Thats a problem with a lot of boats with baffled tanks. It was probably time anyway and it seemed to make more sense to just do it and not go line by line looking for the problem. But, there were no bubbles, no leaks at fittings, it even passed a vacuum test. Your previous content has been restored. Thankyou for posting this we were just about to start trying to diagnose a similar issue. After owning 11 boats, one thing I learned is if there is a hint of fuel problems I replace all the lines. No mechanical knowledge needed. How do we get the tank clean when it has baffles trapping the last bits of crude?. I also recall reading where someone put a longish metal tube onto a hose attached to a pump, and kept sucking out the bottom of the tanks, periodically adding more (filtered) fuel to stir up the crud on the bottom enough that it would get sucked up.

Having recently played this game myselfand met with only semi-successI can really appreciate what you went through. By . On the water, the dealer was able to duplicate the problem. His girlfriend would top off the oil, certain Porsches would leak, with a detergent oil. Tips from Carolyn I have actually done work on hard to reach items using this approach. Wow, that looks like a tedious fix so kudos for sticking it out. .

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Oh, and you can get the pencil zincs at West Marine or any marine store. So I would like to find another source. . . Or at least the way to start the answer. I installed a, Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.8 Beta 1, Seamanship, Navigation & Boat Handling, Rules of the Road, Regulations, & Red Tape. Weve run the engine over 20 hours since then without even a hiccup. If someone elseon board has better close-up vision or more sensitive fingers for finding imperfections, get them involved. In this case, the boat owner now knows his problem is in the boat and not his engine. Many anti-siphon valves become corroded and restrict fuel flow. There is a second hole (plugged) that I can get a new pickup tube for but was wondering what is going on with the one that had the elbow in it? Sigh.

In changing the valves, Dave had to remove our dual Racor assembly. By the time the car was taken to the shop the foam would subside and the engine would start. The fitting had been missing the small copper washer that all banjo fittings are supposed to have. I'm Carolyn Shearlock. Truck Freight is used to ship items that exceed standard shipping limitations on weight and/or size. Another major cause of fire are ill maintained vessels electrical systems. We knew we had clean fuel and a clean tank. When we were struggling with a hard to diagnose fuel problem on our new-to-us boat, I read this carefully. In my return e-mail, I explained to him that this would be extremely dangerous and should not be attempted. We got one. Delivery is only applicable within the contiguous United States. I did use a remote tank and the engine ran better that is why I took off the 90 in the first place. Hi All, thanks for the help. Clear editor. Published on August 31, 2020; last updated on August 31, 2020 by Carolyn Shearlock. This item will be fulfilled from the vendor. I wonder if that boat got swamped at some point, or saltwater got down there somehow. OEM-certified replacement Poplock fuel pick-up. Im pinning this for future ref The tube had a square cut at the bottom and fuel could not get into the tube fast enough to supply the engine. [], Everybodys got a best fishing buddy. He began inspecting the fuel line, and discovered that the primer bulb was soft and had no pressure. If you do not receive an email contact Customer Service. . This fitting is usually equipped with an anti-siphon valve. It could be dirty fuel and a plugged filter, a problem in the fuel pickup tube in the tank, water in the fuel that was getting past the Racor, an air leak or even a kinked or collapsed fuel hose. It would be difficult to get them mixed up. July 11, 2020 in Maintenance, Tech Info & Troubleshooting, 95 Malibu response 350 magI looked it up says our boats should hold 38 gallons I cant seem to get more then 13 in mine. Happened when we were on a friends boat. I have checked over the system but not as closely as you make clear is needed. That is a very nice example of what this forum is about. Tracking down air leaks is tough and can take a long time. Copyright 1999 - 2022 Louisiana Sportsman, Inc. All rights reserved. Not sure if they send outside Florida however. Thanks for posting! . We knew that the leak had to be somewhere between the tank and the fuel pump. Looking for one size fits all wont help much. Good job on tracking it down. Check all fittings and connections . The Resource Center has four FREE mini-courses to guide you to just the info you need, whether youre discovering what living on a boat would be like, preparing to cruise, overwhelmed with the first-year learning curve, or needing help with cooking aboard. I used segments of clear fuel tubing at multiple line junctions and ran the engine at high RPM.

