My turn for vapor lock

[pctkst]

Took the boat out today after work for a evening cruise and ran around for a bit with the fam and shut down to float for awhile. It was mid 80's and humid. When I went to start no luck. Looked up vapor lock online and put some cold water on the fuel pump and started it right up. Thank goodness for the iPhone.
I've read a bunch of old posts on this forum and the supra forum. Just curious what the current best approach is for a 2007 22 ssv with the 325.
Thanks.

[sandm]

'06 20ssv had the same issue. it had the 340, but basically the same motor. I found running the blower during the entire set and letting it run for 5-10 after shutdown cured the issue. even in 110deg heat, I never had the issue again. check your blower/vent hoses as well and make sure they are venting right and not pinched in the engine bay.

skiers listed a second fuel pump and some other fixes, but the blower trick worked for me and having to replace a blower a few years early is still pretty cheap compared to some other fixes I saw..

[pctkst]

This is what SC sent me. Anyone have any notes on changing the fuel filter and checking pressure?
I am 2 hours from the nearest dealer and I typically do all of my own maintenance.

I would take the boat your nearest dealer and have them check the fuel system and see the what psi your getting from the pump. They would also need to check your fuel lines and probably replace the fuel filter as it should be replaced every year. Over time fuel with ethanol can start to gum up as most boats sit with the same fuel for several months. Ethanol also reduces the boiling temp of fuel, I believe it is around 130 degrees. When you combine that with clogged filter or deteriorating fuel lines it reduces the boiling temp even more as fuel heats up quicker under more pressure. I hope this helps.

[skylar18]

Check your fuel filter first and replace if over a year old. I only had vapor lock once on my 07 and my filter was a bit gunked up

[chawk610]

Fuel Filter looks like one off a chevy... are there any "marine" differences?

[skylar18]

I don't believe so, mine come from autozone. I just replace it every year when I do my service. Got a bit lucky, the one time I did get vapor lock, I panicked, called the dealer the next day and he proposed adding a second pump for a few hundred dollars.

My mechanic at the marina said, check the cheap option first, lets look at your filter! Now change it every year, never had a problem anymore. Maybe I'm lucky but I'm glad I didn't pay for the second pump!

[chawk610]

Good advise... thanks!

[patrick232]

I have found running the blower works well on the 2007 XLV and our current 2006 LSV. One thing that that we also started doing was lifting the engine cover when docked after running the boat. Compared to other boats the air into the engine area is much less on inboard boats.

[moombahighrider]

I have the two pumps on my 08 lsv an I still get vapor lock.

It's just one pump plumbed into another, both mounted on the block. The heat transfer from the block creates the vapor lock when sitting for some time after a long run.

The best way to fix it would be to replicate how the newer boats are manufactured and get a fuel pump that is mounted in the fuel tank, so it stays cooler. I suppose an inline pump that is not mounted to the block and insulated from heat would work well, provided you remove the old pumps...

[barefooterh2o]

We repair inboard boats. Usually if the pump acts up, as above, during hot weather or hot soak periods, it means a new fuel pump is in order. You can get by for a while keeping the motor box vented or pouring cold water on the pump but typically it would need replacing. The pumps that are mounted in the tank, we found fair worse than the ones mounted in the engine compartment. When the fuel in the tank is 1/4 to half and you make a sharp turns, the fuel sloshes to one side and runs the pump dry for a second or 2. Over time it also ruins the pump.