# My fuel issues



## Robert 31320 (Jul 19, 2010)

I have seemingly been plagued with fuel issues this whole summer.  

I thought I had it figured out a couple months ago with a serious dose of Sea Foam.  The trips since have degraded to a point I was about ready to take my boat to the dealer and let them look at it.  For about 2 weeks now I have thought about everything I possibly could to check before I took the plunge.  

Yesterday afternoon I emptied the new fuel/water seperator into a glass after only 1 trip and the fuel in it appeared to be in perfect condition.  Re-installed and could not get it to refill after pumping the primer ball for several minutes.  This evening's task was to make sure the tank vent wasn't clogged, the anti-siphon valve wasn't stuck, etc.  I pulled up the deck and found the vent line to be clear.  Disconnected the fuel line at both ends and could blow through it freely (ethanol gas will blister the crap out of your lips ).  Tried pumping the primer ball again for probably 2 minutes and nothing......wait did I just hear *AIR*?  Looked real close at the fuel line and found about a 1/8" split in it right at one of the fittings!  Trimmed it back about 1" and connected the primer ball to it, 7 pumps later I'm squirting fuel 2' out the end of the line!  Re-connect everything, crank it up and she's purring like a little grey kitty cat.  

I'll probably put it in the water one afternoon this week and try it with my fingers crossed!


----------



## jonkayak (Jul 19, 2010)

Glade to hear you got it fixed.


----------



## wharfrat (Jul 19, 2010)

congrats!


----------



## PaulD (Jul 19, 2010)

Ata boy! My number 1 rule is assume the worse and start looking at the smallest, simplest thing.


----------



## d-a (Jul 19, 2010)

Glad you found your problem. I probably would have replaced all my fuel lines with alchohol/ethanol safe lines since i had my deck apart. 

d-a


----------



## watermedic (Jul 19, 2010)

Glad you got it fixed Robert. When we goin fishin?

Chuck


----------



## Paymaster (Jul 20, 2010)

Congrats! Probably saved yourself a chunk of cash.


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 20, 2010)

I'm sure hoping that fixed it.  Will probably put it in the water this evening and try it if I can get off work in time.


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 20, 2010)

d-a said:


> Glad you found your problem. I probably would have replaced all my fuel lines with alchohol/ethanol safe lines since i had my deck apart.
> 
> d-a



Yeah, I'm hoping that fixes it.  Actually I can change the fuel line without taking the deck out again.  The line looked real good other than the split.  I'm thinking I may have just pushed down on it at some time or another and caused it to cut on the fitting.....we'll see.


----------



## capt stan (Jul 20, 2010)

Cool man!


----------



## seaweaver (Jul 20, 2010)

It cannot hurt to replace the line.
I was reading that the blends can vary and depending on the water component, the fuel _can_ deteriorate OH resistant hoses.
I have replaced 2 Yam. Fuel filter O rings on two different engines(1year old ea.) this week that seemingly shrunk and popped and resulted in a similar starvation issue.

The best solution is beat the fool out of anyone voting for corn.

cw


----------



## Bryannecker (Jul 20, 2010)

Robert 31320 said:


> Yeah, I'm hoping that fixes it.  Actually I can change the fuel line without taking the deck out again.  The line looked real good other than the split.  I'm thinking I may have just pushed down on it at some time or another and caused it to cut on the fitting.....we'll see.



Capt. Robert, 

I really hope that you have fixed the problem.  But, I firmly believe that the only real, permanent fix is to go back to real marine gas.  That is, no ethanol. I have done that on all of my boats and have had no problems since.  Sure it costs me more, but I have shopped marine gas and found it for $2.99 at two stations and one that is lower than that price.  Strickland Oil at Highway 80 and Pine Barren Road in Pooler-$2.99 is one and the BP Station on Montgomery Crossroad in Savannah is the other one at $2.99.  The very lowest is Clyde's station at Shellman's Bluff.  They were $2.86 for prem.-no ethanol gas, I believe it was the last time I was by there.  By the way, my Mercury fuel line had to be replaced due to the ethanol eating the liner up on it.
My Evinrude just would not run properly in the hot summer season, until I did away with any and all ethanol and started using only real, MARINE GAS..again!

So, I am convinced that any fix for ethanol is merely a temporary fix and the problems will come back to haunt us all. See my post on Ethanol"101," from a few weeks ago. 
And if ya'll think that E-10 is bad, just wait to see the effect of E-15 on your engine!  

I know that the marina gas pricing is just out- of- sight, so find a station with non-ethanol and fill up there.  Carry cans in your truck and refill or top- off as necessary. 