So I wouldn't assume it was a quality or cost issue (but of course there are plenty of examples of that elsewhere on boats). How did I find it? I had the same issue. Found a loose hoseclamp and no more bubbles and engine is running like a dream. So thanks. 2018 Skeeter SX210 (I Know it's not a Tidewater but still love Tidewaters), This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our, Engines, Props, Jack Plates, Trim Tabs and Fuel. So now we figured that we had another air leak between the Racor and the fuel pump. Sunflowers are literally dope for doves. Help is here: Overcoming the First-Year Learning Curve (a free mini-course from The Boat Galley). I would try an easy-out to see if you can unscrew it. The first batch of fuel has been disposed of, the second batch polished twice. Dave traced the fuel hose and looked at all the components. Yea it cost more but customers would respect them for doing it. He could not get it to restart. A kink in this line or a pin hole or tear in the hose, or even a worn o-ring inside the plug-in connector, can cause the same sort of problems this boater is experiencing. West Marine offers a wide variety of aftermarket, OEM-equivalent engine parts. not forgetting the pickup tube inside the tank, for those of us who have top feed tanks. Had this problem last week, tracing fuel lines, looking at filters, connections, pumps, etc then I went to the injectors, noticed 3 out of 4 of studs on the return line didnt have washersthey were so tiny, but as soon as they were replaced, the engine ran great. Wow, that is some serious corrosion -- far worse than I have seen before. He could easily ignite the remaining fumes and the resulting explosion could cause severe injury to him and his boat. Learn what you can do to prevent phase separation and limit other ethanol-related fuel problems. The engine would run fine, then lose RPMs . Some Westerbeke literature said we should use a 2 micron Racor, others a 30 micron. When enough detergent oil was in the system it would foam up and foul the injectors. Thanks for the photo, I literally ran into this issue this week trying to diagnose the same exact problem. And as we started up the engine to come back in the harbor, it died. Heres what we learned from some unexpected medical issues while cruising. I got lucky and was able to drill out the aluminum fitting and use a tap to clean up the internal threads. The biggest thing with Racor filters is they MUST be filled to the brim. Your email address will not be published. It takes a lot of patience to track down the source of this type of problem, and the prroblem will probably turn out to be something really tiny and hard to see. Check out all the special deals from our podcast sponsors! You can post now and register later. Funny you mention that. If everything around you looks true, you checked more than once, then the problem is in any earlier assumption. Big sigh. . Took another look, and if you remove the sender you may be able to remove the nut holding the bulkhead fitting in place, if not you may be able to file or chisel off What is left of the top and push it down and pull it out. I was able to get about 2-300 more rpm by doing this. It was easier to see when I bent the hose a bit. The next day, we went out sailing just for fun. Not testing anything. It would only show up on the starboard tank after motoring for five or more hours at 2400 rpms or more. Weve been checking for leaks. Fortunately, the engine would restart, and it ran well as long as he did not exceed the 2,500-rpm mark. Last but not least, the fuel line from the water-separating filter to the engine, including any plug-in connections at the engine, should also be checked. I thought of that, but I have two inspection plates the forward one gives access to the hose for putting in gas and the vent, the rear one gives access to the fuel gauge sending unit and what I "think" is the fuel to engine hose. Popular articles you may have missed We have two fuel tanks and valves that determine which tank is being used and returned to. What I found was lots of soap bubbles coming out of the banjo fitting on the inlet to the fuel pump. Heres wishing you a summer packed full of many hours of boating fun. For this trip will just blow out and fill tank. Anyway I purchase the parts from a local Westerbeke dealer. Learning from your experience helped us save hours of frustration. Delivery time varies typically 23 weeks. Whenever Im faced with a fuel-supply problem, I like to start at the tank and work my way back to the engine. Now you can inspect the pick-up for any trash. . With the 6 gallon tank hooked to the engine, it ran flawlessly for over an hour. I was plannining to install a bulk head fitting by removing my sender to access the inside of the tank. This is not true and after years of engine failures, always when the conditions have the boat bouncing all over, we sorted this out with the help of a fellow mariner who had the same filters and problems. And I do mean tiny. Cancer and Reproductive WWW.P65Warnings.com. [More] How to Clean Your Boats Interior Teak. Heather Kolankowski, On gas engines you can use WD 40 to find leaks. Excellent! Enter your email address to be added to the waitlist. Looks like a good solution and nice write up and photos. Ive run all summer this way and will address replacing the Racor at season end. Shop vacs are not designed to suction explosive fumes, and they are not shielded against spark. I started looking at the hose very, very closely, lying on the deck with my head inside the engine compartment. Having never experience this before, all other that I have work on had a tube attached to the 90 degree fitting. Then he would use a shop vac to suction up any trash in the tank. To sell our house this summer so we can cruise full time . Thanks so much for the detailed, extensive descriptions of your trouble -shooting. No problem at all. What valuable, hard-won information you give us to use if we ever need it. [More] The Ultimate Answer, All cruisers have unexpected problems come up. Question where do you purchase parts. No spreadsheet skills needed! For compatibility then, you'd want to use aluminum or plastic fittings next to the aluminum. Good article, recently just went through a weird fuel leak myself. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. When we had problems with our engine cutting out two years ago, your story convinced us to immediately replace all the fuel lines. Glad to hear that.

