Not a good start

[bryanwhite]

Hope you guys can bare with me on this, as I'm new to this. So here is how the story goes, I just bought a 1996 bayliner 1952 cuddy, with a mercruiser 3.0 alpha. I bought the boat from a mechanic who got the boat as payment for a job he did. The story on the boat is that the guy who originally bought the boat (new) passed away after a year of owning the boat, and there is sat for approx 14 years. My mechanic friend, once he got the boat replaced the starter, changed the oil, put in a new impeller, rebuilt the carb. Boat cranked right up and idles like there is no tomorrow.

On Saturday I take the boat out for her maiden voyage, she starts right up at the dock and putts out through a long no wake zone, I begin to open her up and she is running like a scalded cat for about mile, all of a sudden I lose power, and she stalls out, start her back up and she runs again for about two mins and stalls out again, I start her up and can only get her to putt along for about 10 min and again she stalls out. At this point she start up but dies out within seconds. I call my friend and he says to check the fuel filter, as maybe some of the old gas has some junk in it.( I did put fresh gas in it, but I'm sure there was some old stuff still in there) I tried to pull off the fuel filter that is attached to the carb, and like a dummy I was turning the wrong nut, and twisted the metal fuel line and it broke. So now my goofy butt is stranded two miles up the lake. I got a tow in, came home and ordered a new fuel line. I did check the fuel filter and it was dirty.

So after all that here are a few questions, could dirty fuel be the culprit? Did the engine bay get too hot and I ended up with vapor lock, (should I be driving the boat with the blowers on?) Is this particular mercruiser supposed to have a water fuel separator? (there is not one in there) Also while all of this was happening, I heard a beep from the engine and my oil pressure shot up but can right back down.

As you guys can see I've got issues galore, I need to get these fixed cuz if I have to hear the wife tell me "I told you so", and "boats are more trouble than their worth" one more time I'm going to have a complete out of body experience.


Hope ya'll can help

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Not a good start

cuz if I have to hear the wife tell me "I told you so", and "boats are more trouble than their worth" one more time I'm going to have a complete out of body experience.

First, your wife is right that boats CAN be more trouble than they're worth.....depends on what it's worth to you.

Seems like you're on the right track with the fuel system but even though you put in some fresh gas, you should completely clean out that tank which has all that old gas in there that has now chocked up your fuel filter and carb....which probably needs a good cleaning now also.

Do a search here on cleaning that tank as there was a post in the last few days about a chemical used for that purpose without having to remove the tank.

You can add a water separating fuel filter setup but you need to have a proper place to mount it and plumb it properly.

Mark

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

Thanks Mark, I just bought a water fuel separator today my new fuel line came in the mail, hope to get those in with in the next couple of days. I'm really interested in getting the fuel tank cleaned out and the thought of some additive to help this process is very appealing.

 

[greiffster]

Re: Not a good start

well, with those symptoms, i know i would check the anti-siphon valve. no telling whats in that tank.

 

[NovaNewfie]

Re: Not a good start

If you just bought the boat of a friend who happens to be a mechanic, why not get him to figure it out. If I bought a boat that was supposed to be running, friend or not I'd expect I'd be able to at least get through the maiden voyage. Did he ever run the boat after he got it or (no offense) did he get it running well enough to pawn his problems off on someone else.

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

If I had to take a guess i would say he got it running good enough to pawn it off on some sucker (me). Friend or not once I bought the used boat it became my problem. At this point I really do think I got suckered.
I did manage to get the new fuel line on, changed the fuel filter on the carb and the filter on the fuel pump. She cranked right up, however I have real apprehensions about putting her in the water and getting stranded again. Guess at this point I have no choice but to keep at it until I get to the root of the problem.

If you just bought the boat of a friend who happens to be a mechanic, why not get him to figure it out. If I bought a boat that was supposed to be running, friend or not I'd expect I'd be able to at least get through the maiden voyage. Did he ever run the boat after he got it or (no offense) did he get it running well enough to pawn his problems off on someone else.

 

[Failproof]

Re: Not a good start

Time for a sea trial. Get towing insurance first. Stay close to dock. With boats its not is that problem fixed, but whats gonna be the next problem?

 

[mjfink]

Re: Not a good start

Don't get discouraged. If this is the only problem you have with the boat, your buddy certainly didn't "pawn" anything off on you. It's a boat. Boat's have problems. A fuel filter issue is, in the scheme of boat problems, a GREAT day, easy fix and very inexpensive.

Buying a boat and expecting it to run like a car is, IMHO, not realistic. Things happen, the environment is MUCH more severe and the usage is also much harder than a car is subjected to.

