Excellent catch Chuck! Those do look like typical compression fittings on the Racor and IMO should be suspect.
Josh On Tue, Oct 6, 2020, 11:55 CHARLES SCHEAFFER <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > The pictures help a lot to understand your fuel problem. > > I see you have a three cylinder while my Universal is a four. I can only > advise on my system. I changed the 13 year old electric fuel pump when I > got the boat and replaced all the filters 18 years ago. I replaced the > fuel filters twice before realizing Parker recommends they be changed after > 500 gallons. I keep my fuel clean by using plastic diesel jugs to add 5 > gallons at a time. I race so I don't keep the tank filled unless I'm > cruising or taking the boat a far distance. > > My boat: The fuel circuit starts at the fuel tank where there is a > shutoff valve, the suction hose goes to the Racor, then the electric pump, > then to the secondary filter, to the injectors, and there is a return hose > from the throttle (fuel rack) that takes any unused fuel back to the tank. > All of my fuel lines are fuel rated black rubber hose. > > The pump pulls fuel from the tank through the Racor (30 micron) and then > pushes it through a secondary filter (10 micron) and I never need to bleed > the lines. The pump circulates more fuel than the engine needs so any air > gets pumped back to the tank. If you keep getting air in the lines, you > must have a leak between the suction side of the pump, the Racor and the > tank. From your picture of the Racor, I wonder if the fittings are > proper. Yours look to be compression fittings. All of my connections are > barbed with a stainless hose clamp around the rubber hose. > > Stupid question: Are the fuel shutoff valves open at the tank? > > I think the quickest and cheapest fix is to replace the entire suction > fuel line between the pump and the Racor and all the way back to the tank. > New hose ($2.20/ft) and maybe fittings too, will be a lot cheaper than > replacing other components. Next I'd replace the Racor filter at $60 or > maybe replace the whole assembly at $99. I'd replace the pump which will > cost about $150. > > If I were doing it, I'd look at the age of the rubber hose and components > and replace anything older than ten years. The fuel lines are run > together, so you might as well replace both while you have the floorboards > up. That will give you most peace of mind and I'd buy Marine rated fuel > line that is labelled as such. > > Last thought: since you have an electric pump, consider pumping the old > fuel out of the tank into gerry cans and giving away to someone with oil > heat, and replace the fuel with fresh diesel from a very busy truck fueling > station. Add Seafoam and Bioflur if desired. > > Chuck Scheaffer, Resolute 1989 C&C 34R, Pasadena Md > > > On 10/05/2020 10:32 PM > > > > General Gao <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Reporting back to my findings for today: > > This picture shows my primary filter? > > > https://drive.google.com/file/d/18tYO70bg6tTpVEifQGlXSI1ucYuvgLDq/view?usp=sharing > > this picture shows the air in the tube out of the filter: > > > https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bIr2NuR6K9nEYbwYj36OKaR4umeI2dsK/view?usp=sharing > > this picture shows the bleed valve: > > > https://drive.google.com/file/d/1umfxt0UbC81YrAxemHWuBGX3M3U-I-3V/view?usp=sharing > > When I turned on the fuel pump, the click sound was heard; I could see the > fuel in the tube move with the sound of fuel pump clicks; if I open the > bleed valve, fuel will come out of the valve in the rhythm of the fuel pump > clicks too; also, the fuel pump click sound is with faster pace if I keep > the bleed valve open. > > I am having a hard time to understand why when there is so much air in the > fuel, I still have fuel pumped out from the bleed valve at the fuel > injector? > > I will continue to check the fuel lines. Now I remember that, while I was > trying to figure out what was going on, my wife mentioned to me that she > saw air bubble going from the filter side to the engine side... > > On Mon, Oct 5, 2020 at 3:01 PM General Gao < [email protected]> > wrote: > > Brian, the diesel in the tank would be a couple of years old. We put > diesel treatment every season in it though. The day before this happened, I > added 24 liters of diesel in the marina. > > Bo > > On Sun, Oct 4, 2020 at 6:47 PM Brian Davis < [email protected]> > wrote: > > How old is the diesel in the tank, and have you ever had the tank > polished? > > When I recently rebuilt our Yanmar 3qm30, I changed every hose and rebuilt > or replaced all fuel and water pumps. > > I also had a guy come out and polish the 30 gal tank. That process was > cool and involved him pumping out the fuel to a filter pump and then > shooting it back in the tank aiming at the corners, etc. At the end, I had > him completely pump out everything and dispose of it. (Cost of about $325) > When I added the fresh diesel I also put a can of Seafoam from the auto > parts store which is great stuff for diesels. Then, priming and bleeding > took a while. But after I bled the air at the big fuel filter and then the > small filter on the engine, I disconnected the three fuel jets going > directly into the head. Then I cranked it until fuel squirted out of each > jet. Be sure to put a bunch of paper towels in front of each jet. That will > help you know that fuel is coming out without making a big mess. She runs > like a champ now. > > I've read the old diesel can grow fungus and of course gunk or water in > the fuel can make the engine stall or sputter. > > Brian > S/V Nina > 1980 Landfall 38SL > > > On Sun, Oct 4, 2020, 5:45 PM Josh Muckley < [email protected]> wrote: > > It is unlikely that fuel line down stream of the lift/priming pump is > leaking to the extent that air is getting in since this section is under > pressure. I would look upstream of the lift pump. This section is under > vacuum. The upstream fuel filter (not the one mounted on the engine - > often made by and referred to as "the racor") is very likely to be the > problem. The rest of the fittings and connections rarely get disturbed but > the racor does. Some racors are difficult to fully bleed and ALL of the > interfaces which are disturbed during filter changes should be suspect. > > Rule that out and then we can talk more. > > In the mean time check out these videos for fuel bleeding and racor mods. > > https://youtu.be/F7KD1_EZmU4 > > https://youtu.be/H-GI38vE4hQ > > Josh Muckley > S/V Sea Hawk > 1989 C&C 37+ > Solomons, MD > > On Sun, Oct 4, 2020, 17:24 General Gao < [email protected]> wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > Again, looking for advice from experienced sailors. > > Today on my trip, my Diesel engine stopped frequently. The last time it > stopped by itself was because air in the fuel line. I did do some more than > “usual” heeling today but the engine ran about 2 hours after that without > issue before this fuel line issue started. I checked the bleed valve, could > see that after a few seconds the fuel came out, so there was air. The > problem was that even after this, the engine still stopped working due to > fuel supply issue like every 5-30 minutes randomly. Each time I did the > bleeding there was air. > > How can this be? Where should I look? > > Thank you in advance. > > Bo > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > >
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