quick shot of fuel mix at the carb inlet would get it started.
Either way, that motor is gone, sold several years ago after I gave up on it.

Hopefully this Suzuki will turn out to be a decent motor. The part that I liked after looking up the specs is that the cam is chain driven not belt driven.