The good news, once you've owned the boat for awhile, you'll get through most of the minor issues and have a good feel for how to fix/prevent them yourself. It will get better, but it takes time; boating isn't just about the time on the boat on the water, it's also about the experience of owning and maintaining a temperamental piece of hardware.

If I had to take a guess i would say he got it running good enough to pawn it off on some sucker (me). Friend or not once I bought the used boat it became my problem. At this point I really do think I got suckered.
I did manage to get the new fuel line on, changed the fuel filter on the carb and the filter on the fuel pump. She cranked right up, however I have real apprehensions about putting her in the water and getting stranded again. Guess at this point I have no choice but to keep at it until I get to the root of the problem.

 

[kmarine]

Re: Not a good start

Sounds to me like water in fuel. before returning to sea trial run for an hour then let cool remove filter dump into plastic container and look for water bubbles in fuel. boats in long term storage are notorious for ethanol fuels separating resulting in water vapor in the tank. water will sit on the bottom of the carbureator bowl and choke during heavy throtle when idling the engine runs ok. I recomend running rfom a remote 6 gal marine tank first to get engine back to good running status, purge tank and filter water from fuel mix old fuel with new fuel and dispose of in gas guzzeling pickup truck to dispose of hazzardous old fuel safely. 1 gal old gas to 3 gal of new gass.

 

[Technorunner]

Re: Not a good start

I would also check the tank venting hose and and the small venting net on the outside of the boat. dissconect the hose from the tank and try blow in it and se if its cloged up. That would also get the symptoms you describe. As Mjfink said Even if it feels like a big thing its not. Once you solve this you will probably have a really nice boat. So hang in there get it fixed and say " I told you so" to your wife if you dare

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

Thanks for the words of encouragement, I got her running last night, this evening I will try to replace the anti siphon valve, check the vent hose, and get the water fuel separator installed. Keeping my fingers crossed that I am getting close to a solution.

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

Pulled the anti siphon valve, and low and behold the little ball inside barley moves if at all. I am guessing that the ball should move freely, ie. when you shake it you should hear tick tick tick, am I right in my assumption?

The vent tube seem to be free, I can blow through it without any resistance. So it's off to the store tomorrow to get a one foot piece of gas line and a new anti siphon valve, and hope to be able to get it all put back together before the weekend.

 

[Technorunner]

Re: Not a good start

Hope thats your problem, it sure sounds like that. Allways feels nice to find and fix the problem.

 

[greiffster]

Re: Not a good start

i actually don't think it should rattle since it is spring loaded (as i remember). but the spring and ball can get clogged with junk. you should be able to push on the ball with a small screwdriver to open up the valve. blowing air from the opposite direction shouldn't be possible if the ball is seated. whatever, they're cheap, put a new one in.

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

I broke out of work a little early this afternoon, right home and got everything back together. New filters in the fuel pump and carb, fuel water separator installed with new gas lines from the tank to the FWS, and then to the fuel pump. new fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb, and last but not least a new anti siphon valve. She cranked right up and idled good, throttled up and let her run at 2700 RPM for a good 10 min and not a single hiccup. I sure hope this solves my problem,the only sure way to tell is to splash her this weekend. The thought of taking her back out to the lake and getting stranded again puts butterflies in my stomach. Sure hope this works.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Not a good start

She cranked right up and idled good, throttled up and let her run at 2700 RPM for a good 10 min and not a single hiccup.

Just wondering if you were running it at 2700 rpm on muffs or in a slip as if on muffs, you might want to read the service bulletin on the procedure for running on muffs.....just in case you are not aware.

Mark

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

Thanks for the update

 

[NovaNewfie]

Re: Not a good start

I broke out of work a little early this afternoon, right home and got everything back together. New filters in the fuel pump and carb, fuel water separator installed with new gas lines from the tank to the FWS, and then to the fuel pump. new fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb, and last but not least a new anti siphon valve. She cranked right up and idled good, throttled up and let her run at 2700 RPM for a good 10 min and not a single hiccup. I sure hope this solves my problem,the only sure way to tell is to splash her this weekend. The thought of taking her back out to the lake and getting stranded again puts butterflies in my stomach. Sure hope this works.

When you replaced the fuel line to the carb did you use steel line?

 

[bryanwhite]

Re: Not a good start

Yes, I bought a SS fuel line

When you replaced the fuel line to the carb did you use steel line?

 

[choppywaters]

Re: Not a good start

Dirty fuel can be a real pita as a friend found out on his motorcycle this week. He ran it out of fuel so the last little bit bit of fuel was probably full of dirt. The tinniest bit of dirt or gunk can foul carbs in no time. You might have to replace the fuel filters a few times to get it clean enough to run. When I took our "new to us" boat in for service the mechanic went through 2 or 3 fuel filters before it was clean then ended up replacing the rubber fuel lines, he also installed a fuel/water separator filter system.