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View Full Version : Suzuki DT4 4HP outboard - help !!!



Doogle
09-10-2007, 11:31 AM
Hi guys

I have a DT4 that I bought about 12 years ago and it has had little use. I am now trying to set it up as an auxiliary on my 14ft Clark as a backup to a 35HP Evinrude. The motor starts easily enough and idles just fine.

The problem is that the water coming from the "pee hole" is ok when cold but slowly decreases as the motor warms up. Eventually it just peters out to a wisp of steam - then a quick "kill" of the motor is the order of the day to prevent damage. This was never a problem before - the motor always pumped water well each and every time I used it.

So far I have replaced the water pump impeller, the grommet feeding water to the cooling jacket, the gasket from the power head to the drive shaft housing ( and cleaned out the entire water jacket in the whole process ).

The pump is working. A power drill on the drive shaft to the pump (when separated from the bottom of the drive housing) lower unit causes the water to bubble out of the pump's outlet. It doesn't spurt out very far but then again, the DT4 only has a small impeller in the pump so I wouldn't expect a gusher.

All water passages are clear - proven by using water from a hose and by the fact that it pumps when cool.

It seems to me that it could be a crack in the head "assembly" but I find that difficult to accept or the motor itself would not idle & run as well as it does. The whole of the cylinder bore casing is extended to become what would be the head in a normal auto engine.

I have tried compressed air into the spark plug hole with the crank held in the "firing position" and there are no bubbles coming out of the water jacket as far as I can tell. If I let it rotate until the crank is in the exhaust position, air bubbles freely from the base of the motor.

Has anyone experienced this scenario before ? What was the issue ?
Does anyone have an old DT4 in the junk pile that I could use to dissect and fault-find this one ?? I don't really want to discard it so some advice to help make it healthy again would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Doogle

blaze
09-10-2007, 12:48 PM
has it got a thermostat, if so remove that and see what happens
cheers
blaze

Doogle
09-10-2007, 01:14 PM
Blaze

No thermostat in this model - circa 1985.

Actually, if it did, it would probably be a typical thermostat symptom in reverse because water will pass through at normal rate when cold - and then reduces when hot - until it finally ceases.

Doogle.

Doogle
10-10-2007, 03:56 PM
If you are reading this then it means that you have experienced a similar problem to the one I described in my earlier posting.

My solution was actually quite simple when it all came down to it ......

MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER PUMP IN THE LOWER UNIT IS WELL BELOW THE WATERLINE IN THE TEST TANK.

Initially my water pump was probably on borderline with water depth - which meant that it would pump when cold but (I am guessing here) as the exhaust gases built up more pressure within the drive unit casing then the water within it was being forced lower to the point that the pump was no longer effectively immersed. It looked to be deep enough but reality and "looking like" are vastly different in practice.

I placed the water tank on a couple of pieces of timber such that the water was just 30mm deeper and then it pumped continuously, and the "pee hole" produced a healthy spurt at idle and at revs, cold and hot.

If this post helps someone avoid expensive un-necessary spare parts and repairs simply because the test tank water is not deep enough then I have done my bit for today ;D ;D ;D !

Doogle

Sea-Dog
10-10-2007, 09:59 PM
Hey Doogle,

That counts as a "Bugger" situation >:(

I can imagine the choice language you were using about yourself when you discovered the "solution" ;D