Fuel Pump Squealing

[whiteVLX]

That's great news rts

[SmoothWaterMan]

rts, glad you found the problem. My mistake the filter, your boat (and all boats 2002 and newer) use the 33299 filter, which is the NAPA 3299. This fits a 1/2" fuel line, compared to the 3/8" fuel line that the 33033 filter fits. (All boats 2002 and newer have a 1/2" fuel line)

Peter.

[jklein]

rts:

If you have not run a full tank of fuel through your boat this year, I would get a spare mini filter (the one by the gas tank) and add some water absorber to your gas, then replace the filter after that first tank is empty. It's been my experience that water in the gas can cause that little mini filter to not perform to expectations after it's been fouled by a little bit of water that may have accumulated by condensation over the winter. My winter startup procedure is to put some ISO HEAT (water absorber for gasoline) in the tank at the start of the season, and replace the filters after the first tank of fuel is gone. That first tank has all the stabil and is old gas so I change the filters after it's been burned off. It's cheap insurance.

[RTS]

rts:

If you have not run a full tank of fuel through your boat this year, I would get a spare mini filter (the one by the gas tank) and add some water absorber to your gas, then replace the filter after that first tank is empty.  It's been my experience that water in the gas can cause that little mini filter to not perform to expectations after it's been fouled by a little bit of water that may have accumulated  by condensation over the winter.  My winter startup procedure is to put some ISO HEAT (water absorber for gasoline) in the tank at the start of the season, and replace the filters after the first tank of fuel is gone.  That first tank has all the stabil and is old gas so I change the filters after it's been burned off.  It's cheap insurance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I pulled several fuel samples from the tank when I had everything apart, put it into a clear glass to check, and repeated the process several times. The gas looked good (I know how to spot sediment and water in fuel from experience with my other hobby, flying small planes). I figured it would look good because after our first hurricane last year, I siphoned ALL the gas from my tank to put in my generator (I put 34-1/2 gallons into my Sunsetter's 35 gallon tank, so I'm confident I siphoned most of it out)

Also, when I removed the old filter, I immediately capped the ends off, and drained it "backwards" into a glass to inspect, then blew compressed air through it backwards on to a rag, and there was virtually no debris.

I will look into the ISO HEAT, though, but if I'm not mistaken Sta-bil claims to have a water remover in it also, and I use Sta-bil religiously.

As an aside, the boat ran like a scalded dog on the "lake test" Saturday, no fuel leaks became apparent after numerous checks, the hole shot is back (it was not my imagination, like I suspected) and the new fuel pump is virtually silent (I certainly can not hear it with the engine cover down)

Overall, it was a good experience for me, I learned a great deal about my boat's fuel delivery system, had some fun, and I now have the confidence I would need to change out the fuel pump on the water. My dealer (Central Florida Boating Center) was really cool about the whole deal, being very understanding that I wanted to do the work myself, which cost them some labor dollars, let me know they were there as a backup in case I got into the project and needed help finishing, and offered up numerous tips along the way to make the process go smooth for me.

If any of you would like advice on how to change out your pump, I would be more than happy to outline the tools and procedures I used to help you with your project (I didn't take pictures along the way, though, and now wish I would have)

Edited May 23, 2005 by rts