HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

[XavierSPL]

After returning to where the boat is docked after a few days of heavy rain I found water in the bilge halfway up the oilpan.. (no auto bilge pump :facepalm
I got all the water out, dosconnected the battery and left her out in the sun for a few hours to dry out. When I first started it, no problems - start right up as usual, and it ran smooth. I walked away and let it idle at the dock for 5-10 mins until it stalled out. When I tried to restart it started giving me trouble. It will start or sputter with a few pumps of the throttle or with a bit of fuel down the throat of the carb, but it will not stay running, as soon as that little bit of gas is burned up in a few seconds it stalls right out.
I pulled the fuel pump and checked the filter, didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary from a visual inspection - any ideas of why this would occur after submersion? (I should add that the carb is freshly rebuilt about a month ago and it's been running beautifully since until now..
(Also, yes - I checked the oil - no water present.)

 

[alldodge]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

What kind of boat is it, engine size and model, manufacture?

 

[Bondo]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

After returning to where the boat is docked after a few days of heavy rain I found water in the bilge halfway up the oilpan.. (no auto bilge pump :facepalm
I got all the water out, dosconnected the battery and left her out in the sun for a few hours to dry out. When I first started it, no problems - start right up as usual, and it ran smooth. I walked away and let it idle at the dock for 5-10 mins until it stalled out. When I tried to restart it started giving me trouble. It will start or sputter with a few pumps of the throttle or with a bit of fuel down the throat of the carb, but it will not stay running, as soon as that little bit of gas is burned up in a few seconds it stalls right out.
I pulled the fuel pump and checked the filter, didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary from a visual inspection - any ideas of why this would occur after submersion? (I should add that the carb is freshly rebuilt about a month ago and it's been running beautifully since until now..
(Also, yes - I checked the oil - no water present.)

Ayuh,.... Is there any Gas in the tank,..??

 

[achris]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Ayuh,.... Is there any Gas in the tank,..??

Nope, 'cause it's full of water!!!

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

What kind of boat is it, engine size and model, manufacture?

It's a 1990 Searay 160 with a merc 3.0.

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Nope, 'cause it's full of water!!!

There's a half tank of gas in it - think there's a chance that water got into it?

 

[achris]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

There's a half tank of gas in it - think there's a chance that water got into it?

I'd say it is a fair bet.... Try disconnecting the fuel tank and getting an outboard remote tank and running it on that. You said it ran for 5-10 minutes before stalling out. That's about how long it would take to use the fuel in the carb, lines and fuel pump before water got to the carb. You also say it'll run when you toss petrol down the carb.... Proves it not an electrical problem... You're going to need to drain the lines, fuel pump and carb before hooking up that remote tank....

Chris.......

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Thanks for the tips - so far, I siphoned the gas tank out and pulled out around 10 gallons. After putting some in a 5 gallon bucket and checking for seperation, looks like half of what was in the tank was water! I put 10 gallons of fresh gas in and have been trying to start but so far no change - with a small bit of gas straight down the throat it'll run for 3-5 seconds then stall out. Curious as to how long it'll take until the fresh gas makes it way up the system or if there could be something else??
If I were to try gravity feeding, should I do that to the fuel pump or straight to the fuel inlet on the carb?

 

[alldodge]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Thanks for the tips - so far, I siphoned the gas tank out and pulled out around 10 gallons. After putting some in a 5 gallon bucket and checking for seperation, looks like half of what was in the tank was water! I put 10 gallons of fresh gas in and have been trying to start but so far no change - with a small bit of gas straight down the throat it'll run for 3-5 seconds then stall out. Curious as to how long it'll take until the fresh gas makes it way up the system or if there could be something else??
If I were to try gravity feeding, should I do that to the fuel pump or straight to the fuel inlet on the carb?

The time depends on if you git all the water. The siphon may have stopped before everthing came out of the tank. Take the fuel line off the carb and place the end in a container which you can check for water. Crank the engine over and, when you get nothing but gas, put the line back on and you will need to pump the carb during starting to get the water out of it. It would help to take the carb off and empty it out but you could damage the gasket and need to replace it. You should also replace the fuel filter or at least empty it and put it back on.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

After returning to where the boat is docked after a few days of heavy rain I found water in the bilge halfway up the oilpan.. (no auto bilge pump :facepalm
I got all the water out, dosconnected the battery and left her out in the sun for a few hours to dry out. When I first started it, no problems - start right up as usual, and it ran smooth. I walked away and let it idle at the dock for 5-10 mins until it stalled out. When I tried to restart it started giving me trouble. It will start or sputter with a few pumps of the throttle or with a bit of fuel down the throat of the carb, but it will not stay running, as soon as that little bit of gas is burned up in a few seconds it stalls right out.
I pulled the fuel pump and checked the filter, didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary from a visual inspection - any ideas of why this would occur after submersion? (I should add that the carb is freshly rebuilt about a month ago and it's been running beautifully since until now..
(Also, yes - I checked the oil - no water present.)

That's how long you have to deal with the water..... 5-10 minutes of actual running the engine... until gas clears the fuel lines and the carb until it runs well again. It will be a real PIA... do yourself a favor and get a float switch and good bilge pump if your going to keep it in the water.

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Thanks, I'll keep at it - if I have to pull the carb it shouldn't be an issue (hopefully) as the gasket is only 2 weeks old. I've literally started and stalled this thing 100 times today, only progress I've seen is that I'm able to get it to briefly sputter with the gas that's squirting in from pumping the throttle (i'm assuming the accelerator) where before it wouldn't do anything without some gas down the carb throat.
There was about a 1/4" of gas that the siphon coudn't get up - if the fuel pickup is in the very bottom of the tank I suppose that could be the issue still sucking up some water perhaps.

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Update and tip for others: I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier but instead of burning out my starter (and patience) I decided to take a siphon and hook it up to the fuel line that goes in to the carb and pumped out about a 1/2 gallon at a time into a clear container where I could see the water and gas seperated - once there was little to no gas coming out I hooked it back up and she fired right up!

 

[Bondo]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Update and tip for others: I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier but instead of burning out my starter (and patience) I decided to take a siphon and hook it up to the fuel line that goes in to the carb and pumped out about a 1/2 gallon at a time into a clear container where I could see the water and gas seperated - once there was little to no gas coming out I hooked it back up and she fired right up!

Ayuh,.... ya mean No Water, Right,..??

Carry a spare fuel filter with ya,... ya might need to change it a few more times,...

 

[hookemdano]

just curious

just curious

just curious...BUT...how would water get into the gas tank? if my boat had that much water in the bilge...I dont see how water would ever get into my gas tank

 

[XavierSPL]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

Ayuh,.... ya mean No Water, Right,..??

Carry a spare fuel filter with ya,... ya might need to change it a few more times,...

Yes lol, no water.. Got the fuel filter ready to go, just waiting to run it for a bit to make sure the water is out before installing it. She's running right now on a muff - blowing a bit of white smoke smoke - assuming it's burning off the water that's still present.

As for how the water got in - there was a significant amount of water, about halfway up the oil pan - it was above the level of the top of the gas tank so I've been assuming it leaked in through the sender unit. The gasket looked pretty rough and it was filthy with mildew and crud - cleaned it off and replaced the gasket today. Between that and the float switch for the bilge - hoping to never have to go through this again!!

 

[hookemdano]

Re: HELP!! Won't stay running after rain water in bilge!!

ok...makes sense...my concern was... if water can get in...gas fumes can get out...and in an enclosed bilge...not what I would want