I have a 2003 Wellcraft Coastal 270 with a 8.1L GI-D Volvo Penta Engine. The other day while out fishing, I heard a loud whining sound. I assumed it was the fuel pump because it didn't change with engine RPM. When we returned to the dock, I verified that it is indeed coming from the high pressure pump on the fuel cell.
Yesterday I tested my pressures. I'm running 40PSI on the high side, and 8PSI on the low. One thing I noticed is that the high pressure remains constant after the engine is turned off. The low pressure bleeds off to 0 almost before I can make it back to the engine to see it. Is this normal, or is there a check valve malfunctioning inside the pump.
I removed the cover off of the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail and looked a the screen inside. There was very little if any dirt on it. I blew it out, cleaned up some paint that had seeped under the cover (probably not hurting anything) and reassembled. As I expected, the high pressure reading did not change.
I removed the fuel cell assembly and brought it home. I read in another thread where someone was able to disassemble the fuel cell and clean the inlet screens to the pumps. I removed the high pressure pump, and the screen did have some debris in it, but it wasn't clogged as I had expected. I was unable to remove the bottom of the fuel cell to inspect the low pressure pump. I tried tapping it off with a block of wood and a hammer, and it won't budge. Can someone shed some light as to the dis assembly of this fuel cell?
I may be wasting my time, but I would like to check it out. At the dock yesterday I didn't have any whining sound, so the cell must have been full of fuel and the high pressure pump was not cavitating. I still only had 40PSI. Am I looking at a HP pump failure? I see that those are being offered for sale as a Volvo Penta 3588865.
I make it a point to only fill the tank with non-ethanol fuel, so maybe that's why I'm not seeing the paint buildup like others have. The only paint issue that I noticed is where the fuel filter seals. It was all bubbled. I scraped it off, and cleaned it up with steel wool. It's now nice and smooth.
The boat seems to run okay, but I've had an issue since I bought it (in 2009) where it doesn't want to stay running when first started unless you give it a little throttle to keep it running. I'm now wondering if low fuel pressure is to blame for this problem. I'm also not sure if I can reach WOT RPMs. I have a flaky tach, and need to either clean the connections, or replace it, but according to a brochure I found about the boat online, it's supposed to be able to do 45MPH with this engine configuration, and I'm lucky to see 35-38MPH. Now I know they probably over state that number, and that's with a clean bottom (mine's painted) and no weight inside (I always start the season with 188 Gallons of fuel and a full water tank).
Thanks in advance for any insight into this problem.
Yesterday I tested my pressures. I'm running 40PSI on the high side, and 8PSI on the low. One thing I noticed is that the high pressure remains constant after the engine is turned off. The low pressure bleeds off to 0 almost before I can make it back to the engine to see it. Is this normal, or is there a check valve malfunctioning inside the pump.
I removed the cover off of the fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail and looked a the screen inside. There was very little if any dirt on it. I blew it out, cleaned up some paint that had seeped under the cover (probably not hurting anything) and reassembled. As I expected, the high pressure reading did not change.
I removed the fuel cell assembly and brought it home. I read in another thread where someone was able to disassemble the fuel cell and clean the inlet screens to the pumps. I removed the high pressure pump, and the screen did have some debris in it, but it wasn't clogged as I had expected. I was unable to remove the bottom of the fuel cell to inspect the low pressure pump. I tried tapping it off with a block of wood and a hammer, and it won't budge. Can someone shed some light as to the dis assembly of this fuel cell?
I may be wasting my time, but I would like to check it out. At the dock yesterday I didn't have any whining sound, so the cell must have been full of fuel and the high pressure pump was not cavitating. I still only had 40PSI. Am I looking at a HP pump failure? I see that those are being offered for sale as a Volvo Penta 3588865.
I make it a point to only fill the tank with non-ethanol fuel, so maybe that's why I'm not seeing the paint buildup like others have. The only paint issue that I noticed is where the fuel filter seals. It was all bubbled. I scraped it off, and cleaned it up with steel wool. It's now nice and smooth.
The boat seems to run okay, but I've had an issue since I bought it (in 2009) where it doesn't want to stay running when first started unless you give it a little throttle to keep it running. I'm now wondering if low fuel pressure is to blame for this problem. I'm also not sure if I can reach WOT RPMs. I have a flaky tach, and need to either clean the connections, or replace it, but according to a brochure I found about the boat online, it's supposed to be able to do 45MPH with this engine configuration, and I'm lucky to see 35-38MPH. Now I know they probably over state that number, and that's with a clean bottom (mine's painted) and no weight inside (I always start the season with 188 Gallons of fuel and a full water tank).
Thanks in advance for any insight into this problem.