snobum5637
Recruit
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2010
- Messages
- 3
My fuel pump started to develop the "Dreaded Fuel Pump Whine" this season and finally started to concern me enough to hit the Forums. There was plenty of information out there. The majority of responses put the OEM design at fault. An engineer decided to paint the inside of a fuel cell. Likely for good reason, but I agree that ethanol may be the unforeseen culprit of corrosion within the LP cell. Perhaps Fuel additives like STABIL? Additionally, my engine began to develop hesitation on hot starts. Extensive cranking and sputtering before coming to life. No other issues noted.
I considered purchasing a new unit all together, but with some persuasion from a local tech, decided to give the teardown a go. Sorry, no pictures.
My 2007 SeaSport Explorer provides enough room to access the pump assay. but I wish that the heat exchanger was a little farther away from one of the two bottom assy. bolts. Consulting the SELOC manual, I removed the entire unit, (I found it easier to remove the main fuel filter first to access one of the bolts.)
Long story short, there was plenty of debris through the system. On both pump screens. Inside the main fuel cell, lots of paint flaking away.
I cleaned the hell out of it, and scraped of as much paint as out of the bottom tray as I could. (Perhaps a soda blast would have been the best, but I'm impatient.)
Rinsed everything multiple times, scraped some more, rinsed again (using gas). I started cleaning what I ultimately learned is the water jacket. It was absolutely crammed full of salt corrosion. After scraping, picking and digging, I did the unthinkable. I took the unit to my utility basin & flushed it with hot water. That made pretty quick work of the remaining salt buildup. It also helped flush out more of the corrosion debris. After that, I scraped paint again. As much as I reasonably could. 100% of the paint scraping was on the bottom part of the assembly. (the aluminum tray at the bottom that directs fuel to the various ports). Rinse, repeat. I finally figured that I was good with the cleaning, dried everything as best as I could and flushed everything with fuel to remove any excess moisture.
As for re assembly and 'O' rings. Llike I said, Im an impatient person. This can cause problems in the future but I wanted results this Labor day weekend. The condition of the seals wasn't bad. I cleaned any debris and buildup off of the seals. The water jacket ring came off fairly easily. I scraped the corrosion from the aluminum, cleaned the rubber ring & re-assembled. Everything went together well. For the rare DIY'er, take your time. Take pictures if you need to. Tag the connections so you know what goes where. Everything re-assembled well, (had to cut a bit of hose line here and there for removal, but plenty of excess for flush re-attachment.) I pressurized the system based on the SELOC instructions, but repeated the steps because my fuel filter wasn't full. (hindsight, fill the fuel filter before replacing.) Checked very thoroughly for any leaks (ITS A GASOLINE PRESSURIZATION SYSTEM! NO NEED FOR EXPLOSIONS ON YOUR HOLIDAY!)
Put the boat on the water, charged the system again and fired up the engine. After some hesitation (likely because the fuel filter wasn't full), the engine ran smooth and much quieter. I checked for leaks continuously. None found. Initially, a faint whine developed coming from the high pressure pump. I started to think that I had lost the battle. Then, over the course of a couple minutes, the whine faded and ultimately disappeared. I assume that the residual air in the hi press. pump was replaced with fuel and the cavitation ceased.
Additionally, the engine had no more hesitation with hot starts at the ramp. So! On to a Sea Trial. I will follow up to see if things hold up.
Attached is a link from the original thread that helped me out.
Some good pictures and instruction here.
http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-penta...gi-545407.html
I considered purchasing a new unit all together, but with some persuasion from a local tech, decided to give the teardown a go. Sorry, no pictures.
My 2007 SeaSport Explorer provides enough room to access the pump assay. but I wish that the heat exchanger was a little farther away from one of the two bottom assy. bolts. Consulting the SELOC manual, I removed the entire unit, (I found it easier to remove the main fuel filter first to access one of the bolts.)
Long story short, there was plenty of debris through the system. On both pump screens. Inside the main fuel cell, lots of paint flaking away.
I cleaned the hell out of it, and scraped of as much paint as out of the bottom tray as I could. (Perhaps a soda blast would have been the best, but I'm impatient.)
Rinsed everything multiple times, scraped some more, rinsed again (using gas). I started cleaning what I ultimately learned is the water jacket. It was absolutely crammed full of salt corrosion. After scraping, picking and digging, I did the unthinkable. I took the unit to my utility basin & flushed it with hot water. That made pretty quick work of the remaining salt buildup. It also helped flush out more of the corrosion debris. After that, I scraped paint again. As much as I reasonably could. 100% of the paint scraping was on the bottom part of the assembly. (the aluminum tray at the bottom that directs fuel to the various ports). Rinse, repeat. I finally figured that I was good with the cleaning, dried everything as best as I could and flushed everything with fuel to remove any excess moisture.
As for re assembly and 'O' rings. Llike I said, Im an impatient person. This can cause problems in the future but I wanted results this Labor day weekend. The condition of the seals wasn't bad. I cleaned any debris and buildup off of the seals. The water jacket ring came off fairly easily. I scraped the corrosion from the aluminum, cleaned the rubber ring & re-assembled. Everything went together well. For the rare DIY'er, take your time. Take pictures if you need to. Tag the connections so you know what goes where. Everything re-assembled well, (had to cut a bit of hose line here and there for removal, but plenty of excess for flush re-attachment.) I pressurized the system based on the SELOC instructions, but repeated the steps because my fuel filter wasn't full. (hindsight, fill the fuel filter before replacing.) Checked very thoroughly for any leaks (ITS A GASOLINE PRESSURIZATION SYSTEM! NO NEED FOR EXPLOSIONS ON YOUR HOLIDAY!)
Put the boat on the water, charged the system again and fired up the engine. After some hesitation (likely because the fuel filter wasn't full), the engine ran smooth and much quieter. I checked for leaks continuously. None found. Initially, a faint whine developed coming from the high pressure pump. I started to think that I had lost the battle. Then, over the course of a couple minutes, the whine faded and ultimately disappeared. I assume that the residual air in the hi press. pump was replaced with fuel and the cavitation ceased.
Additionally, the engine had no more hesitation with hot starts at the ramp. So! On to a Sea Trial. I will follow up to see if things hold up.
Attached is a link from the original thread that helped me out.
Some good pictures and instruction here.
http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-penta...gi-545407.html
