Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

[ecollica]

I have a serious problem with an orange colored product coming out of my gas tank in my fuel lines. This orange (organic) gunk is clogging up my gas lines as it travels from the tank to my mercury optimax 150's. It looks like glass until you rub it between your fingers and then it breaks down to a sand like material. I left the gas without any additives like stabil for a year. It is causing me to get one of two alarms every time I start the engines(either a long beep that causes the engine to lose power or 3 short ones, followed a few minutes later by the long beep.) there is so much of it that disconnecting the fuel line from the motor yesterday it was coming out like toothpaste does. Any suggestions as to how to best handle this situation?

 

[huntin dawg]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

You need to completely drain and flush your entire fuel system. I'd start with the tank and once it's clean flush clean fuel through the lines up to the motor. You've probably gummed up the carbs pretty bad too. They should be cleaned and rebuilt. After it's all clean add a can of Sea Foam to the fuel and hit the water.

Good luck.

HD

 

[sschefer]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

You need to do as HD said except you need to take those Optimax DFI engines in for servicing. The entire fuel system needs to be cleanend and the injectors need to be thoroughly cleaned and tested. Unless you're familiar with the process it is probably better left to a certified Merc shop.

 

[ecollica]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Thanks for your replies. I just had the fuel injectors rebuilt and new fuel filters put on.. Both fuel injectors had the orange stuff in them as well!! I need to know what to do from the motors back, so how do I go about flushing the fuel tank? What can I put in the tank that might dissolve the orange gunk?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

My very best advice is to have it professionally cleaned. They are prepared to handle the hazmat that will result from the cleaning and will guarantee it to be 100% clean.

If you miss something you're going to be right back to square one.

 

[sasto]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

could it be from ethenal (organic) reacting with fuel lines....Anyone??? Interesting.

 

[sasto]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

www.factsaboutethanal.org ..keywo...utboards. Looks like your problem. Good Luck!

 

[sschefer]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Problem not just with Ethanol. It is a problem with all oxygenated and reformulated fuels.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

The biggest problem is water. The ethanol settles the water out, and if the alcohol concentration gets low enough, kritters will set up housekeeping in the water and eat the gas, making the sludge as a byproduct.

When I got my XR4, it kept plugging up the fuel filter with gunk. I wound up having to pull and clean the tank to get rid of it. A big fuel/water separator helps a lot, too.

Hey Dog, where are the carburetors on an optimax?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Hey Dog, where are the carburetors on an optimax?

Ahh come on John, his thoughts were in the right place...LOL... I followed it up for him.

 

[huntin dawg]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Hey Dog, where are the carburetors on an optimax?

Well I guess from the snide comments, they don't have them. I don't have one so I wouldn't know. I was offering my advice. I guess I better study up on all of Mercs offerings before I say anything next time.



HD

 

[j_martin]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Well I guess from the snide comments, they don't have them. I don't have one so I wouldn't know. I was offering my advice. I guess I better study up on all of Mercs offerings before I say anything next time.



HD

Quick lesson.
Carbs on a lot of em
Then they went to EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection), same basic engine with an ECU and injectors where the carbs should be, kinda like a TBI automotive setup. They used a little less gas and ran a little cleaner, but were still standard chase the exhaust out with fresh fuel/air dirty burner. It's actually not too hard to convert back and forth between EFI and carbs. The tricky part is the durned cowl.

Optimax is a pretty complicated DFI (Direct Fuel Injection) that injects fuel right into the cylinder, after the ports are covered. They run real stingy on gas, and as clean as a 4 cycle. You have to be a certifiable witch doctor to work on them.

Enjoy the ribbing. We all get it from time to time, usually well deserved.

 

[Pokertrampp]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

I did not see that you mentiond this or not, is it a fiberglass/plastic tank, if yes then maybe the ethonol is taking its toll on the tank, and that is where the "Orange" gunk is coming from.

 

[BullyARed]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

Thanks for bringing up this problem since I have the same. I recently bought a boat with 2000 model Mercury 200HP carburated. I saw the fuel filter clogged up with glass/hard plastic like fragments (about the size of a grain of rice). I cleaned the carbs (that actually didn't need to be cleaned when I saw the inside), replaced the filter, installed fuel water separator with a big 10micron filter (YAMAHA F/W seperator kit ~$90), put in "car" fuel filter (aluminum kind at AutoZone for about $5) at the line coming out of the F/W seperator, and replaced the primer bulb. Before I did all this, I pumped (primer bulb) all those gunks out the fuel pump. I took the boat out to the lake and ran for an hour. The boat idled and accelerated great. The inline fuel filter at the pump looked "clean"! Before these works, I had problem with the motor acceleration and idling. I will inspect my F/W separator in a few weeks and replace with a new filter for a few times. I plan after the third F/W filter, if the gunks are still significant, I will drain and clean the tank.

 

[will941s]

Re: Orange gunk blocking my fuel from motors

I had the same problem with mine a year ago. I let it sit when I was overseas ("dad, run my boat every so often"...didnt happen) and I came home to no engine performance. Took the line off, removed the carb and behold....Orange sludge. Nasty crap, and I found that the clear layer on the inside of my fuel lines were also gone. Sooooo, ALL new lines, carb cleaning, tank flush, new gas, and seafoam and it ran like a champ. Of course its a merc 25 and I dont have DI like a Optimax so I'm sure my cost was less by a considerable amount. Like $120. Was deemed that Ethanol and the critter factor, living in the water caused by the ethanol separation was a contributing factor for the sludge, also it created chemicals on it's own that broke down the lines (critter waste). After that long drawn out story, I would say, have the system cleaned as suggested...and REPLACE ALL LINES that hold fuel.