Got bored and cleaned the fuel tank out

[AaronWhitt82]

Well after all the fuel type issues I've been having this year I decided to clean the fuel tank out.....
So far this year I've replaced the fuel pump, cap, rotor, and coil. I also have a new Johnson pump on the way because mine is dripping.
Also had to replace the prop thanks to me hitting a concrete peninsula... 1 of the tracking fins is also bent. $88 to my door with shipping from the Dealer for that. I figured it was going to be a lot more.
A great start to the year so far I would say !!!!!! Girlfriend is not happy at all because every time we use it something else goes wrong.

Well back to the story.... I changed the fuel filter the other day and for the hell of it I dumped the gas out of it into a glass jar and let it settle. Sure enough there was some water in it.
I had nothing else better to do so I figured I should pull the tank out and drain the gas and clean it out.
Was a pretty easy job to get it out. Just alot of hose clamps to remove and hoses to take off.
Hardest part was trying to get the tank out by myself with around 12 gallons of fuel in it.

Once I got it out I removed about 15 screws or so that held in this square plastic piece that has the fuel tank sender and the anti-siphon valve mounted to it.
I siphoned all the fuel out into some gas cans and then began cleaning the bottom of it.
I couldn't believe some of the crap in it !!!!! Found lots of metal shavings, small washers and lots of crud.
I don't think the tank has ever been removed in the 11 years.
I also noticed before I took the tank sender out that the pickup tube was not adjusted correctly and was kind of at an angle and smashed to the bottom of the tank (too long)
That's a great way to pick up all the crap and water off the bottom of the tank.

SO after I got it all cleaned out I put everything back together on the tank and got the pickup tube adjusted to the proper length so its just off the bottom of the tank.
Put the tank back in and hooked all the hoses back up.

Now the big question is about fuel....
I know the newer boats are made to run on fuel with up to 10% ethanol added and not cause many problems besides maybe vapor lock.
What about the older ones? (carb of FI) Is ethanol ok for them too? I'm wondering if this is what has been causing all my problems?
I'm thinking about just running 93 octane (no ethanol) all the time along with adding the Sta-Bil ethanol treatment when I fill up. The manual calls for 89 octane.
I want to do whatever I can to eliminate any more fuel problems and I don't mind paying extra for the premium fuel.

Just wondering what your thought are?
Thanks and sorry for the long post

Interesting video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCyFxoWPpo&feature=related

Links to ethanol problems:
http://www.fuel-testers.com/index.html
http://www.evinrude-parts.com/boat_ethanol_danger_precaution.html
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/42121/extreme_sports/dealing_with_ethanol_fuel_boat_problems.html
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CDsQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.starbrite.com%2Fwhatsnew%2FST AR%2520BRITE%2520ethanol%2520p3072D2.pdf&rct=j&q=ethanol+fuel+in+boats&ei=ehMsTMGlMcGC8gbs2omiDg&usg=AFQjCNEweLMdYyQWmjt2VWm03ioJL8ZfIw

[kaneboats]

Do you ever get to actually boat? :)

I ran my carbed 2000 OB on ethanol 87 and never had a problem. I'd say you should be able to run that with a little stabil and be fine. If you could find some no ethanol 87 or 89 that would probably be ideal. Too high an octane might actually be bad if your motor isn't designed for it.

[sandm]

don't run anything over 89. you are wasting your cash and as kane said, has a potential to degrade performance trying to burn a high octane gas in a low compression motor.

as far as ethanol or not, buy not if it's easy but my old truck, a 78 ford f150 with a carbed 302(all original) did just fine on 87octane ethanol blended gas. had that truck until 2007 and never had a single gas-related issue.

[Boomer1344]

Aaron,

That is quite impressive and scary at the same time concerning what you found in the tank!

I have a question for you, I read the information you have linked on your post about ethanol and it was quite informative. Do you use Star Tron and how is it differnt from Stabil Marine?

[JesseC]

I also noticed before I took the tank sender out that the pickup tube was not adjusted correctly and was kind of at an angle and smashed to the bottom of the tank (too long)
That's a great way to pick up all the crap and water off the bottom of the tank.


I would be careful on this one. In past boats/cars where I have pulled the tanks, the hoses were usually on the bottom and angled to the deepest part of the tank. My worry would be that since you cut the pickup where is all of the gas going to be when loaded up on ballast and pulling a rider with the nose in the air? Make sure that as the gas retreats to the bottom back back end of the tank, the pickup can still reach the gas. It would really stink to have 8-10 gallons that you can't reach beacuse the gas is too far back while not running on plane!!!!! Surfing could cause you issues with fuel pickup

[polar21]

Aaron,
I am right there with ya brother on things that have been replaced on the boat this year. I have replaced the same things you have, excluding cap and coil. Hope you get your fuel issues worked out.

