Flooded bilge now motor wont start

[scott8058]

Well if its not one thing its another! Ok so i didn't have the boat out for about 2 weeks and left the drain plug in by accident, well my crappy cover let a bunch of water in and when i opened it up sat i had a flooded bilge area and water a couple inches up the bottom pulley of the motor and my gas tank was completely submerged. I drained and started it up for just a few seconds and it fired right up no problem. I let it sit for 2 days until Monday when we were supposed to go out, i put the muffs on at home and it started great, i let it run for about 5 mins, shut it down and headed to the river. When we got there i backed it in and again it started right up, pulled the truck out and when i came back the kids were like daddy it died. I thought no big deal it happens sometimes but now it wont turn over for anything. At first i thought i flooded it, so after trying for a while i pulled it back out and let her sit for about 20-30 mins and put my other battery in but still nothing. All she does is crank but wont turn over unless you spray some starting fluid in then it fires up but dies right after, its like its not getting any fuel. Please help i don't want it to be done for the season! Thanks

 

[scott8058]

oh yea sorry, bayliner 2050ss 5.7l merc alpha one

 

[Fishermark]

Do you have a fuel / water separator? First thought is a fuel issue since it starts on starting fluid. (Not a good idea to use it by the way).

My guess is you still have / had some water in the tank and now the bowl of the carb is full of water. Assuming it is a carb - not fuel injection?

 

[alldodge]

Well if its not one thing its another! Ok so i didn't have the boat out for about 2 weeks and left the drain plug in by accident, well my crappy cover let a bunch of water in and when i opened it up sat i had a flooded bilge area and water a couple inches up the bottom pulley of the motor and my gas tank was completely submerged. I drained and started it up for just a few seconds and it fired right up no problem. I let it sit for 2 days until Monday when we were supposed to go out, i put the muffs on at home and it started great, i let it run for about 5 mins, shut it down and headed to the river. When we got there i backed it in and again it started right up, pulled the truck out and when i came back the kids were like daddy it died. I thought no big deal it happens sometimes but now it wont turn over for anything. At first i thought i flooded it, so after trying for a while i pulled it back out and let her sit for about 20-30 mins and put my other battery in but still nothing. All she does is crank but wont turn over unless you spray some starting fluid in then it fires up but dies right after, its like its not getting any fuel. Please help i don't want it to be done for the season! Thanks

Agree with Fishermark, if it is a carb put a small rag in the throat of the carb and pump the throttle. Then pull the rag out and smell it, does it smell like gas?

 

[scott8058]

The separator looks like an oil filter and has metal fuel rails coming in and out of it right? It is carburated also, how do i get the water out of there and im guessing i will need a new separator also?

 

[Fishermark]

Take off the filter and pour out the gas into a clear container. See if you have water. Then put on a new filter. You may also need to tilt your boat in a way that you can get the water in the tank to pool in the low spot, then you can siphon or pump it out.

You will need to take the top off of the carb and clean out the bowl. (I had a similar issue years ago - thought I could run the engine and with the bouncing, etc would eventually clear the water out of the fuel bowl. Nope. The only thing to do is to take the top of the carb off and clean it out. Not difficult.

 

[scott8058]

ok im gonna go take that separator off now and see what i got in there, and to syphon out the gas should i take the hose off the tank that the gas goes through when filling it? The carb thing scares me as i know nothing about rebuilding them or taking apart, id love to learn but really don't have a clue and afraid id mess it up! i don't want to but ill prob take it to someone for that unless someone can get me to a manual or video showing me how. thanks again for the help, ill let you know whats in the separator.

 

[scott8058]

Yes the separator looked like straight water in there! so im guessing all 25 gallons of gas i have in the tank is ruined and needs to come out? Also, is any of this a major issue or damaging to the motor or just not gonna run until its all out?

 

[Fishermark]

There are several ways to pump / remove the gas from the tank. How accessible is it? Do you have a access panel over the sender? If so, I would take off the sender and get some hose and siphon out the water / fuel. The fuel is not ruined - the water will separate out and sink to the bottom. If you can get the hose to the bottom of the tank you can siphon the water out. Once you get fuel and not water then you should be good. That's IF you can get to the lowest part of the tank.

Otherwise, you can buy a small pump and disconnect the hose to the fuel pump and connect your new pump and a length of hose and pump it out that way.

 

[ihearth2o]

Hey, don't forget about the bilge pump or at the very least get a better cover.

