Hello. First post on this forum - looks like a great one. The forum, not the post. I have been reading quite a bit here and am seeing just how ignorant I really am. I have owned my boat since 1991 (bought it new). It is a Tracker Bass Buggy 18 with a Johnson (Tracker) 60 on it. I have thoroughly enjoyed my boat. I used it frequently throughout the year when I lived in Georgia and had it "serviced" at the dealership where I bought it once a year. I don't know what that service entailed, I just took it in and paid the $200 every time. Never had any problems with the boat or motor. Until now.<br /><br />I moved to Montana in 1999 and brought the boat with me. The last time out before the move, I put the boat on the trailer, pulled the gas line, and ran the carbs dry. Then I took the fuel tank out and drained it, too. I have not cranked the boat until last week. 5 years of sitting outdoors. The above mentioned was the only storage preparation I did. I had no intentions of the boat sitting so long, but that is just the way things turned out. Anyway, I finally get ready to fire this thing up. I pulled the fuel tanks again, and much to my chagrin, I found about an inch of water that smelled like 5 year old fuel in the bottom of the tank. So I pulled the line and ball and rinsed them with fresh gas, let the tank sit in the sun for a day to help evaporate any left over water, then put a couple of gallons of fresh fuel and pumped her up. I also drained the oil tank and replaced with new TC-W3 oil, and found no moisture in that tank, maybe because it is under the back step and covered?? Anyway, pump up both bulbs, put on the muffs, choke it and turn the key on a new battery. Boy, I was smiling when she fired right up. She just wouldn't idle. Had to keep it at about 1500 RPM to keep it running. So I shut it down for the day and took it to work the next morning so I could get a better look at her in the shop we have. Called a few folks and followed suggestions on running a strong mix of SeaFoam through it. I had about 2 gallons of fuel in the tank, so I poured the whole can of SeaFoam in there and started it up again. I was really happy when it started AND idled fine. Smoked like crazy with all that SeaFoam in there, but she idled with the muffs on at about 700-800 RPM. Ran it for about 3 minutes and shut it down for 30 minutes. Then I filled the fuel tank with high test and headed for the lake. The boat runs at any RPM over 1500 in the water, but has a heck of a time staying running at any speed under that. She'll run for about 15 seconds and then slowly die. Takes a good bit of throttle and choke to restart, but it does restart right away. That is what got me doing research and ultimately brought me to this forum. I have been reading posts for about 4 days now, and with the wealth of info I found here already, I am confident I can do what needs to be done to this motor. I have a decent amount of mechanical ability, I just never messed with outboard motors before. Seeing all the help that has been supplied to other members here, I am ready to start on this thing myself. I intend to "de-carb" ASAP, following the method under the FAQ section. I also see that the carbs need to be pulled and kits put in. That was the scariest part for me, but reading here it seems like it isn't too bad. Here are my main questions for the moment......<br />My motor model is TJ60TLESF. It is a 1990. I am currently looking for a manual, but am confused on which one(s) I might need. I found an OMC Manual on eBay, but it says it was copywright 1991. I also found the seloc manual that covers a huge hp range and year model range, and was wondering if I need something more specific? Can anyone help me determine exactly which manual would best suit my motor, and any other advise would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to be thorough and supply you folks with as much info as possible. Thanks in advance from an ignorant newbie that is willing to listen and learn.
