hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,


kyle

"kyle" wrote in message
oups.com...
hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,


kyle

If it were a car I would start wondering about fuel pump. Or vent on the
gas tank. If the bowl on the carb is dry when it dies then no gas
getting to motor. problem is fuel pump, gas line, tank etc.

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 9 Nov 2006 21:29:10 -0600, "Del Cecchi"
wrote:

thank you so much for your time reading this,

If it were a car I would start wondering about fuel pump. Or vent on the
gas tank. If the bowl on the carb is dry when it dies then no gas
getting to motor. problem is fuel pump, gas line, tank etc.

I agree based on the symptoms.

The fuel pump is easy enough to check as is the gas line although if
it's getting enough gas to start it would seem that might not be it.
I'd try the vent first, then work my way back to the fuel pump.

I would look at the throttle bore when it stops and see if you get any
squirts of fuel from the throttle pump. If not, gas problem. Since you
changed the pump and hopefully the filter, I would look more at pulling the
tank pickup and seeing of the screen is plugged.

Make sure your filter is fine enough. For outboards, they recommend 10 micron.
You may have water in your fuel, especially if your using gasahol. Try a filter
with
a water seperator. Try replacing all your fuel lines if they are old. Give
your tank
a good inspection and cleaning, as well. You might also try a product called
Quick
Clean from Mercury in your gas to keep the carbs clean. Let us know if you fix
it
and what the solution turned out to be.

Sherwin D.

kyle wrote:

hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,

kyle

fuel pump has been replaced .. it gushes fuel out the line when removed
from the carb. intake and i'm turning the key over...

how could it be a gas vent thing? where is the vent, anyways.. is it
between the gas tank and the fuel filter?

don't know if i mentioned but it is an I/O.

Del Cecchi wrote:
"kyle" wrote in message
oups.com...
hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,


kyle

If it were a car I would start wondering about fuel pump. Or vent on the
gas tank. If the bowl on the carb is dry when it dies then no gas
getting to motor. problem is fuel pump, gas line, tank etc.

so when i give it a few pumps of throttle before starting engine, gas
drops into the barrels from the carb. do you still think it could be
something related to the gas tank screen being plugged?

I don't mind draining gas tank.. but here is my dilemma: I have no
idea how to remove the gas tank from this I/O. The gas tank is
underneath the fiberglassed floor! How do people normally remove the
tank in this case.. or is there a way I can just clean the tank with it
in place?

fuel pump has been replaced and works like a dream. that's the first
thing the mechanic replaced after the fuel filter.


Kyle

Calif Bill wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 9 Nov 2006 21:29:10 -0600, "Del Cecchi"
wrote:

thank you so much for your time reading this,

If it were a car I would start wondering about fuel pump. Or vent on the
gas tank. If the bowl on the carb is dry when it dies then no gas
getting to motor. problem is fuel pump, gas line, tank etc.

I agree based on the symptoms.

The fuel pump is easy enough to check as is the gas line although if
it's getting enough gas to start it would seem that might not be it.
I'd try the vent first, then work my way back to the fuel pump.

I would look at the throttle bore when it stops and see if you get any
squirts of fuel from the throttle pump. If not, gas problem. Since you
changed the pump and hopefully the filter, I would look more at pulling the
tank pickup and seeing of the screen is plugged.

----------------
Another idea I wanted to run past all of you: what do you think if it's
something related to my oil pressure being messed up, and cutting off
the fuel intake line from entering the carb? How does one easily test
this ? What test equipment do I need?
----------------
One last idea (got this from the manual last night)

If an engine running problem is diagnosed as fuel starvation, check the
anti-siphon valve. If
the valve is stuck or clogged, change or replace it while the engine is
shut down.
· NEVER run the engine with the anti-siphon valve removed, except in
an emergency.

Anti-siphon Valve
· Your boat is equipped with an anti-siphon valve, which is an
integral part of fuel system.
· The valve is located at the point where the fuel feed line attaches
to the fuel tank.
· The valve is spring loaded and is opened by fuel pump vacuum.
· This valve will prevent fuel from siphoning from the tank in the
event of a fuel line rupture.

-----------------

Regarding the anti-siphon valve.. would ANY fuel be coming out if this
were the issue, or could this activate after 10-20 seconds?? That
would be insane if that was the issue!!!

kyle wrote:
fuel pump has been replaced .. it gushes fuel out the line when removed
from the carb. intake and i'm turning the key over...

how could it be a gas vent thing? where is the vent, anyways.. is it
between the gas tank and the fuel filter?

don't know if i mentioned but it is an I/O.

Del Cecchi wrote:
"kyle" wrote in message
oups.com...
hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,


kyle

If it were a car I would start wondering about fuel pump. Or vent on the
gas tank. If the bowl on the carb is dry when it dies then no gas
getting to motor. problem is fuel pump, gas line, tank etc.

