Fuel evaporates and engine leaking fuel

[MH Hawker]

thats depends, a new needle is in most kits but not the floats and that's a very important part that shuts off fuel and in a lot of carbs it regulates the low rpm fuel flow

 

[Marinescout]

I'm replacing the fuel pickup in the tank a new fuel line new mercury primer bulb new in line filter on motor new filter on water separator new fuel pump and probly a new choke solenoid. I can here mine click but doesn't look like anything is happening. I'm going to try that because I can do that myself. I'm a little nervous about taking carbs off and building them myself. Is there away to clean the float area without removing the carbs? I tilted it up and haven seen any fuel leaking. Called marina and they said bottom carb needle was bad or missing when they rebuilt them a few months ago. Didn't ask about the floats because I just read your post. Hopefully that's where the fuel went. But hasn't really cranked well since I got it back until it was hot then it ran great from idle to the 4200 rpms. Thanks for all the help keep it coming lol

 

[Marinescout]

And new tank cap. Maybe new tank

 

[MH Hawker]

I'm replacing the fuel pickup in the tank a new fuel line new mercury primer bulb, thats a good thing

new in line filter on motor thats a screen and unless it has a hole its fine

new filter on water separator thats all ways a good t hing to replace

new fuel pump i would try a test first, while you running the boat pump the ball, if it picks or runs better then replace

and probably a new choke solenoid. I can here mine click but doesn't look like anything is happening. I'm going to try that because I can do that myself.
the choke is called a enricher now, the plunger has a rubber tip that covers a hole in the side of the carb that makes it pull more fuel while cranking the motor

I'm a little nervous about taking carbs off and building them myself. Is there away to clean the float area without removing the carbs? I tilted it up and haven seen any fuel leaking. Called marina and they said bottom carb needle was bad or missing when they rebuilt them a few months ago. Didn't ask about the floats because I just read your post. Hopefully that's where the fuel went. i would tilt it and pump the ball and see and unless you see it leaking i would leave it alone


But hasn't really cranked well since I got it back until it was hot then it ran great from idle to the 4200 rpms. Thanks for all the help keep it coming lol
getting hot is a real concern, do you know why it got hot

into it try pushing down on the stem in the cap then give it a twist, thats a attwood tank the stem threads all the way out to vent so it mat be fine

and as far as a fuel valve i would put in a set of disconnects a fuel rated valve is a lot harder to find

 

[Marinescout]

Cool. I try those things. When I say hot I do t mean over heat I meant when we are out riding for a few hours and shut it off for a while it will always fire right back up. If we sit for say 4 hours or more same hard start problem until I crank and crank or spray sf then it will fire off.

 

[Marinescout]

How true is this?a guy at the lake today told me he put a inline electric fuel pump on his boat used a regulator to put it to the same pressure as the one on the side of his motor removed the one on the motor and he never has to worry about pumping a bulb again and it helped with his cold starts. I believe he is running a merc 115 on a center console.

 

[lmuss53]

No electric pumps please, anyone who put one on is asking for issues if he has a broken line. Please just stick with the stock factory parts. Your tanks are about level or even above the engine, Mother nature (gravity) is trying to push the fuel through the engine right now, the stock fuel pump will push enough fuel to the carb.

Your hard start issue sounds to me like the enrichener may not be working right. I say this because you can squirt a bit of fuel in the carb and she fires right off. That is just what the enrichener does on your cold engine.

MH Hawker's responses to your plan are right on the money in my opinion, except I am sure you can get an appropriate fuel shut off at about any small engine repair shop. It won't care if it is on you lawn tractor or a pontoon boat. Do an amazon search for 3/8 inch fuel shutoff valve.

 

[MH Hawker]

you meant warmed up instead of hot a lot of boat terms have very specif meanings


a electric fuel pump is a real bad idea a fuel leak and its still spewing fuel around and can cause a fire

starting fluid is the worst thing you can use on a 2 stroke, try to remember the vapor goes through the crank case that has the main and rod bearings before it goes to the pistons to fire off, it washes off the 2 stroke oil it uses for lubrication and can and will lock the motor up or do damage

ever 2 stroke starts a bit different but its often a combination of en-richer and the fast start lever position, mercs love a rich mixture to start

 

[Marinescout]

Electric pump is out don't need any explosions. Thanks for the advice. I only used the sf a few times after reading post on here I put fuel and oil mix in a spray bottle and use that now. Works the same. Motor just needs a little boost. Can anyone recommend a good service manual I can buy for my motor. I hope I can lend my expertise in metal work and electronics to this site and help people as they have helped me. I am a retired firefighter paramedic Leo. I worked with a public safety dept that did all three. I was in Marine Corp from 1996-2001. Then national guard until 2010. I was hit by a drunk driver while working an accident directing traffic and a dd ran right past all my blue lights and hit me. Been disabled ever since. So what little I can work on things now still helps because it saves my family money. I was a welder and fabricator and stereo installer at my dads custom car restore shop part time for years and full time as a teen. Just felt like I wanted to give a background so the guys who are helping me will get to know me better. Thanks again for the help.

