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Fuel Issue?


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So, after getting the last remnants of seating put back in after the carpet replacement project I decided, "why yes, I WOULD like to go for a spin". I hooked it up to a fake a lake so I could make sure everything was working. Fired up without a problem, ran for about 5 min, verified that water was flowing out the exhaust, and thought everything was fantastic. Idling w/o an issue until I hear the engine stumble a bit then stall. Fire it up again, run for a few seconds, stumble, stall. Lather rinse repeat for a while. Checked the safety lanyard, key on off for a few cycles to allow the fuel pump to work. Fired it up and it ran a bit, I revved it up a bit and it seemed to work fine. Then stall came back. Checked plugs and they were fine. I added some fuel treatment for water absorption. Let it sit while I polished and waxed. Fired it back up and it ran great for about 15 minutes. Had them put it in the water, put it in gear and stall. Fired up and was able to move. Stalled once in the no wake zone before I could throttle up. Once I got out of no wake I hit the throttle and everything worked fine. No more stalls or stumbles. I did notice a lot more whining from the area of the V-Drive however but that may have been me just being paranoid. So, after 2000 words of introduction I get to my question. What do you folks think was the problem? Fuel pump? Bad fuel? Bad prime after replacing my fuel filter for the year? Other ideas? Thanks in advance and I'm crossing my fingers that it's just some water in the fuel.

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My guess is water in the fuel, have had similar kind of issue.

I don't think it's the fuel pump because everyone that I've had go bad (these where in cars) they would not start on the 1st try. Once running, they would continue to run.

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When I get a chance I'm going to get some more fuel treatment and put some fresh gas in there. Between that issue, the odd whine near the v-drive, and what I'm guessing is a cracked ballast pump leaking winter seems to have kicked me in the groin yet again.

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check your fuel filter. Change it and see if it solves your issue. Very cheap. It is possible that carpet debris got into the fuel tank.

Edited by Rmack
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Are you sure the whine isn't because of missing seats/different carpet not muffling the noise?

All the seats were in when I did the test drive BUT I did fix a gap in the seat directly over the V-Drive after I got back to the dock. I'll see if that maybe muffles it a bit. (Crossing fingers) Thanks.

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check your fuel filter. Change it and see if it solves your issue. Very cheap. It is possible that carpet debris got into the fuel tank.

I actually just replaced the filter after all the carpet was in. That's why I wasn't sure if there was a primer of some sort. Was wondering if there were some air voids trapped in the line. I know some trucks have this and you have to prime every time you change a fuel filter. I'll pull it next time I'm up there to see if it's got any crud in it. Thanks.

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The whining sounds like the fuel pump starving to me too.

Not sure which fuel filter you changed, I believe your boat should have two

low pressure

high pressure

The small one before the fuel pump can be put in backwards (I wouldn't expect that to cause the problem though) so double check on that.

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In my experience (I've had a number of fuel pumps die over the years), they typically go in one of two fashions:

#1 - Dead. No priming, no nothing. Done deal

#2 - Run with limited flow/pressure. Might idle fine and have good fuel pressure at idle, but can't keep up with any type of fuel demand. I saw this on a 3 pumps that died on me on a CPI 4.3L GM motor I had (stock pump and two bad Autozone specials before until I got a 3rd properly working pump). I had a pressure gauge on the rail sitting on the windshield - good pressure until I put a load on the motor (beyond just a rev in the driveway). Pressure would drop. With that motor it was a big issue as it used poppet valves instead of injectors, requiring a high rail pressure to open the valves.

I would make sure to change out those fuel filters for sure. Could have been debris in them that got forced through. Could be water in the gas. Fouled plugs you cleared up or even a condition that may not be resolved yet. I tend to start my troubleshooting once I take care of the basic maintenance items first, as it may eliminate further troubleshooting and isn't a waste of money to do them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, little update on the topic. I replaced both the high and low pressure fuel filters, cleaned screen before high pressure filter, and replaced distributor cap/rotor. Still ran like crap. Bit the bullet and had the mechanic at my marina look at it. It seems that the boat was running too cool (his guess was thermostat) and he said the plugs were fouled from it running too cool. Now I'm not going to claim to be a plug guru but I've seen worse plugs come out of my small engine equipment and my truck. He also mentioned that the riser gaskets appeared to be leaking. Long story short, I had reached the end of my technical rope and ran out of time so I had him take care of it. $350 for plugs, riser gaskets, and thermostat replacement. (labor was about 2/3 of that cost I imagine) He said that there were signs of corrosion inside the exhaust manifold so it looks like I may have dodged a bullet with a hydrolock situation. Kinda embarrassed that I missed the fouled plugs but happy that he found a potential engine grenade early.

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so the noise was a red herring?

That's TBD. I haven't really opened it up since the first day since it was obviously running like garbage at idle. I'll likely go up there on Saturday and take it for a spin with my daughter.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think water in the fuel. Air in the line is will cause this but goes away much to quickly to have caused a stall in the no wake zone. Especially since I assume you idled the boat for a minute or two prior to pulling out.

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  • 1 month later...

I'll merge these two topics.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/49291-back-to-the-ol-drawing-board/page-1

After finishing the full drain and refill of fuel it's still an issue. So to date new parts are as follows: high and low pressure fuel filters, plugs, wires, distributor cap/rotor, fuel. Cleaned throttle body and IAC. The good part of this is I've learned more than I ever thought I would about marine fuel and ignition systems.

Edited by Cap305
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In my experience (I've had a number of fuel pumps die over the years), they typically go in one of two fashions:

#1 - Dead. No priming, no nothing. Done deal

#2 - Run with limited flow/pressure. Might idle fine and have good fuel pressure at idle, but can't keep up with any type of fuel demand. I saw this on a 3 pumps that died on me on a CPI 4.3L GM motor I had (stock pump and two bad Autozone specials before until I got a 3rd properly working pump). I had a pressure gauge on the rail sitting on the windshield - good pressure until I put a load on the motor (beyond just a rev in the driveway). Pressure would drop. With that motor it was a big issue as it used poppet valves instead of injectors, requiring a high rail pressure to open the valves.

I would make sure to change out those fuel filters for sure. Could have been debris in them that got forced through. Could be water in the gas. Fouled plugs you cleared up or even a condition that may not be resolved yet. I tend to start my troubleshooting once I take care of the basic maintenance items first, as it may eliminate further troubleshooting and isn't a waste of money to do them.

I had a Carter high-volume low-pressure electrical fuel pump (for a carbed indmar) that failed high! Kept flooding out the carb. I spent so much effort trying to figure that one out. Now I always have a fuel pressure gage installed .And I don't use carter marine fuel pumps any longer since the electrical connections are on the bottom and are press fit...crap design for a marine engine taking shocks all the time....

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