Boat laid up. Gas /Ethanol issue

[jonny rotten]

Got married last summer good for me bad for boat.Never got it out last year.Now Im having issues.Inline filter at carb was clogged solid with redish gel.I cleaned it out and ran ok for about a half an hour.Giving it gas will make it bog and stall while in the water.It runs fine in driveway giving it gas and idling.My boat mechanic said to keep checking and cleaning the filter at carb.Ive been doing that and now it will only have a slight white powder in filter but is still running crappy with the filter cleaned out (usually).Have also been dumping out the water separator (reusing it)..Also when unscrewing the nuts at the filter the gas comes shooting out under pressure.Like the fuel pump is trying to pump gas but there is nowhere for it to go.Is this a clogged carb symptom? Mechanic says its ethanol/bad gas.(gas smells normal).And try to run it out.If that doesn't work I need to pump tank and rebuild carb..Is there anything else I should try?Carb rebuild will layup boat for longer than Id like

 

[81 Checkmate]

How much gas you got left in the tank? If its still a 1/4 tank or so id drain it. You could try a new water seperator filter also instead of reuseing the old one, but i really think it needs a carb rebuild to get it good and clean. If its a 2 barrel you can do in one evening and have it running next day.

 

[gm280]

I second draining your tank and cleaning the tank. But then you have to remove the carb and install a carb kit in it after a thorough cleaning. Disassembly the carb and either use carb spray and compressed air to verify every little hole and slot is opened and clear, or soak the carb over night in some carb cleaner and install the kit making sure the float is set properly and the needle and seat are replaced... Obviously if you had red gunk in the filter, you had some in the carb as well and there is still some in the carb giving you issues... JMHO!

 

[jonny rotten]

According to the info here its a 36 gal tank,It was stored full.Yes its a 2 barrel carb.Ive taken it out twice and burned through around 6 gallons each time.I was hoping I could just keep taking it out and refilling it and eventually have all fresh gas.But Bogging out and changing filters in the water is getting old fast..And making me nervous about getting stuck.My Mechanic said there is a possibility that the ethanol could have gelled up and will stick to the bottom of the tank and will need to be cleaned and pumped.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Yer problem ain't gonna get better by pumpin' gallons of crud through the carb,....

At some point, probably soon, you will be rebuildin' the carb,....

 

[jonny rotten]

I know ill be rebuilding the carb.I want to cycle the old gas first.I was hoping to get through the season first,but not looking good.Im going to try Dunks decarb method.(one gallon of gas,one full pint seafoam attached to intake on water separator)It gets positive reviews.Its for carbon,but maybe it will clean the carb out a little in the process.

 

[jhobbs26]

i just purchased a '97 bayliner 3.0LX that had not been ran in 3 years. I drained the tank added fresh gas and a bottle of seafoam and hoped for the best. Took it to the water and anything more throttle above 1800rpm it would fall on its face. Got back home and pulled the carb off and apart. it was completely gummed up. cleaned it good with spray carb cleaner and blew all the passages out with my air compressor, put it back together, all in about an hour or so. Next day took it to the lake and it ran like it was supposed to. I got lucky and didnt tear any of the gaskets taking it apart.