fuel ball collapses on SunDeck Sport SS 188 OB

waterboy

Hello everyone.. 

hope someone can help and thanks for all the great reading material.

I have a 3 yr old sundeck sport ss 188 powered with 3 year old etec 175..  All has been amazing until recently.  I will be motoring along and it stops getting fuel to the engine.  the ball will be collapsed so it is hard to pump.. After a bit of waiting it will slowly return to normal and it will run again. Has anyone experienced this and or what could cause this.  I do undo gas cap each time but don't hear any suction noise so unsure if cap is vented or possibly plugged.. before i haul it to a  marina does anyone have any recommendations on things to try.  

When it is running it runs fantastic and it takes about 20 minutes of running before it stalls.

thanks in advance

Bryan

FlyingV5

 waterboy: If the ball collapses the pump is pulling a vacuum in the supply line so something is stopped up. The next time it stops running, immediately open the fuel filler cap and see if you hear it suck air. That would indicate a blocked tank vent which is consistent with the 20 minute requirement. Also possible is a clogged fuel strainer or the line from the tank to the engine.

waterboy

Thanks,  when i do open the tank it there is no suction noise like there would be if it was a 5 gallon external tank.   Do you know where the vent is on this model or does the gas cap vent on its own.  My friend who has worked on lots of boats but not this one suggested that it could be the primer ball.  He does replace about 6 a yr and there is apparently a check valve in it that could be the problem. 

In the tank, do you know if there is a filter around the pickup that possibly needs cleaning due to maybe bad gas.. This started this year on the 4th or 5th run but all within the same tank of gas.. I only put in hightest but did forget the stablizer so the gas is 4 weeks old.

Also i did change the fuel/water seperator at the beginning of he season.

Ernest_T

Could be a bad filter in the fuel/water separator not letting adequate fuel flow.  It might be worth changing the filter again.

waterboy

I should have mentioned I changed the fuel water separator the first time because it stalled on me.  This is the 2nd one in a couple weeks so i doubt that is what it is only for that reason.

jt3kids

how about the fuel pickup tube in the tank maybe being clogged.  happened to me.  took me three days to figure it out.  it would suck up just enough fuel to run for a little, then die.  after cranking for a bit it was enough to fill the carb bowl and run for a while, then die again

waterboy

Hello again,  i haven't been to the boat as much as i would like but yesterday i undid the primer ball and hooked up an external gas tank. Everything worked perfect except for the fact i have a red 5 gallon tank in the boat. From this i determine it is the pickup or my gas line is kinked inside the gas tank cavitiy.

When i undid the floor cover and looked in i could see where the line goes into the tank however i had to reach towards the back to of the hole about 6 inches to reach the gasline pickup tube assembly.  

Is it possible the tank slid backward.   Why wouldn't they put the hole exactly over the assembly.

I tried pulling on the gas line and couldn't slide it in to give me any slack and I think it should have slid fairly easy which makes me think it could be pinched.

 

or if it is the tank is correct then, how easy it is to remove the fuel pickup  to determine if it is clogged. jt3kids chimed in above.  Please comment.  and how do you know you still don't have crap in the tank.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

thanks again

 

fatboy

Waterboy
I just posted am having the same problem any solutions yet?
Fatboy 

waterboy

actually I fixed the problem today,  The gas tank had slipped and pinched the line, The gas line had plenty of slack in the cavity where the bilge is but when i took off the round floor cover I could not pull on the gas line at all which made me think it was pinched. I undid the line at the primer ball and also where it attached into the gas tank and with my mouth tried blowing air thru the line and I couldn't. From the gas tank side I also tried putting a cloth hanger thru the line and couldn't.  I then bought a new line and fed it thru towards the side of the tank where it had a lot of room and reconnected it to the primer ball and it works perfect again
Not exactly a great boat design if the tank moves. Hopefully this helps you fatboy.

fatboy

Thanks waterboy enjoy mine I don't believe will be that simple.
Fatboy