Fuel Pump Problems

serpico1

Cadet
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
23
I have a 2004 Rinker 312Fv with twin Volvo Penta 5.0 OSI-EF engines and dual gas tanks.
since the beginning of May i have been noticing that the boat is very sluggish on acceleration (runs perfect at idel and no wake speeds). As throttle up to get on plane the RPM's barely hit 4000 and it seems to take awhile to get up out of the hole, then as the boat planes, the RPM's kick up to about 4500 - 4800 and then i can throttle back to cruising speed.

Now recently, i have been having problems with my starboard engine when going over 3000 RPMs. Both engines run fine under a no wake speed. But now as I throttle up to get on plane, after a few seconds, the starboard engine begins to lose RPMs and bog down like it's starving for gas. The first time it happen, I switched off the starboard gas tank and had both engines pulling from the port tank. The Starboard engine ran fine (other then the original sluggishness). So i checked the starboard tank gas lines and pick-up and all were clear. I then changed the starboard gas filter. Took the boat out for a drive with each engine isolated to pull gas from its own gas tank. both engines ran fine (again, except for the sluggishness) ran at cruisng speed for about 20 mins, starboard engine had no problems. throttled back to a no wake speed as i passed through a no wake zone for about 10 mins then when i went to throttle up and continue cruising, the starboard engine beagn to act up again and the RPMs dropped and it was starving for gas. I brought the boat down to a no wake speed and i noticed the RPMs for the starboard engine were jumping up and down and the engine was surging for a few seconds thne leveld out.. I tunred off the starboard tank and again had both engines pull off port tank. But this time, it didnt fix the problem, the starboard engine still bogged down on acceleration. I cant believe that the new fuel filter could get clogged after 20 mins of use.

i do not hear any whinning coming from the starboard fuel pump. Although, i do hear an occassional whine from the port engine's fuel pump that lasts for about 10 seconds and goes away. But the port engine fuel pump isn't giving me any problems, yet.

I have read various posts and threads about the fuel pump has internal screens on the low pressure and high pressure side that can become clogged from paint peeling from inside the pump. . so, i assume i will have to remove the pump and check the screens. where are the screens located exactly? do i have to dissassemble the pump to get to them?

I have a repair manual that mentions that the 2004 model engine came with non-serviceable fuel pumps and that models after 2004 had fuel pumps that were serviceable and the high pressure side could be replaced without replacing the whole pump. But, my guess is that the ethenol gas has started to dissolve the paint inside the pump and its causing me problems. has anyone had luck just cleaning the screens without replacing the entire pump? I dont look forward to a $1200+ cost to replace fuel pumps
 
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