Click here. Thanks. [More] How to Deal with Problems, Is your boat teak looking dirty and dingy? Boat mfgs might steer away from products that everyone knows is prone to fail, such as this gas tank fitting, lesser grade steering assembly's, outboard motors with carbon steel steer tubes for steering cables, macerator and bilge pumps that are known to fail.knowing that their customers will be repeat customers because of this practice. I wanted to ensure that the fuel tank pickup was not partially clogged so I took out the pick up tube (and anti siphon valve). Clearly a problem that calls for more patience that technical know how. This would cause the fuel system to suck air. Or at least the way to start the answer. Clear fuel lines are available for gasoline engines and diesel does not seem to affect the lines for short term, investigative use. Our fuel polishing made no difference. Head discharge lines clogged with marine growth. We bled the fuel system and started the engine up while still on the mooring, and it died almost immediately. . One of the main causes of fire aboard vessels is associated with flexible fuel lines.your fuel lines were an accident waiting to happen, you were fortunate they only caused your engine to run like a hairy goatit could have been a lot worse, if you had had an engineroom fire..and I do not mean just the loss of a vessel. In a recent e-mail, a boat owner described a problem he was having with the brand-new engine he had just re-powered his boat with. This is not true and after years of engine failures, always when the conditions have the boat bouncing all over, we sorted this out with the help of a fellow mariner who had the same filters and problems. I would have replaced the fuel lines first. Since wed had more problems as the trip had progressed and thus there was less fuel in the tank, we suspected maybe there was a crack in the tank pickup. This is the second step of my fuel problem diagnostics. Applies to standard shipping only within the contiguous United States. All we can figure is that there was one last bit of air, maybe trapped in a high spot, that dislodged. So thanks. In changing the valves, Dave had to remove our dual Racor assembly. But it started right up again . July 11, 2020 in Maintenance, Tech Info & Troubleshooting, 95 Malibu response 350 magI looked it up says our boats should hold 38 gallons I cant seem to get more then 13 in mine. I was plannining to install a bulk head fitting by removing my sender to access the inside of the tank. I have checked over the system but not as closely as you make clear is needed. I had the very same issues of fuel starvation and the problem was the Racor assembly. He discovered he could get the fitting off by. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Thats a problem with a lot of boats with baffled tanks. We took the boat out and motored for over 3 hours in 2 to 3 foot waves. It would be difficult to get them mixed up. Replaced fuel line old one was pinched and look collapsed. These hatches usually are located over the fuel pick-up tube and the gas gauge sending unit. All of them. All he needs to do now is trace down that problem and make the necessary corrections. Along the way, we sold pretty much everything we owned (twice! with the rest of us boaters, and has many good tips and explanations. It takes a lot of patience to track down the source of this type of problem, and the prroblem will probably turn out to be something really tiny and hard to see. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today! I "hope" that there is nothing special about it as I purchased another one, same thread (brass) but slightly different. Take my free mini-course: Filed Under: Boat Work Tagged With: Boat Projects - Repairs & Upgrades, DIY Tips, Overcoming, Underway. Thanks for reposting this Carolyn.we are literally right in the middle of sorting through this problem. The pickup and vent fittings are on opposite ends of the tank. It really doesnt take any special skills, just patience. The cute dog looks like she is very interested in those tools! As several pointed out it is a factory setup for the fuel pickup tube to be part of the tank. The Westerbeke has an electric fuel pump on it, and if we did the bleed procedure 30 to 60 seconds of pumping the fuel it would start again and run well . I installed a, Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.8 Beta 1, Seamanship, Navigation & Boat Handling, Rules of the Road, Regulations, & Red Tape. . Can you siphon it out through the filler? All other maintenance is equally important and if youre using Racor fill them up. Weve been checking for leaks. Both tank access point are the same. The manufacturer says the filters need only be half full.. Thanks for the idea of using a small wire to see if I can move it from side to side. not forgetting the pickup tube inside the tank, for those of us who have top feed tanks. Heather Kolankowski, On gas engines you can use WD 40 to find leaks. West Marine will email you when your order