We toasted finally tracking the problem down. Each time Id clean I off the bilge floor and next time after running it the fuel would be back on the floor. As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. We had no water whatsoever in the Racor, so ruled that out. The shipping was $ 48. The problem took over a year to determine the source. In this case, the first thing to do is locate any inspection hatches in the floor of the boat. Hopefully it is better now guess we will see at the ozarks. Luckily for us good old starboard is our go to girl. Runs for 15mins and loses RPM then later dies. All he needs to do now is trace down that problem and make the necessary corrections.

Many years ago I worked on a boat with a similar problem. The lessons that we took away from finding this fuel problem: Wondering how much of what foods to take on your next trip? Its remarkable how tiny a leak can be to completely decomission an engine. Thus we decided to concentrate on an air leak. It really doesnt take any special skills, just patience. Determined my. and then would lose more . My husband and I have been cruising over 14 years and 13,000 miles, first on a Tayana 37 monohull and now on a 34' Gemini catamaran. They said yes, so we bought two new valves. I purchased a 20 cent washer,installed it, filled the system back up with fuel and never had a problem again. Looking at our fuel hoses, it seemed impossible that there was a collapsed or kinked hose. There is only about 25 gal in tank was planning on filling today. Thanks for the idea of using a small wire to see if I can move it from side to side. Powered by Invision Community, Copyright 2005-2022 | TheMalibuCrew.com. Soo 2300 bucks later, its fixed. been sitting in storage - having trouble getting gas tank cover off - wanting to empty old gas - any tips for removing metal gas tank cover? As of now we carry a lot of filters! At this point, the boat captain tried an experiment. Your email address will not be published. We bled the fuel system and started the engine up while still on the mooring, and it died almost immediately. After the fuel pump, the fuel is under pressure and will seep out any unsealed areas as a fuel leak. Is there any additive I can add at this point to help after blowing whatever back in tank. With my luck I figured I may have gauge issues post-install. Along the way, we sold pretty much everything we owned (twice! Privacy Guaranteed - your email is never shared with anyone, opt out any time. Can you siphon it out through the filler? The wrench slipped and partially collapsed the side wall so It will not take the anti-siphon valve. We took the boat out and motored for over 3 hours in 2 to 3 foot waves. It can happen, doesn't matter where you bought your fuel. This also has the advantage of allowing zoom. Copyright 2005-2022 | TheMalibuCrew.com I did clean up the anti-siphon valve and will replace it once the boat is out of the water and will blow out the tube to clear any obstruction in the tube.

