So I took the boat to the shop up here. from what they said the problem is that the engine check valve in the vent tub is closing off forcing the engine to not get gas and then slow down abruptly. My boat is a flats boat and i am up in the mountains and the shop said that they can’t work on this problem because it is a belly gas tank. now there are three deck plates that when removed provide access to the tank. The guy said I could add some fuel injection cleaner and run it around the lake here hoping it loosens up or something. I am thinking i will try that this weekend but I am due to fish down there the second week of july and i need to figure out what I can do, I may have to take the boat down there this Sunday to let my Dad take it somewhere down there? Any advise!! Thanks
I think the check valve in question is in the supply line to the engine, not the vent line. It is called an anti-siphon valve and is spring loaded. Prevents fuel from spilling out due to a loose line. If you can get to the connection at the tank, you may be able to snake a whole new supply line and pulled the old one with bad ASV with it.
Iain Pelto
Edgewater 185CC “Jumpin’ Bean II”
Native Manta Ray 14
is that something that would be fairly easy for a shop down there? I know when you pull off the deck plates you can see all the connection points to the tank??
If it swims throw a fly at it!
Changing out the ASV is very simple, a shop could do it in a few minutes if that is the problem.
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
2002 Florida Skiff
90 Merc.
well that doesn’t sound too tough, the problem is that all of a sudden when going full speed the engine just slowed down, like you backed off the throttle, then regained and back again. back and forth? The shop guy, and they are nice but are small and see only bass boats and pontoons up here in the mts, said that they hooked the engine up to a separate gas tank and the engine ran great, so I know it is not the engine itself
If it swims throw a fly at it!
Sounds like a fuel restriction to me. Had the same thing happen. I changed out the ASV and put in new filters it ran like a champ. Could also be water in the gas. Do you have a fuel/water separator? By the way, I am no mechanic, just had the same issue as you in the past.
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
2002 Florida Skiff
90 Merc.
Yea I am a boat idiot, I can catch (**() anything that swims with a flyrod but I am just not mechanical at all. I wanna learn but my Dad and Grandfather on my dad side do/did not know how to fix anything and my other grandpa lived ona boat almost all his life and could fix anything and I hardly knew him? so here we are, what should I ask the guy tomorrow at the shop to have a better insight as to the possible issues, if it has a fuel/water separator?
If it swims throw a fly at it!
If you have water in your fuel, then that could be one of the reasons the boat is losing power. A fuel/water was highly recommended to me so if you don’t have one, you should probably get one. Must be nice…I can’t catch fish or work on boats!
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
2002 Florida Skiff
90 Merc.
ha! nice! OK so I will ask tomorrow about the fuel water separator and then if I don’t have one i will get one, and we will continue this tomorrow! And thanks so much for the help man!
If it swims throw a fly at it!
If you have a water separator filter that is mostly full of water, it will do just what you describe. Water can’t pass the filter and it fills up leaving less an less filter area for the gas to get through. With just a little filter clear for gas to pass, motor will run well when it doesn’t need much fuel. Throttle up and the motor starts using more than it can get. Then it starves, slows until it gets a little gas and then goes, again.
If you don’t have a water seperator filter, then its obviously something else.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
So if i do have a water/fuel separator how do I get the water out of there?
If it swims throw a fly at it!
Depends on what type of filter you have. Some filters have a clear bowl that you can drain or you simply replace the filter. Google fuel/water separator and see if you have one of those on your boats. Depends on your boat set up but most are in plain sight. Or at the least it should be very accessible because you do have to change it out. Once you figure this out it is worth your time to start using ethanol free gas especially if your boat sits for a while. But that is another issue!
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
2002 Florida Skiff
90 Merc.
The filter usually looks like a spin-on oil filter, maybe a little bigger than the typical car oil filter. Use a filter wrench to remove/install.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
Well I had used stabil every time I added gas, recently I switched to Star-tron at the recommendation from several folks so i have been doing what I can ethanol wise, I really don’t know where to get ethanol free gas up here. Assuming that I go the lake and the fuel injection stuff that the guy here is recommending does not work, any suggestions on where I should take it in Charleston, I would have to drop it with my Dad on Sun or Monday so they could have it 2 weeks before I come down to fish but I don’t know where I should call?
If it swims throw a fly at it!
Call Chris V. at Charleston Marine. They are good people over there.
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
2002 Florida Skiff
90 Merc.
i had the same problem it was a piece of pine straw in the anti sy valve i called the tank manufac. and about $10 fixed the problem .i had replaced everything before we found that.
210CCSEAPRO 225merc.
simiretired
15’ High Tide
50hp RUDE
Buddy of mine had the exact same problem & could not figure it out. Some days it would run fine & some days it would cut back & not run for crap. The primer bubble would also suck flat. Took it to the shop & they said it was the ASV getting stuck, so they knocked out the ball & guts in the valve & it works fine now. They have him a new valve on back order. The valve is less than $10 & easy to change out. If you can replace a primer bubble on a boat you can do this. The hardest part is getting the the valve.
Thanks guys, OK Update I got the boat back from the local shop up here. They are convinced that it is the anti-revers ball (check valve)that is inside the connection of the tube inside the gas tank. They think that either the little ball is occasionally sticking or the spring is busted. they were not accustomed to working on belly gas tanks through the deck plates and did not wanna mess with it. I know a few things as well, I do not have a fuel/water seperator which I will get when i get it to a shop down there, also it does NOT suck the bulb flat. I ran it yesterday and the only time that it hesitates is at wide open throttle, I can travel at just a tick under top speed and it does not happen. At their suggestion I added a engine/carb cleaner to a fresh tank of gas as well. So I think I just need to replace the hose that runs into the gas tank and add a sperator as well. They said there was some corrosion and they don’t deal with that at all up here in the mountains but coastal boat places are used to these types of tanks etc…
If it swims throw a fly at it!
Hope it works out for ya.
GW 232GT Gulfstream
150Yam x 2
“3rd Day”
Gen. Chap.1 Vs.9-13 BRETT “Skibo” JOHNSON FOR MAYOR OF JAMES ISLAND
Bluesman, I like the avatar.
GW 232GT Gulfstream
150Yam x 2
“3rd Day”
Gen. Chap.1 Vs.9-13 BRETT “Skibo” JOHNSON FOR MAYOR OF JAMES ISLAND