ships from the vendor. We are unable to access the tank much less remove it for cleaning (short of literally destroying the galley and salon) which is the problem. Bulkhead Fitting Specification/Dimension: 2008 196 Bay Reef, Garmin 740s, M-K Riptide SP70 with iPilot, Engines, Electronics, Wiring and Hydraulics, http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ccfitt.php, https://agrimart.net/3-8-stainless-stee oC2Kzw_wcB, http://www.banjovalves.com/specs/TF038SS.pdf. . I'm wondering if the tanks come pre-assembled from whomever and Tidewater simply hooks the lines up without checking it out? Just wondering if someone can walk me thru how to remove pickup tube from my gas tank. The pickup tube was permanently installed (we called the tank manufacturer to confirm this) so we did not remove it to check it for blockages or cracks. I did clean up the anti-siphon valve and will replace it once the boat is out of the water and will blow out the tube to clear any obstruction in the tube. Using the Racor bowl as a sight glass is a great way to figure out if the air leak is before (or in) the Racor or after. I bypassed it putting a $6 outboard plastic filter inline between the input and output hoses. Not all mechanical problems are the result of a failed engine. No improvement. Cummins traced it to a very small crack in the Fuel Injection Pump which requires complete replacement of the pump. By the time the car was taken to the shop the foam would subside and the engine would start. Runs for 15mins and loses RPM then later dies. Not sure if they send outside Florida however. The fitting had been missing the small copper washer that all banjo fittings are supposed to have. The dealer tack on the shipping cost Westerbeke charge the dealer. The Resource Center has four FREE mini-courses to guide you to just the info you need, whether youre discovering what living on a boat would be like, preparing to cruise, overwhelmed with the first-year learning curve, or needing help with cooking aboard. Click here. . Shop vacs are not designed to suction explosive fumes, and they are not shielded against spark. Sunflowers are literally dope for doves. and learned a ton about what does and doesn't work! Congratulations on a job well worked. . I was a bit iffy too on the gasket sealer, though I believe the propensity of gas to leak through such a tight fitting is probably unlikely, as it is rarely under significant hydrostatic pressure. Learning from your experience helped us save hours of frustration. Just having a wonderful time. The Boat Galley We definitely would have floundered longer if we didnt have an example of a crew with far more experience than we had still struggling. He explained that he had performed the usual break-in, and liked what he had seen up to that point.On his next trip, everything went smoothly for the first half hour of operation; then all of a sudden, the engine started to sputter, and it died. The next day, we went out sailing just for fun. Not testing anything. As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. been sitting in storage - having trouble getting gas tank cover off - wanting to empty old gas - any tips for removing metal gas tank cover? There is such a thing called preventive maintenance and no doubt with all equipment on board a vessel you should have the respective manufacturers manuals and they will always have a preventive maintenance schedule include..and of course they should be followed at the recommended intervals. And as we started up the engine to come back in the harbor, it died. The correction for this boat was to simply cut the bottom of the tube on an angle so that even if it did hit the bottom of the tank, it would still supply fuel. Its hard to see the pickup tube in the photo as its black, but its attached to that metal piece that the Visegrips are pulling out. Another major cause of fire are ill maintained vessels electrical systems. We use cookies to optimize site functionality and improve your overall experience. Thats also a problem, but wont produce the symptoms we had of an engine losing RPMs and dying. JavaScript is disabled. He could easily ignite the remaining fumes and the resulting explosion could cause severe injury to him and his boat. Delivery is only applicable within the contiguous United States. There are a lot of places on marine components where stainless shouldn't/can't be used because other factors are more important. I purchased a 20 cent washer,installed it, filled the system back up with fuel and never had a problem again. The first buckets were mostly water and discarded in the fuel dump; later buckets we filtered and reused the good stuff. Question where do you purchase parts. Then you should just be able to find a replacement, even if it is Al it should last a decade or two. As of now we carry a lot of filters! Thus we decided to concentrate on an air leak. Fortunately, the engine would restart, and it ran well as long as he did not exceed the 2,500-rpm mark. 250 gallons and we never saw