At ramp, can't get pressure in fuel lines.

[fmaster360]

neg dude. there must be some sort of check valve int he carb inlet. see, if I disconnect it from the engine, I can put my finger over when I let go of the bulb, forcing fuel into the primer bulb. if I keep my finger on when I let go, fuel comes up to it, i can put it on the engine, and it fired right up. problem is, when the fuel gets out of the carbs after a few days, it won't prime because there is nothing holding air from going back into the primer bulb.

[wingtime]

You lost me on the finger deal.  What side of the primer bulb are you talking about?  The primer bulb has check valves on both sides of it so fuel or air should not get into it.  So me thinks you have a bad primer bulb.  Here is a link to a great article on primer bulbs: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/primer.html

[fmaster360]

I bought a new primer bulb from the marina at the dock, did the same thing. I basically compressed the pump, put my finger over the outlet, then let the bulb go. This made fuel come toward the bulb from the tank. After doing it several times, the bulb got fuel in it and was squirting it out, so I hooked it back up to the line going to the motor, squeezed it a few more times, and the engine fired right up.

[John Jones]

Carl another tip on primer bulbs is how you hold them while priming.  If you hold it with the arrow down the check balls will not seat and it will not pump.  As already mentioned if there is air in there holding it arrow down or even horizontal it may not pump at all.  You will find it will pump and prime MUCH faster if you hold the bulb arrow up while you prime it.  This allows gravity to help seat the check balls in the valves.

Fun stuff aside, I did not know this.  Thanks.  

[Capt. Bob]

neg dude. there must be some sort of check valve int he carb inlet. see, if I disconnect it from the engine, I can put my finger over when I let go of the bulb, forcing fuel into the primer bulb. if I keep my finger on when I let go, fuel comes up to it, i can put it on the engine, and it fired right up. problem is, when the fuel gets out of the carbs after a few days, it won't prime because there is nothing holding air from going back into the primer bulb.

A thought mentioned earlier.
viewtopic.php?p=39053#p39053

It has the exact same symptoms.

[fmaster360]

Thanks Bob, other Bob mentioned that to me last night as well. I'm going to try and stop by WM and pick up a different barb today for the tank. I see the thing about holding the primer bulb up while pumping, and I definitely was not doing that, until I unplugged the fuel line to the engine and used my finger to create pressure while the bulb was expanding pulling fuel from the tank. I really like this boat, it's just that it is a victim of someone half assing (what seems) pretty much everything they ever did after it was a bit older. The stuff he had the mechanic do seems to be great, like the engine. Even though it's been rebuilt, man, it seems solid. But mounting the old transducer it had was like a Frankenstein project. And the drain plug? It had been pulled out and when reinstalled, was basically mounted with only caulk. Not even 5200. It's a good boat, just needs someone who wants it to be nice to own it for a while. With a few miscellaneous parts here and there, and a nice clean up, I bet it'll last forever.

[fmaster360]

Well, it's back. I replaced the fuel barb which was an on/off with a straight through one. The old one upon removal appeared to be functioning fine. I have 3 primer bulbs now and all of them have the same problem. I just can't get fuel in the line. I'll prime and prime, and it's like I'm jut pulling in air. Sometimes, when I let the bulb expand, I'll disconnect it from the motor side and put my finger over it to speed up the process, but it still will at most get just a small bit of fuel in the bulb. Is it possible that there isa tube in my tank or something and it's just not going down deep enough? I think I have about a quarter tank of fuel, so it shouldn't be doing this. I've taken the boat OUT with just a quarter tank several times and I haven't had this damn problem until the last month. Please help!

[seabob4]

Carl, your pickup has a screen on the end of it, could be getting intermittantly clogged whereas gunk will flow to it when suction is present, flow away when there is lack of suction.  Buttttt.....this wouldn't explain why once you get fuel to the motor it runs fine.

Anybody for a clogged vent line?  Maybe a sagging vent line with enough fuel in it where at times it can't vent the tank?

[slvrlng]

Do you have a fuel/water separator? Is it full of gas when you remove it? You could have a air leak around the separator gasket. If the filter is not full, fill it up and replace, make sure you put a nice bead of oil on the gasket. My bulb takes about 7 or 8 squeezes to get it primed after sitting. One or two just doesn't do it. What brand of bulbs have you tried. I have had good luck with the OEM Evinrude or the Merc one. The attwood or seachoice ones just don't work in my experience.

[John Jones]

I vote for an air leak.

[gran398]

Two votes for air leak.

[Blue Agave]

Has the fuel line between the bulb and the tank been replaced?  How about the 90 degree fitting on the tank?

[ceejkay]

Has the fuel line between the bulb and the tank been replaced?  How about the 90 degree fitting on the tank?

^^^this would be my best guess.. silly question but do you run E-free gas in it?

[fmaster360]

No ethanol on the boat.

I have a replacement fuel water separator filter, but I have not installed it yet. I will do that tuesday.

We put about 30 gallons in the boat, giving it around 35 as a total probably, and when I went to the dock I was able to prime the boat using my finger trick. It would not prime just by squeezing the bulb. I disconnected the motor side of the bulb, held it with the arrow up, and used my finger on the outlet to create suction when I would let the bulb expand forcing it to draw from the tank.

[slvrlng]

Using that method, how long did it take for the bulb to expand? Once it was fully expanded and holding it vertical, did any air come out when you squeezed it? Did you get a nice stream of fuel when squeezed? Did it refill itself again?