 

[MH Hawker]

thats what makes this forum great, their are people here who are extremely knowledgeable in all boating aspects, mine is a retired and disabled coal miner

 

[Marinescout]

I had a good friend who's family was miners in WV. His last name was Crank. Not familiar with that stuff but I know it's hard on family's when your unemployed and if your like me the government ss disability isn't hitting on much. My hats off to you for the coal mining tough job

 

[Marinescout]

I have a question. When you say all the way down what do you mean. My motor I think is sitting way to low. Can you look at my pics on fuel evaporate question I have posted on here and see if you think mine is too low

 

[lmuss53]

Scout, first of all thanks for your public service all across the board.

I am a recently retired tool maker and cnc machinist who is trying to turn a 30 year interest in small boats and outboards into a part time profession in a small 20 X 30 foot shop I built myself and run here at my home in Central PA. Getting ready to start my second season out in the shop I am happy with the progress so far.

What year and size motor are you running? The enrichener is really no more that a glorified squirt gun in a lot of cases, a man who understands speaker function and wiring can understand the enrichener. The parts outlets have a good diagram that shows how the enrichener works.

I just had a thought and a cracked hose in the enrichener circuit could cause just about all the issues you have described from the hard starts to the fuel leak to the excess fuel consumption.

Pull the cover off the motor and pump the ball up HARD, try to push the fuel thru. Watch under the hood as you pump and you may see a leak in one of the small lines from carb bowl to enrichener feed line. It might be as simple as a line that came off a fitting barb. The enrichener pulls a small amount of fuel from the carb bowl and shoots it into the manifold behind the carb in a lot of these devices.

Knowing the year and size would help to try to see if this could be your issue.

 

[lmuss53]

Hawker, I have a brother who spent his entire professional life in and around coal fired power plants, so I know that miners are public servants too, servants in a way that a lot of people in this country don't understand or appreciate. From their initial contributions to the steel manufacturing that built this country to their followup contribution to the power plants that have powered the country for the last 100 years, coal miners are public servants, I thank you for your contribution too sir.

 

[GA_Boater]

I have a question. When you say all the way down what do you mean. My motor I think is sitting way to low. Can you look at my pics on fuel evaporate question I have posted on here and see if you think mine is too low

Marinescout Since you want people to look at pics in this thread, it was moved where the pics are. Besides, the posters in the 11 year old thread have been gone almost as long. Don't expect any answers from them.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...16179-cavitation-plate-height-on-pontoon-boat

 

[Marinescout]

Lol thanks didn't realize it was an old post until I posted it. And yes hawker I appreciate all you do. Thanks for the recognition but I would like to say that any man or woman who works hard for his or her family should be thanked. This country was founded on that and I hope it will soon return to that. . This has nothing to do with boats or anything but sometimes just saying thank you and some compassion for one another is what is needed so thank you.

 

[Marinescout]

Mercury 2003 75 elpt with tilt and trim.

 

[Marinescout]

Ok so I found a lot out today. I had my son crank the engine over and still no start. He did it again and I pushed down on the enricher button on top of it. It was a little black button and I seen fuel pull from the top hose which comes from fuel pump area to the bottom hose which goes to the carb and it fired right up. So I'm assuming the silenoid is bad. Next I found when he pushed the throttle all the way forward the small arm that pulls via a metal rod and pushes down on the middle carb opening all three carbs up was slipping in the plastic bushing and it was not allowing the butterfly's to consitantly stay all the way open. It even popes out a few times so the little 2.00 bushing could be playing a roll so it will be replaced. I did a compression check with a cheap hf gauge that was about 5 bucks and it read about 80 on all three cylinders. The compression was exactly the same on all three. I'm going to get my brother in laws blue point gauge and check again. Does that seem low to anyone? I'm going to check it again before I spend any money on it at all. Also I tilted the engine up and has came out the bottom carb but was only what was left in the bowl because after a few seconds I pumped the bulb very hard and none came out but I ran it a few min then did it again and the same thing happens. Some fuel ran out then it stopped. It only does it when motor is tilted all the way up. And finally I noticed the thin metal ring on my prop but was loose and the big nut seemed to be also. My prop has about 1/8 inch play in all directions which I didn't think was good.

 

[ahicks]

Don't be to quick blaming the solenoid! They're so simple they don't go bad often. If it's not working it could just as easily be the solenoid ground, the switch, no power to the switch, or a break in the wire/bad connection between the switch and the solenoid!

A test light set up at the solenoid/enrichener would be my first move in trouble shooting.

 

[Marinescout]

Ok I'll check that. It is making a faint click noise and I can feel it but it won't pump any fuel until I push the plunger on top. I'll check the wiring to make sure. Thanks