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Larry

DownTime wrote in news:
:

The boat is just 4.5 years old. It looking at the other components, I
also noticed this is the original fuel bulb as when it was new. It did
not feel 'hard' as it had been, and almost had a feel of simply being
old rubber.

That bulb is your best friend for fuel system troubleshooting.

Put the engine down but don't start it.

Pump the bulb.

Does the bulb remain flat and refuse to fill when you release it?

If no, and it fills up, the tank intake is clear as the bulb sucked gas
out of the tank fine.

If yes, is the tank shutoff valve in the OPEN position. (Don't tell us,
it's too embarrassing in a group like this.)

If the valve is open and the bulb won't refill, something is blocking
the line....or the anti-siphon valve the tank is supposed to have in it.

Ok, so the bulb refills and it's not the tank plugged up....now what?

Pump the bulb until it gets hard in a few squeezes.

If you can't make it pump up hard, two things....stuck float valve in
one of the carbs or hole in the fuel pump rubber diaphram (or the line
fell off the engine I suppose in the absurd department).

Assuming the motor is in the water tied to the dock and in
neutral....crank the motor. Do all the cylinders run or is one of them
rough as a cob, the one the pulse fuel pump runs off of? Fuel pump
ruptured...filling crankcase with gas if you pump the bulb while it's
running.

Does the motor smooth out when you pump the bulb while it's running?
Maybe the fuel pump's pulse hose has cracked or is hanging loose so it's
not pumping the crappy rubber diaphram....

When the motor runs a while, does the bulb collapse? That could be a
clogged vent in the tank....Open the gas cap while watching the bulb to
see if the bulb fills back out....from the clogged vent.

The bulb does lots of logical troubleshooting for you, just how it feels
and pumps and its collapsed condition.

Put a magnet to one of the other nuts to see if it sticks to the magnet.
it shouldn't as stainless steel is non-magnetic, but that doesn't stop
boat companies from using cheap nuts we can retrieve with a magnet.

If the nuts stick to the magnet, hang a magnet down into the tank on a
piece of small fishing line so it lays on the bottom. It will soon
collect all the nuts, tools, missing sockets, cotter pins, etc. everyone
who had the tank open dropped into it....that's magnetic, that is...(c;

Small fishing line can be run out of the tank beside the rubber gasket
without hurting it. Leave the little magnet in the tank permanently for
the next idiot who drops something into the tank to use....(c;

Hell, some scammers are selling fuel line magnets that improve mileage
by 30%! If you leave the magnet in the gas, the tank may fill itself
and we'll have to pump out the excess or leave the motor running all the
time to keep up!

......sure it will. It says so right in the ad!....(c;