This past weekend after a heavy rain, I took my boat (2050 bayliner
capri,2000 mercruiser 5.0L 350 engine) from my dock to take it out of
the water. Unfortunately, I did not run my bilge pump nearly long
enough and wound up stalling out in the bay. After getting towed to
the put in and back to the house, I found water in the oil which I
promptly changed, and cranked the engine up. It cranked immediately
and ran for about 10 to 15 seconds, then died again. So I changed the
fuel filter (filled with gas first) and now I cant get fuel to the
carb. Have I lost my prime in the fuel pump, if so, how can I get it
primed back or is the pump gone or am I missing something?

sorry, 305 engine not 350

In normal conditions the fuel pump does not need a prime. It is a diaphram
pump and is self priming. If you had enough water to get it in the oil you
may have gotten it in the fuel tank too. Take the fuel filter off again and
pour it intoa glass container to see what is in it. Did you have a lot of
water in the original fuel filter? Water can cause problems in your fuel
pump as well. The aresa around the little flapper valves get gummed up.
But it would have had to be longer than this. How do you know you are not
getting gas to the carb? Does it spray from the accelerator pump when you
look down the throat of the carb? Maybe you have water in the carb too.

"AL" wrote in message
ups.com...
This past weekend after a heavy rain, I took my boat (2050 bayliner
capri,2000 mercruiser 5.0L 350 engine) from my dock to take it out of
the water. Unfortunately, I did not run my bilge pump nearly long
enough and wound up stalling out in the bay. After getting towed to
the put in and back to the house, I found water in the oil which I
promptly changed, and cranked the engine up. It cranked immediately
and ran for about 10 to 15 seconds, then died again. So I changed the
fuel filter (filled with gas first) and now I cant get fuel to the
carb. Have I lost my prime in the fuel pump, if so, how can I get it
primed back or is the pump gone or am I missing something?

"AL" wrote in message
ups.com...

This past weekend after a heavy rain, I took my boat (2050 bayliner
capri,2000 mercruiser 5.0L 350 engine) from my dock to take it out of
the water. Unfortunately, I did not run my bilge pump nearly long
enough and wound up stalling out in the bay. After getting towed to
the put in and back to the house, I found water in the oil which I
promptly changed, and cranked the engine up. It cranked immediately
and ran for about 10 to 15 seconds, then died again. So I changed the
fuel filter (filled with gas first) and now I cant get fuel to the
carb. Have I lost my prime in the fuel pump, if so, how can I get it
primed back or is the pump gone or am I missing something?




You got enough water in the bilge from heavy rain to get water in your oil
and gas?
That boat must have been half submerged.

No automatic bilge pump?

Something doesn't make sense.

Eisboch

Eisboch wrote:
"AL" wrote in message
ups.com...

This past weekend after a heavy rain, I took my boat (2050 bayliner
capri,2000 mercruiser 5.0L 350 engine) from my dock to take it out of
the water. Unfortunately, I did not run my bilge pump nearly long
enough and wound up stalling out in the bay. After getting towed to
the put in and back to the house, I found water in the oil which I
promptly changed, and cranked the engine up. It cranked immediately
and ran for about 10 to 15 seconds, then died again. So I changed the
fuel filter (filled with gas first) and now I cant get fuel to the
carb. Have I lost my prime in the fuel pump, if so, how can I get it
primed back or is the pump gone or am I missing something?



You got enough water in the bilge from heavy rain to get water in your oil
and gas?
That boat must have been half submerged.

No automatic bilge pump?

Something doesn't make sense.

Eisboch


Eisboch,
What I guessed he did was threw water all over the engine compartment by
water hitting the fan belts, and the water was ingested into the carb /
fuel injectors. This would be possible with 6 to 8" of water in the
bilge as the boat was coming on and off plane and the water was sloshing
back and forth in the bilge. What made no sense to me at all, is how
water got into the fuel filter. I would have thought the boat would
have been submerged to to effect the fuel filter and at that point you
would not be starting the engine.

--
Reggie

That's my story and I am sticking to it!

I could not tell if I was getting fuel in the carb, but I took the line
loose from the pump to the carb at the carb and got fuel to spew out
(into a coke bottle). After I did this, the engine hit a couple times
but then wouldn't hit again. I'm thinking the pump is primed but I may
have water in the fuel. By the way, I have only owned the boat for
about a month and it's my first i/o (had a pontoon with outboard) so
I'm a little on the slow side when it comes to i/o boating.

I agree about your fuel concern. Boat won't run on water :-) Dump the
gas from the carb by removing it and turning it upside down. Put in
back on. Dribble a little gas down the carb to get it started. Just
run it for a half minute or so and then remove and dump the fuel filter
to see how much water you picked up from the tank. Keep doing that and
pouring the fuel filter into a glass container until it stops picking
up water. If you are careful you can pour the gas off the top from the
galss container. I use a 2 quart glass measuring cup. Don't tell your
wife but wash it out real good :-) If you do this several times and
still keep getting water in the fuel filter then you might have too
much water in the tank and you're going to have to syphon it out. Best
way is to remove the sending unit as that will let you hold a hose
right at the bottom of the tank. With a flashlight you can sometimes
see the water/fuel layer in a fuel tank through the hole where the
sending unit goes.

Too much water in the bilge can result in water in the oil. Gas
engines do not really have a sealed oil system. There are lots of
places that are sort of a inperfect fit like where the oil dipstick
goes into the pan. If the bottom half of the engine sits in the water
for a while it will get water in the oil. Iffy gaskets and connections
to your fuel tank can cause the same problem when it is submerged. If
yuou find a lot of water in your fuel tank then you should replace the
sending unit gasket, any other gaskets, and check all the hose
connections well. You really want a good sealed fuel tank.

As always be extra careful messing around with gas. A few gallons can
turn into a real fireball in the right (or should I say wrong)
consditions.

AL wrote:
I could not tell if I was getting fuel in the carb, but I took the line
loose from the pump to the carb at the carb and got fuel to spew out
(into a coke bottle). After I did this, the engine hit a couple times
but then wouldn't hit again. I'm thinking the pump is primed but I may
have water in the fuel. By the way, I have only owned the boat for
about a month and it's my first i/o (had a pontoon with outboard) so
I'm a little on the slow side when it comes to i/o boating.

I appreciate the advice. I can get gas in the carb now and it still
will only it every now and then. I changed plugs (looked ok - no
water) and I dont know if maybe the dist. cap got water condensated or
fouled up some way, but I'm not a mech. and would rather have a pro do
it so I'm going to send it to a marina and keep the fingers crossed.
Does anybody out there think this is going to cost me my left leg,
cause I sure as heck dont know?

Thanks for the tips.