bulb or pump?

[nagasama75]

hello all. i have a 74 135hp silver starflite. finally got it running after some previous problems, ran great for about an hour and i had it @ WOT and it just died. i thought i ran out of gas, so i checked, plenty of gas.
i primed the bulb and it started right up. it would run for a bit, and then die. prime the bulb, it would run for a bit then die you get the idea.
would it be a bulb problem or is my fuel pump not functioning correctly?
wouldn't it indicate the fuel pump as constantly priming the bulb (bypassing the pump?) keeps it running fine?
another thing, the rebuild kit is easy to find (sierra 18-7820 i found the number on another thread here ), and cheap. the entire pump itself is harder to find and not so cheap. my questions are:
which do you guys think the problem is, bulb/line or pump?
and:
if pump, will a rebuild perform adequately? yes i can do it myself i think a monkey probably could, right? looks pretty simple.
thanks in advance and sorry for my poor english

 

[JB]

Re: bulb or pump?

Could be pump, but not a certainty.

Could also be:
restricted tank vent.
restricted pickup in tank
restricted or twisted fuel line
Air leak(s) in fuel lines or connectors

Those are all a lot easier/cheaper to fix. I would check them out first.

 

[nagasama75]

Re: bulb or pump?

thanks for the reply, i will check those things for sure.
if it was a restriction in the pickup or a twist in the line, wouldn't it be hard for me to prime it? i have no problem doing that, it just seems to run out of gas after a couple/few minutes, depending on throttle position.
funny that you mention the air leaks...
i was just thinking about the events earlier today, and as i was having to prime it over and over i could hear a soft hiss corresponding with the primer bulb being squeezed. come to think of it, i think i even saw a drop or two of gas come out of the bulb.
sounded like the hiss was coming from the bulb itself, between the rubber of the bulb and the nipple that the hose connects to on the tank side..and the nipple just spun freely in there (on engine and tank sides). and it sounded like an air leak. lie i was priming the bulb and the air was escaping the bulb, just not as fast as the fuel was coming in. i think i will buy a new bulb tommorow and replace the current one. about time to do that anyways.

sorry, i thought about these things when i posted the first time, but in the course of my post i forgot to mention them.
does the new information shed any light or narrow it down any?

thanks!