 

[thumpar]

If you don't already have a bilge pump get one with auto switch. If you do have one buy an auto switch. Either way make sure they are hooked to the battery and not through a switch. Mine saved me when I forgot the plug.

 

[scott8058]

Yes right behind my bench seat is where the hose that fills the tank goes in then im guessing where the fuel pump is next to it (has a 90 deg fitting with a hose running to separator) and then one more that has wires going to it. Ill try and post a picture tomorrow to make sure im doing it right, i do have a pump with a float switch but idk what happened, the battery (bought from walmart in june) was dead but then wouldn't hold a charge when i tried to recharge it. I took it back and they said it was defective and only pushing 5 volts, so i guess it took a crap on me. I am still confused on taking the top of the carb apart, should i try the gas first and try to start it or can someone explain it more. thanks again for all the help, hopefully tomorrow i can work on pumping out the water.

 

[scott8058]

Oh i also do need a better cover, i have dealt with a cheap one for 3 seasons and it is toast now, i am going to invest in a better one this fall.

 

[Stamey]

I swear I wouldn't take the carb apart except as a last resort. I'd get some Heet or other methanol-based water remover for fuel first. I have done this with success in the past. This is much easier than all the draining, siphoning, and dis-assembly of components. Then run the fuel out, or as low as possible, before you refill. And if it doesn't work you can always go back to the draining, siphoning, and dis-assembly.

Chris

 

[acdc96]

Drain the tank... You don't want to screw up your engine more then it already is... I was using a 6 gallon kicker on my 87 Mercruiser cause I didn't want to fill up the tank because I was not going to use it for at least another year (redid the interior) a rainstorm came through and caught me off guard. I threw the tarp on and went in not realizing the gas cap for the kicker was off and filled with water the next day i started the boat ran perfectly for 10 min then stopped running. Long story short the carb and the whole fuel system (not including any of the tank components) where shot. Needed a new fuel water filter and fuel pump ( old one was on its last leg and this killed it) had to rebuild the Quadrajet which was very easy and did not require any adjustments! And cleaned all the lines. After all that it ran perfect. At least drain the tank, clean the fuel lines, and put a can of seafoam in the tank of New gas. And hopefully you can flush the carb of water. good luck.

 

[alldodge]

Yes right behind my bench seat is where the hose that fills the tank goes in then im guessing where the fuel pump is next to it (has a 90 deg fitting with a hose running to separator) and then one more that has wires going to it. Ill try and post a picture tomorrow to make sure im doing it right, i do have a pump with a float switch but idk what happened, the battery (bought from walmart in june) was dead but then wouldn't hold a charge when i tried to recharge it. I took it back and they said it was defective and only pushing 5 volts, so i guess it took a crap on me. I am still confused on taking the top of the carb apart, should i try the gas first and try to start it or can someone explain it more. thanks again for all the help, hopefully tomorrow i can work on pumping out the water.

Don't use just any kind of pump to remove fuel from the tank. Your messing with gas and explosions can happen.

Fuel pumps are shielded from sparks and pumps like water pumps are not. We just got to know you and we don't want to be reading about you in the papers or on TV. We have a lot more teasing to do before were done

If you don't have an electric fuel pump use a siphon type pump and hose

 

[scott8058]

So here's where im at, today i got the new fuel filter and noticed as i was wiping the tank clean that the screws on my sending unit were loose and gas was leaking out every time i wiped it clean with the tongue cranked up high. As that part of the tank was under water im guessing thats where the water got in? Dont worry i disconnected the battery and the pump i bought was just a cheap little bulb with the two hoses on it. I zip tied the hose to a piece of steel wire to make sure i could get it to the bottom of the tank and pumped a little into a jar and it hardly even smells like gas and is clear and didn't separate at all so im guessing that is mostly water. As someone recently said, i really don't wanna mess with the carb, my plan tomorrow, when i can find somewhere to take old gas, is to keep pumping from the bottom and hopefully get all the water out. The tank is totally full so pumping it all out will be quite a job but i will if you guys think that is the best way to go. Also the sending unit didn't have a gasket under it just some blue stuff like a make your own gasket, what should i do when i put it back permenantly?

 

[bruceb58]

While you are at it, pull your starter and get it rebuilt or replaced.

 

[scott8058]

What is the point of pulling the starter?

 

[bruceb58]

Because if any water got in it, it's just a matter of time before it fails.