Kyle,

Geez, you've spent a heck of a lot of $$$ replaceing parts not known to be
defective. This is because you have no troubleshooting skills. The good
advice you've been getting from the group is based upon what you're saying,
but it's very difficult to trouble shoot an engine via the written word.

IMO, you'd have been way ahead to have taken your boat to a qualified
Mercruiser mechanic. If, after all the time and money you've invested so
far you've still not cured the problem, I recommend a qualified mecanic.

Good luck.

Butch
"sherwindu" wrote in message
...
Make sure your filter is fine enough. For outboards, they recommend 10
micron.
You may have water in your fuel, especially if your using gasahol. Try a
filter
with
a water seperator. Try replacing all your fuel lines if they are old.
Give
your tank
a good inspection and cleaning, as well. You might also try a product
called
Quick
Clean from Mercury in your gas to keep the carbs clean. Let us know if
you fix
it
and what the solution turned out to be.

Sherwin D.

kyle wrote:

hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,

kyle

Butch,

ALl the parts up until the new rebuild carb were done and diagnosed by
a qualified mechanic.. (the mechanic did rebuild my orig. carb the
first time)

I'm thinking about taking it to a different mechanic at this point..
although I might try to look at the anti-siphoning valve, and then also
unhook the fuel hose from the fuel tank and put it in like a 5 gallon
tank of gas and see if that works.. i think that would tell me a lot,
whether or not it is something BEFORE the fuel filter.. the mechanic
never really even did any testing on what came before the fuel filter..


Butch Davis wrote:
Kyle,

Geez, you've spent a heck of a lot of $$$ replaceing parts not known to be
defective. This is because you have no troubleshooting skills. The good
advice you've been getting from the group is based upon what you're saying,
but it's very difficult to trouble shoot an engine via the written word.

IMO, you'd have been way ahead to have taken your boat to a qualified
Mercruiser mechanic. If, after all the time and money you've invested so
far you've still not cured the problem, I recommend a qualified mecanic.

Good luck.

Butch
"sherwindu" wrote in message
...
Make sure your filter is fine enough. For outboards, they recommend 10
micron.
You may have water in your fuel, especially if your using gasahol. Try a
filter
with
a water seperator. Try replacing all your fuel lines if they are old.
Give
your tank
a good inspection and cleaning, as well. You might also try a product
called
Quick
Clean from Mercury in your gas to keep the carbs clean. Let us know if
you fix
it
and what the solution turned out to be.

Sherwin D.

kyle wrote:

hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,

kyle

kyle wrote:
hi all,

i am at my wits end over this 2003 bayliner 5.0L merc.

here is the symptom:

give it some warmpup throttle action, turn key on, she cranks
beautifully. no smoke. no roughness.

10-20 seconds later, she instantly cuts off.

so.. youre thinking.. it must be a fuel thing, right?

i started small: i replaced the fuel filter. same result.

a little larger: i replaced the fuel pump (it's an electronic fuel
pump, we tested with it unhooked from carb and it was a weak stream..
after replacement she was peein' strong). same result.

a little larger: i replaced the ignition coil. same result.

a little larger: i rebuilt the carb. at this point, she showed
promise. we took her out on the lake for about an hour and she ran
beautifully!! i let her sit for a week .. then bam, same damn result
as before!! 10-20 second purr then cut off.

so i said damn it, let's look at the carb again. no fuel is getting
down in the manifold after the initial warmup throttle action!! so
figured something is messed up with carb.. went down and bought a fresh
rebuilt carb.. last night.. put it on.. same result! and i still
don't see fuel dropping into the 2 barrels after crankup. it does
make a noise like it's spraying air or something at least. but it was
somewhat dark when i was observing it this time...

the guy i bought the boat from had done a lot of wiring himself (mp3
player, gps..) .. could it be some electrical shorting after 10-20
seconds or would it only be a startup thing?

my next order of business is going at it from the distributor system.
maybe the distributor chip is bad? distributor cap? what else could it
be!! man this is driving me nuts. that engine is practically new at
this point!!

also, what do you think about some crap in the fuel? i filled the damn
tank up from about 3 gallons.. but what if there is dirt or water or
something in the tank and it keeps suckin' up dirt? should i drain the
40 gallon tank.. and clean the tank somehow (never done that.. whats
the best way to do it?) give that a shot? the one thing that leads me
to believe it isnt the tank is that when i warmup throttle action it
pushes fuel down the manifold so the fuel filter seems to be fine?
maybe just not fine all the time?

any suggestions would be great. i've had it in and out of the shop and
they had it fixed at one point but then 1 week later it died again
(without me doing anything in between then).

i'm tempted to sell the boat, get something else, but i am in it $12K
and who is going to buy an '03 bayliner 21.5ft that doesnt run for
anywhere near that?? best bet is to get it running, then sell it, i
guess, or maybe keep it since ive grown attached :

thank you so much for your time reading this,


kyle

Get a small gas tank (5 gallon) and run a line from it to the carb and
see if that helps. If so, then look for plugged fuel line, or pick up
in the tank.