outboard fuel tank problem

MarkEric · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

I recently bought a Catalina 27 foot sailboat and put on Suzuki Sail 9.9 motor on her. I inherited 2 tanks with the boat and one with the motor. Since installing the motor, I haven't been able to run the engine for longer then a few minutes before it quits. I had the motor checked out by an outboard mechanic and was told it was in fairly good shape and it worked well in their tank. The primer bulb never seemed to get real hard when pumping, so I replaced the whole line from the engine to the tank. I still had the same problem. A friend suggested looking inside the tank. Sure enough, the tube into the tank was very loosely attached at the top. The hose clamp crumbled when I touched it and the tube slid right off. I replaced the hose clamp and restarted the motor and it fired right off and ran well in gear (tied to the dock) until I turned it off. The question is: could it really be that simple? Can a loose fitting like that really make such a difference in priming and fuel delivery? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

RobGallagher · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

If it ran in the tank fine with another fuel supply and it works after you fixed the fuel line then I would say yes it could be that simple. YMMV.

skenedipr · #3 (**permalink**) 10-31-2011

Yep it can b that simple. Kant suck gas if air kan get into gas line.

Stiche · #4 (**permalink**) 11-03-2011

It might be that simple...but it might not. Based of a very aggravating multi-year experience that I recently solved, I would be cautiously optimistic. Was the motor running and then quitting at 1/2 - full throttle, or only at idle speeds or low throttle? I'm somewhat concerned that you may also have an issue with your carburetor, especially if you have tanks/lines that old with crud that broke free into the carb.

One good indication that you have too much air (which it sounds like you were describing) is to choke the engine. If your engine still runs under choke, there is air in the fuel line. It's also possible that an air leak was causing you to lose prime. If the engine runs while persistently squeezing the priming bulb, you probably had a priming issue. These are two simple tests you can check.

If you still have some issues, I would look next at buying a new tank and a new fuel line, and treating the fuel in the new tank with Seafoam engine treatment. If you have crud in your carb, the Seafoam is a much less expensive alternative to a carb cleaning/rebuild.