it leave the boat. We began with the simple, more common problems and then progressed to checking other things that would cause a fuel problem on a boat: Finally, when we started the engine it ran well. The answer was much simpler: use a hair dryer to warm the fitting up, then pull with Visegrips (NOTE: ours was diesel, not gas, so far less risk of an explosion with a hair dryer and heat. We called Westerbeke tech support and they said to use a 30 micron if we were having fuel starvation issues. It certainly is a relief to figure these kind of things out after so long a time. Many anti-siphon valves become corroded and restrict fuel flow. Hopefully it is better now guess we will see at the ozarks. West Marine offers a wide variety of aftermarket, OEM-equivalent engine parts. The next thing to check is the hose barb fitting at the top of the pick-up. On the water, the dealer was able to duplicate the problem. It's beyond me why manufactures will not use quality components in their products. Also, forgot to say that I did a bit of damage to the 90 degree fitting. Not sure if Id use a hair dryer around gas find a non-sparky way to heat it.). Sigh. Happened when we were on a friends boat. For anyone who is interested this is how I went about it. Thanks for the photo, I literally ran into this issue this week trying to diagnose the same exact problem. Were now declaring the problem solved. I also recall reading where someone put a longish metal tube onto a hose attached to a pump, and kept sucking out the bottom of the tanks, periodically adding more (filtered) fuel to stir up the crud on the bottom enough that it would get sucked up. If possible, remove the fuel line from the pick-up tube, and then lift the pick-up tube out of the tank. I know it was missing since before I had purchased the boat a year or two before but it just never leaked till now. for a while. Was running engines pretty hard yesterday (motor sailing) when both shut down, right after a large rough storm. That one that you enjoy fishing with but you both especially enjoy giving each other a hard time. What I found was lots of soap bubbles coming out of the banjo fitting on the inlet to the fuel pump. Is there any additive I can add at this point to help after blowing whatever back in tank. Hello guys, Good for you! Several times, we thought perhaps wed solved the problem and then when wed try to motor, wed find we still had a problem. Restore formatting, Everyone we talked to and all the books we read agreed that the basic problem was fuel starvation. Looking at our fuel hoses, it seemed impossible that there was a collapsed or kinked hose. Im pinning this for future ref We got one. Now you can inspect the pick-up for any trash. The problem area(s) are likely to appear almost insignificant. [More] How to Clean Your Boats Interior Teak. Suggestions please? So I wouldn't assume it was a quality or cost issue (but of course there are plenty of examples of that elsewhere on boats). If the vent is clear no problem. Upfront I went against the new sender / gauge combo because the ones I found needed alteration. I will say that the Cummins folks here in Cincinnati (Cummins West Chester) were awesome, going from diagnosis to repaired in 4 days, and the Tech (Shane) even re-sprayed the area with Cummins White paint so it looks brand new. Our Racor hadnt seemed dirty, but we started by changing all the fuel filters. Soo 2300 bucks later, its fixed. Finally, our last fix seems to have done it. Found a loose hoseclamp and no more bubbles and engine is running like a dream. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Actually, it was pretty easy to remove. Heres what we learned from some unexpected medical issues while cruising. Delivery time varies typically 23 weeks. Dave again pumped all the fuel out of the tank and pulled it. In this case, the boat owner now knows his problem is in the boat and not his engine. Thanks, Ours supposedly couldnt be taken apart. I'm Carolyn Shearlock. The wrench slipped and partially collapsed the side wall so It will not take the anti-siphon valve. Ive run all summer this way and will address replacing the Racor at season end. With the 6 gallon tank hooked to the engine, it ran flawlessly for over an hour. Glad it's fixed though. Just read your shutting off the water pump while traveling article and then last time out case of the missing water. thanks for the informative and detailed article. . Hopefully that solution works out in the long run, as it appears it will. I just purchase a zine pencil and two switches one for the glow plug and starter switch. . Learn what you can do to prevent phase separation and limit other ethanol-related fuel problems. He then asked that the boater take the boat back on the water to verify that the problem was corrected. Once a vessels gets to 3-4 years old insulation tests should be carried out on the entire electrical on an annual basis due to vibrations and buffeting vessels undergo when at sea. They said yes, so we bought two new valves.