I keep a boat in the water most of the time, so I top-off with cans, but do fill up when I pull it out to clean it, etc.
It is a bit more trouble but can and will save your engine, of that I am convinced.  Finally, this whole ethanol issue is just another example of how the rulers of this nation are socking it to the common man.  Brothers, I am just sick and tired of it all!!!!

Capt. Jimmy:
flag:


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 20, 2010)

Tried it out this evening.........depressed again


----------



## Hunter22 (Jul 21, 2010)

We have a 28.8 Pro cat with twin yamah 4 strokes and had an issue last spring. We couldnt get the bulbs to pump much gas and the engines would crank and run but then cut off. We looked at all the lines in our boat that we could get to and replaced both water separators and still didnt fix it. We had to finally tow it over to bennys at fishermans lodge and take it to lockwood. I cant remember exactly what it was but something shifted near the gas tank and was pinching both lines so they had to move the fuel lines and replace 20 ft of it on both tanks and that solved the problem for us. What kind of boat is it?


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 21, 2010)

Mine is a Sea Hunt.  I have narrowed it down to the VST filter.  All I've read says you can just clean it but with all it takes to get to it I'm going to replace it.  Just have to order it now, I checked 2 Yamaha dealers and they are not cheap nor in stock.  Can order on-line for 1/2 the price with 3-day delivery.



.....just ordered the filters.  Should be here in 3 days.


----------



## d-a (Jul 21, 2010)

Robert 31320 said:


> Mine is a Sea Hunt.  I have narrowed it down to the VST filter.  All I've read says you can just clean it but with all it takes to get to it I'm going to replace it.  Just have to order it now, I checked 2 Yamaha dealers and they are not cheap nor in stock.  Can order on-line for 1/2 the price with 3-day delivery.
> 
> 
> 
> .....just ordered the filters.  Should be here in 3 days.




Ah the dreaded VST filter. Its quite simple actually but make sure you got the o ring for the tank too. I also drain my VST tank when im expecting to not use the boat for long periods of time. Also your engine mounted pumps might be leaking too, there purpose is to make sure the VST tank is feed enough fuel. There diaphram pumps on the left side of the motor. You didnt say what size motor, but my 150's have 2 and my 250's have 3.

d-a


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 27, 2010)

My goodies have arrived!!


----------



## d-a (Jul 29, 2010)

Robert 31320 said:


> My goodies have arrived!!



How did the install go?

d-a


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 29, 2010)

Haven't done it yet.  Hopefully this evening....


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 29, 2010)

My brother and I changed the VST filter this evening.  He was a great help!!

The before:





This phase of it was not pretty:





The VST filter was a MESS!!  Also, haad some gunk in the tank that I cleaned out real good.  The filter on the left is obviously the new one.





On the hose it has a slight hesitation when you give it gas from an idle.  I'm gonna put it in the water this weekend and see how it does.  Any ideas on what could cause the hesitation?


----------



## Son (Jul 29, 2010)

Your outboard problems sound like my truck problems. Hang in there.


----------



## capt stan (Jul 30, 2010)

There ya go Robert... that was a BIG mess bro... Should have called me man... I could have come over and got in your way...


----------



## Robert 31320 (Jul 30, 2010)

MIGHTY disappointed right about now......


----------



## jonkayak (Jul 30, 2010)

Hate to hear that, is it still the same problem or is it something created from the filter change? If it is the same thing have you tried a portable tank with a new or different fuel line, bulb, and every other fitting and connect it to engine directly.  A buddy of mine just recently went through something similar that you are going through. He thought it was the engine but it turned out the main fuel line coming off the tank had deteriorated to the point it looked fine but was collapsing once the motor started sucking fuel. The amazing thing was the boat motor and fuel line was only 2 years old.


----------



## Bryannecker (Aug 1, 2010)

_It is all ethanol! Never heard of such when we all had real gas.  Don't mean to sound crass, but would love to tell the oil barrons to kiss my -----rymes with gas.   _

But seriously, I wonder what the status of the suits against the major oil companies over ethanol in Florida is??  They were filed months ago and the possibility of class action as an added feature was raised.  Anybody heard the latest?? Seems like all of us have had our own issues with that blasted ethonol and our outboards.  I would love to get a $-. 98 for my trouble.  How about ya'll???

Capt. Jimmy
www.saltwaternecker.com


----------



## Robert 31320 (Aug 3, 2010)

We cleaned the injectors this evening.  Now the #2 injector appears to be stuck OPEN and flooding that cylinder with gas.....oh the joy of boat ownership.


----------



## Robert 31320 (Aug 9, 2010)

4 new injectors ordered this morning.  Let's see what happens then.


----------



## watermedic (Aug 9, 2010)

Ya need a bigger hammer Robert!!


