water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

[bill evans]

looking at used boat. 1985 sylvan v190 4.3L Mercruiser. owner says that he has a quicksilver filter that fills up and cuts the engine and has to be emptied because he was getting water in fuel and didn't know why. is this a known issue or is there other trouble somewhere that lets water in the gas? looking for a fixer upper, but don't want anymore fixing than what i'm looking at.

 

[tommays]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

its a common problem even on brand new boats <br /><br />if its really bad the you can remove the fuel outlet from the tank and CAREFULLY siphon the water off the bottom of the tank<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

First off where is the vent located. Does it seem possible for water to ingress that way? I have seen it happen when the vent is submerged while under power. Happened on a ski boat, the vent was located even with the captain’s seat and mounted just under the rub rail. In a hard turn water would wash over the vent and was forced into the fuel tank.

 

[bill evans]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

the gas cap vent is located forward of the captain's chair towards the bow. thanks for your quick replies! i don't think i can pass the price and just wanted a little confidence boost from some people with more knowledge than me! thanks alot and will let you know how it turns out!

 

[KaGee]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

That much water is unusual, and it's getting in there by only one of three ways.<br /><br />1)His choice of fuel retailer could be the culprit... especially if from a marina. Some marinas operate on the cheap and do not have their tanks cleaned regularly.<br /><br />2) Check the angle of the vent to make sure it's not pointing upwards allowing water in. <br /><br />3) Inspect the filler cap assembly to make sure your not getting water in through there as well.<br /><br />If 2 & 3 check out, I'd believe it got pumped in.<br />As tom said, siphon it... very risky or keep changing filter separators until the problem levels out. I'd opt for the latter.

 

[QC]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

I had a similar issue on my last boat after a particularly rainy stretch. I belive now that my boat cover was the culprit. It was physically touching the horizontally mounted filler that had the intergral vent. I think the soaked cover was "helping" the water seep into the little vent hole directly.<br /><br />I just carried a couple of extra water separator/fuel filters for a few tankfulls and swapped them whenever I had a lull with no kids buggin' me for a tube ride . . .

 

[jmccall001]

Re: water getting gas? could this happen through the cap vent??

might want to check the gasket on the filler cap