fuel line bulb going soft

[Mike Newman]

first here is my set-up. 2003 175PT with 25 hp 4-stroke Mercury I have owned since new. I had noticed this summer that after fishing awhile with the trolling motor I would try and start my motor adn it would not start right up. My brother-in-law noticed during a fall trip that the bulb had lost pressure. Pump it ack up and it is off and running fine. No other problems noticed. I assumed the bulb was bad and repalced with a new one. First timeout this weekend with new set-up and it did the same thing again. Anyone have comments on other causes? It always starts and runs fine, but a little of a pain if I have to go back and pump the bulb again. It does n ot do this everytime by the way.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

The bulb may be good, but the fittings or lines themselves may be losing the pressure. I would replace the fuel lines and use new fittings (stainless).

 

[firedog978]

I agree with either the fittings or fuel lines being bad. The bulb being soft is telling you that. It's cheap and easy to replace them all. Since the bulb is new, you may as well do the rest.

 

[Jim in VA]

Mike - when you say the bulb is "going soft" do you mean collapsing or just losing fuel? In either case, the other possibility is that you may have some restriction in the fuel line or fuel intake caused by debris. The solution is to clean the lines and siphon out the tank. Might be worth removing the fitting and checking to make sure those aren't clogged or corroded as well. I least suspect the fuel line as good quality fuel line usually takes a long long time to deteriorate - at least in my experience. Since your boat is a 2003, seems like five years is an awfully short time for fuel line to go bad. Just another thought.

 

[Berry Lindley]

Don't rule out the fuel pump going bad on this.

 

[Dan J.]

Ditto all the above. You must have a vacuum leak somewhere in your fuel delivery. Hopefully just a clamp or fitting. A small rupture in the pump diaphram will act similarly. Let us know what you find. Good luck!

 

[Mike Newman]

Thanks for the comments. The bulb loses about half of its pressure, but does not suck in. I had actually changed out the entire bulb+hoses between tank barb and motor so i can rule out a hose leak unless it is at the motor fitting. I will check that. The fuel pump sounds interesting so I will have to take a look at that also. I'll let you all know if I come across anything specific.

 

[mike chip]

throw a little viagra in the tank and it will be fine.



kidding aside, just replace the line and bulb, there cheap.

mike c