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Went out today on our new to us 99 sunsetter vlx indimar 350 330 horse. Boat ran fine on initial lake test but today ran like crap. Would idle fine but would not run any faster than that. Boat would sputter, cough and die. Would start right up after that and idle fine. Boat sat for a year. Im hoping fuel filter?

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If it sat for a year with fuel in it, odds are that the ethanol in it has seperated and left you a ton of water and octane of almost nothing, plus as you asked the filters are probably the same filled with crappy fuel. change the filters pump the gas into your car, and put new 89 or 93 in the boat and it should be fine.

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Might be looking at some injector cleaning as well. As that ethanol fuel sat on top of those injectors for a year and separated to water, could have rust and/or other debris clogging them up.

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Oil and impeller done before we bought it. Got past the no wake zone and throttled down. Took right off and when i backed off the throttle is when it started coughing and died. Got progressively worse. Had to idle back to the dock. Need this fixed as wife is PISSED!

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I didn't catch from your first post that you just bought the boat. I'm still thinking fuel what about the test drive? How long did it last? Did you run it wide open?

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Need this fixed as wife is PISSED!

My first boat was a SeaRay and it was a dog. One breakdown after another. Sold it a few years later and got a 99 Sunsetter lxi. Haven't looked back since. You have a great boat with an issue that can be fixed. So, go get your wife some flowers and a bottle of wine and fix your boat.

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So i pumped 25 gallons of crap gas into a barrel. Replaced both fuel filters and checked all fuel lines and fittings. Filled tank with 7 gallons of 88 octane ethanol free fuel. Ran motor up to temp on fake a lake and ran at varying rpms. Ran much better. Will lake test tomorrow. Thanks for the advise, this forum is the best.

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Ran motor up to temp on fake a lake and ran at varying rpms.

In case this is your first inboard.....when you upped the rpm you didn't spin the prop did you?

Glad it's running.

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It is water lubricated. You'd only do it once, anyway. The sound it makes is quite dramatic. I know.

Oh yea, been there done that. sounds like the whole boat is coming apart

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So lake tested today and was better than before but still not fixed. Had a fuel pressure gauge and read about a constant 45. Seemed to run best with engine hatch up about two inches. coincidence? Also one time it died i noticed the tach needle run up 6 and back down to zero so im thinking something electrical? Engine didnt rev to 6, just died.

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Sounds like you took care of the fuel problem if there was one. I would suggest now moving on to a possible spark problem.

Check or replace cap, rotor, wires and plugs. It's not very expensive and then you'll know what you have.

If that doesn't fix the problem then I'd check timing.

If you think it is an electrical issue I'd hook up a voltmeter at different locations and drive around to see what is happening.

Edited by FastFreddy
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Agree on completing the tune up... Cap rotor wires plugs.

There's also a chance your injectors are clogged. A bottle of fuel injector cleaner is cheap medicine (but probably wouldn't help much if they are fully clogged from bad gas).

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3000 RPM is way too low. I would bet a dollar you have clogged injectors.

They can be removed and cleaned, not a real difficult job if you are reasonably comfortable turning a wrench. You can look on line and likely find a local place to have them cleaned. Should cost about $25 each or something like that. Most places claim to turn them around in a day or so. Dealer can remove them and send them out, but you'd probably be looking at $500 or so by the time you figure their labor and markup on the cleaning.

If the injectors are the problem, and are limiting RPM to 3K, no amount of fuel injector cleaner run through the tank is going to help at this point. They need to be removed and cleaned professionally.

Edited by RTS
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If you are getting that low an RPM at WOT its probably the injectors as others have mentioned. But FYI when I bought my 96 VLX it ran fine on test drive and like crap when I got home from a 7 hr drive back. Found that the Monsoon cover had cut into the coil wire a little. Replaced plug wires, cap and rotor, and plugs (all badly needed) and it ran like a champ after that.

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