Vapor lock issue?

[bbeckley]

I have a 2000 Chaparral SSI216 with a Mercruiser I/O and the engine is a 5.0 liter. Recently after running the boat for about an hour, and then shutting the boat off, if I try to restart within 30 to 45 minutes, the motor tries to start the idle jumps from 500 to 2500 RPMs and then dies. At this point the boat will not start until is sits for a couple of hours and then it fires right up. We are having extreme heat, 103 range. This has happened to me twice. Now if I shut off the boat and it sits for an hour or so before trying to restart, it fires right up. I have no issues at all when the boat is running, only when trying to restart after running for a while. Is this vapor lock and if so, how can I remedy this issue?

 

[bigtuna1]

Re: Vapor lock issue?

I have a 2000 searay with a 5.0 Mercruiser I/O EFI that is having the same problem. Put it in the shop and had the fuel drained thinking I had water in the fuel. Took the boat out 3 weeks ago and no problem. Took it out yesterday and after running it for about 30 minutes cut it off to swim and would not start. Waited about 2 hours and it started fine. It was hot yesterday here in VA. I have read alot about people having this problem but do not seem to see many fixes for the problem. Does anone know how to fix the problem?
It has gotten to the point no one is going to go out on the boat anymore.

 

[Lakester72]

I have the same issue sometimes on my 1999 2330 Sport with 7.4 Mercruiser. The only fix I have found is to pull off the fuel/water filter and replace it. You have to fill up the new filter with fuel before installing it. This has worked every time so far (about 10 times). I don’t think it’s water in the fuel, so you may be able to reuse the old filter after filling it up, but I have just been changing it. I carry a small gas can and spare filters for this reason. It also seems to help if I let the engine idle for a little bit after running so it cools down before shutting it off.