1993 4.3 fuel issues

[RideRed264]

i recently bought a 1993 wellcraft 182ss with a duo prop and the volvo 4.3 engine. ive had it for a couple of weeks now and have run it on muffs several times without any problems. Today was the first day ive taken it out on the water, and half way through my trip, the engine was starting to spit and sputter at higher rpms. so i backed off the throttle a little bit and headed back to the docks. well about halfway there it started to spit and sputter worse and actually stalled on me. after priming the engine a few times i got it to start back up and took back off (slowly) towards the docks. well, as soon as i thought i was in the clear, the engine died for good. i ended up jumping into freezing cold water and walked it to the docks (about the distance of a block or so). When i got back home i checked the plugs and they were starting to turn white (lean condition). So my question is, what would make it "starve" for gas? the boat has a half tank of what im guessing to be old gas in it. should i put new gas in it along with a new fuel/water seperator, or just take apart the carb and clean it? -Ed

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

So my question is, what would make it "starve" for gas? the boat has a half tank of what im guessing to be old gas in it. should i put new gas in it along with a new fuel/water seperator, or just take apart the carb and clean it?

Ayuh,.... Bad gas, 'n Plugged filters is My 1st thought,....

Addin' fresh gas to old gas, does NOT fix the old gas,... Pump it, 'n trash it...

If fresh gas, 'n a fresh filter don't fix it, then rebuild the carb...

 

[fireshaun]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

I am curious how this played out? What did you do, and what were the results? I have had similar issues, and I would love to hear what you found.
Thank you!

 

[RideRed264]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

ok, so right after i had this issue i changed out the water separator, and added 5 gallons gas, along with some fuel injector cleaner. I took the boat out yesterday, and i was still having bogging/surging issues at top speed, but it didnt stall out like before. So my guess is that the gas is bad, and needs to be pumped out.... But today, under further inspection i found out that the engine has way too much motor oil in it, and the distributor cap and rotor had corrosion on them. I dont know if that would contribute to the problem, but it sure couldnt hurt to drain some oil, and clean the cap and rotor up and put them back on. The engine runs great in neutral( held 4000rpm for a few mins at the dock) but surges real bad at 4000+ when actually in gear.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

The engine runs great in neutral( held 4000rpm for a few mins at the dock)

Ayuh,..... Why would you do that,..?? :facepalm:

 

[RideRed264]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

so a "few mins" was probably more like a maximum of 2 mins. and i was trying to see if the fuel pump was working correctly and pumping enough gas to run at higher rpms.

 

[Don S]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

Running the engine at high rpm with no load tells you nothing. You could take the plug wires off one side and do the same thing.

Did you empty the contents of the old filter into a container to check for water and debris? If it had a LOT of water in it, then the carb is full of water and you will have to rebuild it and get the water out.
Also, if there is a lot of water in the tank and bad gas, get it out or you will be fighting the problem forever.

 

[RideRed264]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

Yup, i drained the old water separator into a glass jar, and found just a little bit of water and debris in it. the gas itself has a medium yellowish color too it, which im guessing could mean bad gas? If the gas is bad, what is the best way to remove it? btw, thanks for all the help guys, i appreciate it.

 

[Don S]

Re: 1993 4.3 fuel issues

Here is a thread on getting water out of the fuel, if you are going to empty the tank, just run it longer. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=212830&p=1424234&viewfull=1#post1424234