----------



## PROLINE JIM (Aug 9, 2010)

Dang Robert, You got rid of the old "88"and went with that pretty Yamaha and well.... The "88" is still humming right on along.Man, I hate all the trouble you've been having! Seems like it's one thing after another, But I'm sure you'll get it going soon. Hope the Injectors do the trick!!!


----------



## Robert 31320 (Aug 9, 2010)

PROLINE JIM said:


> Dang Robert, You got rid of the old "88"and went with that pretty Yamaha and well.... The "88" is still humming right on along.Man, I hate all the trouble you've been having! Seems like it's one thing after another, But I'm sure you'll get it going soon. Hope the Injectors do the trick!!!



Oh man Jim!  You sure know how to kick a man when he's down!   We're going to get it sooner or later!

I'm glad to hear the 88 is treating you right.  I miss that boat!


----------



## Robert 31320 (Aug 13, 2010)

Got my new fuel injectors today..........pray for me!


----------



## pbmang (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm not very familiar with the 4 strokes, so this may not help at all, but did you check/clean your 02 sensor (if they have them at all)?  I was having similar problems with my 2 stroke yamaha and all I had to do was clean the o2 sensor (it was covered in carbon) and replace a few fouled plugs, and she was off and running again.  Turns out the o2 was sending bad readings due to the carbon and causing WAY to much oil to be mixed with the gas.

EDIT:  It doesn't look like they have an 02 sensor after a little research but I did find this thread.  It has a few people giving some pretty good suggestions.  Maybe a needle valve in your VST tanks?

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=139380


----------



## Parker Phoenix (Aug 13, 2010)

Robert, best of luck man, were pullin' for ya.......That close to the water and can not fish. That stinks.......


----------



## Robert 31320 (Aug 13, 2010)

Just put in 4 new fuel injectors.  It is still absolutely awful!  The #2 cylinder is just flooding with fuel.  Swapped two injectors around and the #2 is the same.  Plug is firing great it just can't burn all the fuel it's being hit with.  I guess one day I'll get it into a shop......

My boat ownership spirit is officially broken.....


----------



## HuntNTails (Aug 14, 2010)

You've been having a time with that thing. I went through some issues two months ago and had to take it to the shop. I feel your pain!! Hope you get it fixed.


----------



## Paymaster (Aug 14, 2010)

Man! Robert. That thing has sure been a headache for you. Hope you get it fixed and back to the water soon.


----------



## Robert 31320 (Sep 8, 2010)

Talked to Troy "THE" Yamaha Man today!  He's coming to see me next week!!


----------



## Robert 31320 (Sep 14, 2010)

Well, Wednesday isn't the day..........today was the day!

There a couple things I'd like to say about Troy Bradley, The Yamaha Man.

First, Troy is THE MAN!

My phone rang today about 1:10 and the caller ID read "Troy the boat man".  Talk to me!  He asked if he could come today instead of Wednesday, absolutely!  He found that one of the new injectors I bought was bad and was just drowning the motor with fuel.  He put one of the originals back in it's place.  He checked evrything imaginable on the motor before he tried it.  Once he hooked the hose to it, it fired right up and just purred!!!! 

Put it in the water this evening and it runs just a brand new motor.  Life is good again. 

The only disheartning news I got was.......I've had this motor for 65 months and it has a whopping 93 hours on it.  I have to do something about that for sure.

Robert 31320 is smiling tonight!  

Oh yeah, the second thing I'd like to say about Troy......HE IS THE FN MAN!!!


----------



## d-a (Sep 14, 2010)

Glad you got it figured out. Waiting anxiously for some fish picture now.

d-a


----------



## Altamaha Stalker (Sep 15, 2010)

Glad you got it fixed! Just in time for some great fall fishing! Now go put some hours on that motor!!


----------



## fishin in georgia (Sep 15, 2010)

Also glad to hear it's running properly, I've been following your progress on it and was hoping for success.  (I also enjoy your fishing reports.) 

What was the determination of the original problem, stopped up VST screen or bad injector(s), or both?


----------



## Robert 31320 (Sep 15, 2010)

fishin in georgia said:


> Also glad to hear it's running properly, I've been following your progress on it and was hoping for success.  (I also enjoy your fishing reports.)
> 
> What was the determination of the original problem, stopped up VST screen or bad injector(s), or both?



The VST screen was definitely blocked originally.  I'm also about 95% sure there was at least an intermitent problem with one of the original injectors.  There was absolutely an issue with one of the remanufactured injectors.

It's running great now.  Fishing this weekend!!!


----------



## PROLINE JIM (Sep 16, 2010)

I'm sure glad to hear you finally got it figured out. There's not much that is more frustrating than to get a new part and it be bad too.Hope you slaughter them this weekend, You sure deserve a good trip!


----------



## Robert 31320 (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks Jim!

The amazing thing is we put the new bad one in the same cylinder as the old bad one....


----------