[AaronWhitt82]

Well had an awesome day on the water yesterday and today and put about 10 hours on and did a decent amount of wakeboarding !!!!!!

Once again I had more fuel issues and the boat would run fine then bog and die and I couldn't get it started back up..... Well what could it be now?
Disconnected the fuel line at the carb and stuck it into a bottle and cranked the motor and no fuel. Well great !!!! Brand new fuel pump....
I figured it had to be something electrical since I have a lot of new parts on the boat.
Checked the connections to the fuel pump and they were fine until I decided to crank the motor and wiggle the wires and low and behold gas started coming out of the fuel line !!!!!
Even though it looked like the wires were connected I think somehow they get loose when the boat is bouncing around and cause it to get fuel periodically.
Well now I'm going to take the connectors off and just solder the wires right to the posts on the fuel pump so I don't have to deal with this crap anymore !!!!!!
Super glad I got it figured out.....

I also filled the tank with 92 octane and I'm just going to run this stuff through and switch back to 89 or 87...
I'm going to continue using the Stabil ethanol treatment. I can't find the star-tron around here anywhere.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July & be safe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll be working 6pm-6am Saturday and Sunday :(

[AaronWhitt82]

Do you ever get to actually boat? :)

I ran my carbed 2000 OB on ethanol 87 and never had a problem. I'd say you should be able to run that with a little stabil and be fine. If you could find some no ethanol 87 or 89 that would probably be ideal. Too high an octane might actually be bad if your motor isn't designed for it.

Kane - Yes I do actually get to boat, but the last few times I've been out I think I did more floating than anything lol
I've only put 15 hours on so far this year due to really high water levels.
I did happen to find a gas station in another town near by that has 87 and 92 with no ethanol so I think I'm going to start filling up there with the 87.


Aaron,

That is quite impressive and scary at the same time concerning what you found in the tank!

I have a question for you, I read the information you have linked on your post about ethanol and it was quite informative. Do you use Star Tron and how is it differnt from Stabil Marine?

Yeah I surprised at the crap I found... Figured some of it got in there when they built the boat and installed the tank.
I'm assuming that the Star Tron is somewhat similar to the Stabil. I couldn't find Star Tron anywhere around me so I'm just going to continue using the Stabil.


I would be careful on this one. In past boats/cars where I have pulled the tanks, the hoses were usually on the bottom and angled to the deepest part of the tank. My worry would be that since you cut the pickup where is all of the gas going to be when loaded up on ballast and pulling a rider with the nose in the air? Make sure that as the gas retreats to the bottom back back end of the tank, the pickup can still reach the gas. It would really stink to have 8-10 gallons that you can't reach beacuse the gas is too far back while not running on plane!!!!! Surfing could cause you issues with fuel pickup

Jesse - This might be hard to explain, but I did not cut the pickup tube.
The bad part is that the tube on mine is in front of the tank and I found out on Thursday that if I have around 1/4 tank of gas when the boat is on plane it will start cutting out due to not getting gas.
When I went to fill the tank up the gas gauge did not even start to move until I had around 8 gallons of gas in the tank so at least I know if the gauge doesn't read much fuel I still have some left.

I should have taken pics of everything so it would be easier to explain....
Basically the pickup tube is hard plastic and connects to the anti-siphon valve on one end. The anti-siphon valves screws into the top of the tank and it is in the front, middle part of the tank.
On the bottom of the pickup tube is a round plastic piece with a screen on the bottom. This round plastic piece you can slide it on the pickup tube probably up to an inch and basically adjust it to where you want it to sit.
When I took it out it was only on the tube a little bit which means it was too long causing it to hit the bottom of the tank and push it at an angle since it couldn't sit flush on the bottom.
When I put everything back in the tank I pushed this round plastic/screen part on all the way and now it sits straight up and down and maybe just around 1/4" off the bottom of the tank.
The bad part is though that it is in the front of the tank so I need to have at least over a 1/4 to not have any issues.

[fahrer]

Aaron,

Can you describe how you went about removing the gas tank? Thanks.

[AaronWhitt82]

It's pretty simple if you have a DD...
Remove the rear seat
Remove the rear panels that sit in front of the tank and what the back seat rests against.
There is 2 metal straps screwed in to the floor that hold the tank in place.
Then pretty much start disconnecting all the hoses, clamps, wires etc
The main fill hose is the hardest thing to get off though. I had to remove the gas cap to get it off.
You then should be able to slide it out.

[zabooda]

For future reference on carbed engines, you can pump the tank dry by putting the fuel line at the carb into a gas can and put a 12 volt source to the fuel pump.