Fuel delivery system questions...

[OkieBoater75]

I am new to the boating world. Two weeks ago, I broke down and bought my first boat. It is a 1998 Bayliner Capri 1750 LS with a Mercruiser 3.0L AlphaOne.

Anyway, last weekend I took it out for the first time. I put pure gas in it. It started right up. It idled grrat. It ran fine until I accelerated above 3500 rpms. When it reached 4000 rpms it sputtered and died.

I noticed it had a fuel/water separator. I ran to the nearest parts store and bought a new one. The old one was full of crudofi fired it up and it seemed to run even better than before, for a few minutes anyway. When I accelerated to 4000 rpms, it sputtered and died again.

Tomorrow I plan on cleaning the fuel tank, flame arrestor, replacing the rubber fuel lines. Cleaning the metal fuel line. I also plan on replacing the fuel pump filter, the carb fulter, and adding an inline filter between the fuel tank and water separator.

I'm pretty sure the carburetor will need to be rebuilt. But I cannot afford that at this time. But I do plan on running Startron throw the tank and spraying carb cleaner in the carb itself.

Sorry for such a long post, just want to give you all what my plans at this time are.

Is there anything else I should look into?

I do know the previous owner and he hasn't had this issue until this season.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

 

[OkieBoater75]

Btw, I also plan on replacing the anti-syphon valve at the tank.

 

[achris]

.... and spraying carb cleaner in the carb itself.....

All good except this.... Complete waste of time and money... Save the cleaner for the time you have the carb apart...

BTW, pulling those 2bbl Rochester apart and cleaning them is child's play... Just follow the manual, step by step and you'll have no problems. (you do have the Merc factory manual, yes? )

Chris.......

 

[OkieBoater75]

Chris, I do not, unfortunately.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you cant afford the $25 for a carb kit, you cant afford a boat

getting towed in is about $600-1100 depending on how many feet they have to pull you.

llinks in the stickies for on-line manuals. lots of good info in the stickies

link to manuals Boatinfo - boat brochures and manuals for boats and marine engines!

 

[OkieBoater75]

Scott, I can afford the boat just fine, thanks for the concern and the info.

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

From the sounds of the problem you describe sounds like a lack of fuel -- its seems that some debris in your check valve or the float bowl of your carb could be the culprit

You might want to consider working in this order --

Check the check valve 1st -- ( no cost )
Keep a spare fuel filter on board and a container to inspect the filter fuel contents ( $10 )
Don't spend the money for fuel lines & parts listed above -- and do spend it on a carb rebuild kit.


You can save some $ & potential headaches if you can find someone who knows carbs to help & advise you along with any using any manuals. ( Anyone around age 60 who is a serious car buff would likely have a lot of carb experience )

The main goal is to ensure no debris is in the float bowl or passages in the carb body that will block & restrict fuel flow. Same for the check valve

(Merc manuals are available on line )

 

[Bondo]

and adding an inline filter between the fuel tank and water separator.

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Don't do this,.... the canister filter is all that's needed, 'n it's contents are easily inspected,....

Besides, that would introduce two more vacuum leak points to the system,.......

 

[scoflaw]

It's never a bad idea to replace 20 year old fuel lines. A filter before the filter is not a good plan

 

[Rick Stephens]

Nothing else much to say. As everyone noted, start cleaning. Don't need to add a filter - fuel water separator is a fine one. IMHO you need to think carb rebuild now, not later. Guaranteed, without a doubt, to need it. Make that boat run the way it supposed to and go boating.

Rick

 

[wahlejim]

Just to expand on the carb re-build now. You can sink all of your time in fuel lines, cleaning the tank, etc. but without the carb re-build, you are still running lean. There is no chemical in existence that can effectively clean out a carb, much more likely that it is loaded with some type of alcohol that burns really hot and causes damage to an engine.

What you are running into is a lean condition due to blockage in your carb ports. Running lean you WILL ruin your engine. Worst case scenario, detonation. Big boom and your piston goes bye bye. Best case scenario, you run the boat as is, never get over 3500 rpms effectively, and you cause significant damage to your engine. I know it seems like a daunting task. I had to do my first rebuild on my Rochester 4bbl. I had to do it twice to get it right. But now my boat runs like a dream and I wouldn't hesitate to do mine again if need be.

 

[harringtondav]

All good except this.... Complete waste of time and money... Save the cleaner for the time you have the carb apart...

BTW, pulling those 2bbl Rochester apart and cleaning them is child's play... Just follow the manual, step by step and you'll have no problems. (you do have the Merc factory manual, yes? )

Chris.......

OkieBoater75 Yes. Carb kits come with cook book step by step instructions. And you sound like you know your way around a tool box. Keep listing to the good advice here. Re: Carb rebuilding if new to you. Remove the flame arrester stud, or you will never get the air horn off. Lay out the old parts in disassembly order. Only replace with same parts from the rebuild kit. They come w/extras for other models. Use a straw spray aerosol carb cleaner to flush all passages, followed by compressed air. Pay attention to those tiny transition passages below the throttle butterfly plates.

Also mind the float height procedure. This is one of the last steps, and one of the most important. Aaand keep track of that tiny accelerator pump check ball and weight/spring. Easy to loose.

 

[achris]

...Pay attention to those tiny transition passages below the throttle butterfly plates....

Progression holes. The bottom one is the idle discharge port, and as the throttle plate is opened it exposes more holes. (Fuel can only be drawn from them when they are below the throttle plate). Until the air flow is fast enough to draw fuel from the main venturi. ...

Chris. ...

 

[OkieBoater75]

Thank you all for the help. Going to rebuild the carb next week.

 

[OkieBoater75]

Question on carb rebuild kit.

I dont know if the local Auto parts stores are trying to gouge me, but apparently around d here the carb rebuild kit for my carb is $80+. I don't have a problem spending that much, but was wondering if anyone knows where I can find the right kit for cheaper.

Read earlier in this post that it should only cost $25. Big disparity between $80 and $25.

And yes, I like saving money if I can.

 

[OkieBoater75]

Btw, this past weekend we took it out on the lake and it ran better at first. Was able to WOT it and it ran fine. But after about an hour, it started sputtering again and finally just died and didn't start again. So I trailered it and waited until I got home Sunday. It fired up and ran fine on the hose.

 

[achris]

Ouch! Even Merc genuine is only $49.... Find another shop, or buy online, part number is 3302-810929

 

[OkieBoater75]

Thank you achris

 

[AnthraxBird]

If you’re close to me, or want to send me the disassembled carb parts / jets, I can soak it for you to release all the crud inside.