Loss of power & backfire

[Bozboat]

13 hours ago, justgary said:

I guess when you post here that your engine bogs down and you can see the arcing because the coil wire is failing, I'll tell you it's time for new wires. 

I changed my wires (along with the usual suspects) in my '99 when I bought it five years ago.  I also changed the fuel and exhaust hoses, but it's only because I have learned that preventive maintenance seems to have a way of keeping bad luck away. 

 

Preventative Maintenance:

I replaced all the hoses about five years ago. The exhaust houses looked fine on the outside, but we’re failing inside out.

My 1999 fuel lines were turning brittle and chalky. I replaced them with ones rated for ethanol. 

I replaced the alternator, starter, and a few other parts before failure as well. 

 

Edited August 18, 2019 by Bozboat

[MattyICE15]

Is this part a no-go since it doesn't have brass fittings? I'm not having the easiest of times locating the exact part I should replace, other than the links provided above from Ebay. (00 VLX with the monsoon)

https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-D303A-Original-Equipment-Distributor/dp/B000BYB1Y4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=APLBDDLY2TMN&keywords=indmar+5.7+distributor+cap&qid=1566222338&s=gateway&sprefix=indmar+cap%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-4

 

[Bozboat]

1 hour ago, MattyICE15 said:

Is this part a no-go since it doesn't have brass fittings? I'm not having the easiest of times locating the exact part I should replace, other than the links provided above from Ebay. (00 VLX with the monsoon)

https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-D303A-Original-Equipment-Distributor/dp/B000BYB1Y4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=APLBDDLY2TMN&keywords=indmar+5.7+distributor+cap&qid=1566222338&s=gateway&sprefix=indmar+cap%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-4

 

You could use the non brass one to get you thru the season. The amazon linked cap does not appear to include the rotor.  You should replace both the rotor and the cap.

Bakesonline or Skidim have the brass one.  I replace my brass one every other year.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Bozboat

[Eagleboy99]

I had to check and discovered I did use a brass one: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/ECHRR249  Every few years it gets replaced.

[MattyICE15]

15 minutes ago, Eagleboy99 said:

I had to check and discovered I did use a brass one: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/ECHRR249  Every few years it gets replaced.

Do you have the Napa Rotor part # handy? Would love to scoop both of these up on the way home from the office tonight.

[Eagleboy99]

26 minutes ago, MattyICE15 said:

Do you have the Napa Rotor part # handy? Would love to scoop both of these up on the way home from the office tonight.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/ECHRR250 Bon appétit! 

[lussierd16]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:54 PM, justgary said:

I guess when you post here that your engine bogs down and you can see the arcing because the coil wire is failing, I'll tell you it's time for new wires. 

I changed my wires (along with the usual suspects) in my '99 when I bought it five years ago.  I also changed the fuel and exhaust hoses, but it's only because I have learned that preventive maintenance seems to have a way of keeping bad luck away. 

ok so I installed new plugs, distributor cap, rotor and plug wires. replaced both fuel filters. I checked the screen at the hose inside the fuel tank and it seemed clean. I checked the fuel hose from the tank up to the first fuel filter. All seem ok haven't checked any other fuel lines though. I rented a fuel pressure guage from autozone and ran it on the lake last night. It started up and seemed to be idling fine as usual. No more arcing with new plug wires 👍.  At keyup fuel pressure was 40 psi. I allowed it to idle for a little while to bring engine temp up to 130ish. At first takeoff it maintained 40 psi up to 3500 RPM. It felt like all was fixed and she was her old self again! After that I brought it down to 1000 RPM for a little while. Now engine was warmed up keeping at 160 degrees. The next two times attempted to plain off the fuel pressure dropped to around 20 PSI and I felt it bogging again 3500 RPM - 3900 RPM. During the bogging if I let back on the throttle it almost felt like it was picking up speed. <frustrated>

A few other forum posts mentioned a screen at the intake hose on the fuel filter may have debris. They mentioned that if the fuel pump is making a high pitch whine sound, which is what mine sounds like, it could be clogged up. Going to pull that hose off today and check.

Any other thoughts? I did call my local dealership a few days ago, waiting for a call back. 

[justgary]

This points to fuel hoses or the pump, in my opinion. 

You can temporarily rig up an external tank to feed the pump directly to figure it out.  If it works on an external tank, both the pump and fuel return hose are probably good.  If it doesn't work, rig the return hose into your tank to make sure that it isn't restricted before you change the pump. 

[lussierd16]

So my dealership got me in last minute on Thursday last week. I told him what all I've done and what the fuel pressure readings were. He told me it was definitely the fuel pump. So I had them replace it. Now it's running like a champ!! Fuel pressure with new pump is 50 PSI at idle and 56 PSI at wide open. They said this is normal. This was the new model fuel pump so it needed the new bracket. The pump and bracket  cost $500. Parts, labor + tax was $700 out the door. It's fine with me because I was back on the water for Labor Day weekend 👍

[NorthAugustaSki]

On 9/3/2019 at 11:35 AM, lussierd16 said:

So my dealership got me in last minute on Thursday last week. I told him what all I've done and what the fuel pressure readings were. He told me it was definitely the fuel pump. So I had them replace it. Now it's running like a champ!! Fuel pressure with new pump is 50 PSI at idle and 56 PSI at wide open. They said this is normal. This was the new model fuel pump so it needed the new bracket. The pump and bracket  cost $500. Parts, labor + tax was $700 out the door. It's fine with me because I was back on the water for Labor Day weekend 👍

I recently experienced a similar surge when giving my ‘99 Malibu Response gas via the throttle. Changed a lot of parts some of which were most certainly warranted but still experienced the occasional hesitation. The last thing I did which I think is worth sharing is the tightening of the belt.  In hindsight the belt would squeak at startup but not after warming.