Fuel Pump? 86 140 Mercruiser

At the end of the season, the engine had a very hard start and then died only to fire up once more and run for about 5 minutes. No sputtering or periodic running, it was done...This spring I replaced the fuel line from the tank to the pump and put a new anti-syphon valve on. The engine will fire and run (15 sec) if I put some gas into the carb. There is not any fuel in the clear line running to carb from the pump (which im told will be filled with gas if the pump fails?) Also replaced the fuel pump filter. Gas will run out of the line if I take it off the pump and put it lower than the gas level in the tank so I assume the pick up in the tank is ok and there is not anything blocking.

Have I ruled out everything and assume its the pump? If so does everyone suggest a direct OEM?

Thanks for the Help!!!

Re: Fuel Pump? 86 140 Mercruiser

you should be able to test the pressure output of the fuel pump i'd think. plumb a fuel pressure gauge in between out of the fuel pump to the carb. in the oem service manual you should be able to find what the psi specification is for your fuel pump. there may also be vol. specs that can be checked. don't know about your carb, but mine has a screen right at the carb inlet too. it gets dirty on mine and is down stream from the fuel pump filter. got a fuel/water separator, that can be suspect. ya might have a look at #3 in this thread. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288430
ya might look in the oem service manual too at the trouble shooting section. usually there's a list of possibilities for given symptoms.