If possible, remove the fuel line from the pick-up tube, and then lift the pick-up tube out of the tank. One of the main causes of fire aboard vessels is associated with flexible fuel lines.your fuel lines were an accident waiting to happen, you were fortunate they only caused your engine to run like a hairy goatit could have been a lot worse, if you had had an engineroom fire..and I do not mean just the loss of a vessel. Resource and Discussion Forum for Key West Boat Owners. We are unable to access the tank much less remove it for cleaning (short of literally destroying the galley and salon) which is the problem. These hatches usually are located over the fuel pick-up tube and the gas gauge sending unit. Well, I didnt want to say anything, but really she was the one who told us what to look for . Cummins traced it to a very small crack in the Fuel Injection Pump which requires complete replacement of the pump. Head discharge lines clogged with marine growth. I will say that the Cummins folks here in Cincinnati (Cummins West Chester) were awesome, going from diagnosis to repaired in 4 days, and the Tech (Shane) even re-sprayed the area with Cummins White paint so it looks brand new. Also one completely different item what is your mast head clearance? I bypassed it putting a $6 outboard plastic filter inline between the input and output hoses. The pain was figuring out HOW to. So I will need someone to walk me through the diagnosis steps. I wanted to ensure that the fuel tank pickup was not partially clogged so I took out the pick up tube (and anti siphon valve).

Pulled the tank replaced the pickup tube lengthened to pull from rear of tank. Fuel tamk is in isolated compartment from the. Fortunately I have my wife to periodically talk me off the ceiling!! Thanks. Use this shopping list of essential components to create a soundand compliant fuel tank installation. and hasnt quit again (or had even the tiniest RPM drop) in over 20 hours of motoring. Ive read that many services use a pressure washer with special tips to get to otherwise inaccessible areas the trick of course being not to damage the tank with too much pressure.

Also, forgot to say that I did a bit of damage to the 90 degree fitting. This website uses cookies for functionality, analytics and advertising purposes as described in our, Repairs, Rebuilds, Restorations, and Customizations. If I hit something that means the pick up is part of the tank. ), gained a great boat dog, had a bunch of wonderful times and some adventures . I verify with a small wire as suggested. The pickup tube was permanently installed (we called the tank manufacturer to confirm this) so we did not remove it to check it for blockages or cracks. We thought we had a fuel blockage, but after reading this rushed to check our racor for bubbles. Ive got the answer. Just as we got into the big ship channel there, we had some RPM dips. It certainly is a relief to figure these kind of things out after so long a time. Then you should just be able to find a replacement, even if it is Al it should last a decade or two. Alright so I went off the grid for a bit and finally got this fixed (hopefully). The correction for this boat was to simply cut the bottom of the tube on an angle so that even if it did hit the bottom of the tank, it would still supply fuel. You could actually see large volumes of air bubbles in the fuel thereby isolating the location of the leak. Was running engines pretty hard yesterday (motor sailing) when both shut down, right after a large rough storm. Click here. Display as a link instead,

I chased a fuel delivery problem from Mobile all the way to Nassau. Hopefully that solution works out in the long run, as it appears it will. Great article.thanks for sharingair leaks like that can be unbelievably frustrating! The important lesson is to absolutely isolate the problem. After pumping the bulb, he got the engine to start immediately, but it died again when he attempted to accelerate to a planing speed. The manufacturer says the filters need only be half full.. I did try and argue out that it should not have failed in only 492 hours, but they didnt agree. Run the engine fast, look for air bubbles in the areas of line. thanks for the informative and detailed article. Small cracks are tough to find, but definitely cause issues that are easy to notice lol.

Glad yours is still running, cant wait to get cruising myself and get out there to help people with their engine problems so they can get going and enjoy their time faster. We then pumped all the diesel out of one tank, pulled the tank out and cleaned the inside of it, reinstalled it, then ran the fuel back into it through a Baja filter (no significant water or crud). Thanks Carolyn, I have been fighting the same problem for a year with the Yanmar 30GM losing several hundred rpms when running over 2000 rpms and then catch up again after a few seconds. We had bubbles galore! He fixed that, and we were confident that we had the problem licked. The Boat Galley We definitely would have floundered longer if we didnt have an example of a crew with far more experience than we had still struggling. Were now declaring the problem solved. So thanks! But why?

