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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Tucson, Az
    Posts
    55

    Default Possible solution to Vapor Lock

    I was at Lake Powell over the 4th of
    July and the first day on the lake I launched from Antelope point and
    drove hard up to the very end of Navajo Canyon and it was about 109F
    outside. So once we made it to the end of the canyon, I shut the boat
    off and we were floating around swimming and having a beer. When it
    came time to move the boat because we were floating near some rocks,
    the Moomba wouldn't start. It had the symptoms of Vapor Lock; so I
    put a wet towel over the fuel pump and poured cool water over it;
    30-40 minutes later it started up. It did this the rest of the day.
    Once we made it back to the rental
    place my buddies and I (all engineers) were looking at how the fuel
    pump is installed and designed. It's nothing like a car or jeep.
    Trying to see why this happens and how we can fix this problem from
    occurring again (problem solving) and in the process we noticed at
    the very bottom of the fuel pump was an oil line/hose resting against
    the bottom of the fuel pump and this oil line was still very hot
    after sitting for a few hours. This oil would have to be in the
    180-200F temperature while running which would drive the temperature
    of the fuel pump up via conductive heating. So I zipped tied up the
    oil line that was lying against the fuel pump so there was about 2"
    of air gap between the fuel pump and the hot oil line.
    I ran the boat for two more days (same
    outside temperature) pretty hard for many hours and every time I
    stopped; I would open up the motor compartment and I felt the fuel
    pump, it was cool to the touch and I did not have the vapor lock
    issue any more. So for those of you that are having vapor lock
    issues, I would recommend looking at your fuel pump and make sure
    that you don't have any oil lines touching or rubbing against your
    fuel pump. My next plan is to dress up the oil lines with some clamps
    which will be more reliable than the zip ties which were a quick fix.

    I hope this helps

    David
    2007 Moomba LSV

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Belton, Texas
    Posts
    2,607

    Default Possible solution to Vapor Lock

    Interesting find sir


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
    Jason

    Go Hard or Go Home.......it's MOOMBA time!!

    2009 Moomba Mobius LSV

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    San Clemente, CA
    Posts
    44

    Default

    Thanks for sharing. I'll take a look at mine. It's strange that it has only happened at LP for me. The heat, ethanol levels altitude or just all of the above?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Tigard, Oregon
    Posts
    3,017

    Default

    Good tip David but when it is that hot out, you should have your blower running all the time and when you shut her off to float for a while, open the engine compartment cover for a good 5-10 minutes to let the heat escape. Following the above, I have never had vapor lock happen to me.

    Also, when you open the engine compartment to feel the fuel pump right after you shut it off, I think it's always going to feel cool since it just had fuel running through it. It's when it sits idle that it absorbs the heat from the engine compartment causing the fuel in the pump to vaporize. So perhaps opening the engine compartment is what actually prevented vapor lock from occuring again, not moving the oil hose away, although I am sure that helped as well.
    Al

    2006 Mobius LSV

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Park City, Utah
    Posts
    1,291

    Default

    I have had vapor lock twice this year and have only been on the water 6 times. I am going to try the above mentioned solution and see how it goes. I know my oil lines are touching the fuel pump. Even though the pump will warm up over time when just sitting, am sure not as quickly as when a hot oil line is resting on it.
    2017 Centurion Ri237
    2013 Supra SA450 - Sold
    2006 Mobius LSV - Sold
    2004 Stingray 190LS - Sold
    2016 Nissan Titan XD - Tow Rig

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