Re: ** Tons of smoke on Johnson 225 **
RE: the smoke - without seeing your engine, it's hard to say if its normal or not, but big 2 strokes do put out a lot of smoke. You'll also probably notice a lot of messy oily "drool" on the leg and in the water. This is why the trend is toward high tech, low polluting 2 strokes and 4 strokes (downside: $$)<br /><br />My experience: the engine always smokes A LOT when first started. Tends to smoke less when warm This is even more noticable in the driveway vs. in the water.<br /><br />Some say that synthetic oils or even "higher quality" conventional oils will smoke less. I personally haven't noticed a difference.<br /><br />As for starting. Try this. It is based on the ritual that I've fallen into with my Johnson V6- it's older than yours, but probably similar carburetor and ignition technology.<br /><br />It may seem condescending, but believe me, I've forgotten every single step at one time or another!<br /><br />Make sure tank has fuel and air vent is open, and any fuel line valves are open.<br /><br />Pump bulb to firm. This fills the carburetor bowls.<br /><br />Double check "safety lanyard".<br /><br />Lift cold start lever full up.<br /><br />Turn key to on, but do not start.<br /><br />Push key in and hold in for FULL count of 8 SECONDS (not a fast count to 8!). This primes the cylinders - moves fuel from the carb bowls to the cylinders. It is not a choke, but is used similar to a choke for cold starting. I don't know if it's true, but I was told (and it works great for my engine), that it just takes a while to prime these big V6 engines, gravity and distances being what they are. This was the key step for me, which took a while to figure out. I'm fairly impatient and really wasn't holding it in long enough. If I do 4-6 seconds, it just doesn't work. I haven't flooded it yet by holding it in longer than 8-10 seconds, but that may be possible too.<br /><br />Start engine. "bump" key to give a little prime if necessary to keep running. This is usually necessary, so be aware and maybe even anticipate and bump a little here and there during the first 10 -20 seconds as a preventative measure. Necessary for first 1/2 to 1 minute only. <br /><br />Lower cold start arm as appropriate as idle evens out. <br /><br />Take care to avoid racing if on the hose vs. in the water. It will tend to race and idle high (+200 rpm at low idle) when on the hose compared to in the water - due to the pressure of the water against the exhaust (which comes out the prop).<br /><br />Let us know if this helps.<br /><br />If it stalls and you have to re-start, go through the procedure again, maybe priming for a tad less. I tend to do another 8 seconds, and haven't had flooding problems.<br /><br />If I follow this procedure
