97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

Previously had problems with the Check Enigne Alarm and a soft primer bulb while running WOT. Boat was running great and all of a sudden it started acting up.

Back at the dock, I Checked the fuel system and removed the the fuel filter.

I included a pic of the contents. There was a little debirs in the bottom, which i expected, but was amazed at the amount of dirty water under the gas. The blue color is due to 2-cycle oil that was in the recovery jug and not the fuel.

Is it likely that this debris/water caused the stalling issues? Is this normal for a fuel/water seperator to contain this much water? Thanks for your input.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

In a sense it is normal because petroleum products all float on water and the fuel pickup is located at the bottom of your tank. The first thing sucked into the line would be the water at the bottom.

The water separating filters work on gravity but can only hold so much water before the excess continues on in the fuel line.

I would recommend frequent inspection and dumping of the filter until the water is fully cleared. You might consider switching to the clear plastic bottom unit with a drain.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

The picture is to small for me to tell, but is that fuel pumped into a glass jar? How high is the water level at the bottom of the jar?

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

The pic is the of contents poured out of the fuel filter/fuel-water seperator. The water (brownish) fills about half of the jar, or half of the filter contents. My concern is that some of the "water" was leaving the filter and going through the engine and causing stalling issues.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

I would take a sample straight from the fuel tank into a glass jar. My concern would be where is that contamination is coming from in the first place.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

Mike, I recommend two approaches. First get the water out of the fuel. Second fix your Check Engine problem. They may be unrelated.

First lets get the water out: If the boat is on a trailer, jack up the tongue. All the water in the tank will settle in the rear corner. Use a hand pump or siphon hose remove 5 gal from the bottom of the tank, via the fuel gauge sender hole, into a jerry can. Let this fuel sit and then siphon the bottom of the jerry can into a 1 gal clear container. When you have captured all the water, you may pour the fuel back into the boat. Discard the water.


Now lets see if we can fix the check engine alarm. Check Engine is caused by a fuel line restriction. On fuel tank, the elbow or fitting that screws into the elbow should have a anti-siphon valve. It will be a ball and a spring inside the fuel line fitting or elbow, or under the fuel pickup tube. It may have a clogged screen or be clogged itself. Clean it up or remove it, and see if your WOT still triggers the Check Engine alarm.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

Chris,

I am follwoing you on the removal of water from the bottom of the tank. There is an access directly above the tank where a brass elbow that attaches to the fuel line is. I asume that is the fuel pump directly below this fitting. The boat is a 20' 91 Hydro Sports with a fiberglass tank, I think. My concern is all of this hoopla I hear about alcohol and fiberglass. I was considering removing the fuel pump and sucking out all of the fuel/trash from the bottom of the tank. There is currently about 10 gal of gas in the tank. Is this an overkill??

Is that elbow the AS valve? Remove that fitting and clean it/soak it in carb cleaner?

Thanks Mike

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

Most tanks that look like fiberglass are not, they are plastic; check with the manufacturer.

Almost no marine tanks contain fuel pumps; they have a filtered pickups at the bottom of the tank, leading to the top of the tank where anti-siphon valves are or were usually placed to satisfy Coast Guard regulations.

Any method of pumping or siphoning that will remove the fuel or filter it through a water separating filter will help.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

The component that I thought was a fuel pump is called a "Sending Unit". What is a sending unit? The Brass elbow is connected at the top of it. That is where the fuel line meets the tank. I was considering pulling that out to get into the tank to remove fuel/water. It is located at the stern of the tank.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

The sending unit is a variable resistance device that connects to a float in the fuel tank to provide the reading/signal for the fuel gauge.

Rather than removing the pickup, it would probably be easier to siphon the fuel into portable tanks on the ground, using the fuel line and bulb to get prime. It would take a little while, but should empty the tank.

I use an automobile fuel pump to cycle fuel through the water separating filter and just route the hose back to the tank.

Re: 97 Johnson 175 OR-Water in Fuel Filter

Sounds good. Thanks for the clarifications.