[], Its not only important to wear a life jacket, but to make sure it is functioning properly, especially if it is self-inflating.

The boater explained again what had happened, and the dealer took the boat out on the water for a test run. I was a bit iffy too on the gasket sealer, though I believe the propensity of gas to leak through such a tight fitting is probably unlikely, as it is rarely under significant hydrostatic pressure. I think that would have been and easier way to do it. Finally, our last fix seems to have done it. We found some stories of people cutting them and all sorts of stuff. Several times, we thought perhaps wed solved the problem and then when wed try to motor, wed find we still had a problem. You are using an out of date browser. Our fuel polishing made no difference. Click here. Thanks for reposting this Carolyn.we are literally right in the middle of sorting through this problem. Just read your shutting off the water pump while traveling article and then last time out case of the missing water. The e-mailer said the dealer had already replaced the fuel line from the tank to the fuel filter, but no mention was made of the water-separating filter. Being cautious and not wanting to do any damage to his new engine, he got towed back to the dock, and the next day took his rig to the dealer to be checked. I always hope that what I write will help someone else no reason for us all to learn the hard way!

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I had the very same issues of fuel starvation and the problem was the Racor assembly. . Your link has been automatically embedded. We have been using Carp Coastal and theyve been pretty good . Yes, its a serious safety issue in addition to being a pain! Wish I had this to read two years ago when I had a similar problem. The Boat Galley can be overwhelming with over 1,200 articles. Of course the engine dies in the worst and waviest conditions when the crud gets stirred up. The valve stems seemed a little wobbly and we called the companys tech support to see if this would let air in. 3/8"ID x 12"L chemical-resistant nylon tubing. He is considering draining the fuel tank and leaving it open for a few days to evaporate any liquid left in the tank. It is possible for this filter to develop a small pinhole in the outer casing usually caused by rust. But how you deal with them will make the difference. Totally FREE one email a week. I was getting air in the fuel.

There are two fittings, two hose clamps and one hose between the two. We began with the simple, more common problems and then progressed to checking other things that would cause a fuel problem on a boat: Finally, when we started the engine it ran well. Hugs and Fishes from Haida Gwaii, We did some more reading on the Tempo fuel tanks that we have and found that (a) a crack in the pickup tube is a semi-common problem and (b) someone had cut off the permanent fitting, fixed the cracked pickup, and then reinstalled it. This is the second step of my fuel problem diagnostics. Some polishing services do steam cleaning of tanks, but we have never had it done so I dont know if it can get crud from behind baffles. The engine failed more and more frequently. Will also get a 5 -6 gal can which is easy for me to drop fuel line in and run from. And patience IS a skill. I pressurized it slightly with air and did a bubble test. The anti-siphon seems OK but I'll replace it anyway. Initial testing showed that the engine was now running well, so we went ahead and made a trip to Key West to visit friends vacationing there. After careful inspection, the dealer called and explained he could not find anything wrong with the engine. Just last week a friend had a problem and thats exactly what it turned out to be. It kinda looks like that pickup threads into the tank (from the images of similar pickups). . Thanks, Ours supposedly couldnt be taken apart. How Far Off the Tank Bottom Is a Fuel Pickup Tube ? Expedited shipping is not available. Much later the engine dies. If there is a leak the engine will speed up. found that one of the unused port plugs had never been screwed in all the way, let alone had any thread sealant used on it. I'm sure the same could go for any manufacturer. Check out this article for some easy ways to stretch your fuel dollars. Know just how much to buy of what all arranged by grocery store aisle with our handy Provisioning Spreadsheet. If the vent is clear no problem. If this is happening, just replace the anti-siphon valve. Also check closely the length of the pick-up tube. I just bought a 97 baja hammer and it seem to be having the same issue. It's beyond me why manufactures will not use quality components in their products. Changed duel filter no luck, Im not a very handy a person. Well that's what I thought I was doing, there was no tube that came out with the 90 degree fitting.

Such a pain when it doesnt show up all the time.. I will wait for a few mins and retart engine, then have to go thru the issue again.