Ethanol damage is finally here...

Rich461 · Post by **Rich461** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:22 pm

For the last year I have had some real weird things happening to my boat motor. One day it would not start. One day it wouldn't get up on plane. Then it runs great for a few weeks. Then the really weird starting happening. It ran great on the open lake at 60 or so. It even ran good at 35. But as soon as I tried to put it on the trailer...it keeps dying. I go through everything I can think of. I removed the water separator/filter. I replaced the bulb. I even put the front of the boat against a dock one day and throttled up on it, it worked great. I started off in high trim, thinking it was the angle on the ramp....nope. So I decided to ask a Yamaha factory mechanic. He said it was probably the first signs of the carbs getting plugged up. First thing he asked was "How old is the boat" 1997 "Have you replaced the fuel lines? Nope "Bingo!" He told me to flush the fuel lines for now. I did that and a bunch of this 1/2" long black hair looking stuff came out. Once you touch it, it almost dissolves between your fingers. He said after I did that to rebuild the carbs and be sure to give them a good overnight soaking in Chemtool carb cleaner. Then he told me to replace the fuel hoses and be sure to clean the fuel diverter valve.
I did that. The black stuff was the inner liner of the fuel hose that had been eaten off by the ethanol in the gas.
I finished the carb job and decided to put a hose to the motor at the shop first, before I ran all the way up to the lake. I got the water going and set the choke to 1/4 rich, and hit the key. It fired on the first turn. I then took the boat to the lake and MAN! what a difference. The smoking is gone, the power is back, and it slides onto the trailer again.

So if you are having some quirky things going on with your motor, you might want to check the fuel hoses.

I shopped around a found that actually Ranger had the best price (If you can believe that!) for the fuel line; of $2.95 a foot. You will need about 15 feet. My 461 uses 3/8". This fuel line is referred to as "A1". It is also fire resistant. I have always recommended to guys to rent a hose crimper for these jobs. I have seen some of the screw type hose clamps work loose over the years. I rented my first one from NAPA. I think I paid $15 for 8 hours. I bought their clamps also.
It is not a tough job, but don't do like one guy did. He forgot the diverter and mis-measured the amount of hose he needed.

When doing a carb rebuild, I suggest you use OEM kits. Sierra and some of these other kits don't fit exactly right and the gaskets can leak or not seal at all. The OEM kits are more expensive, but the first time you tear a gasket and have your boat down another week or more waiting for the replacement, you will be kicking yourself.

Just some FYI from an old guy.

PS I know you have one question...How did the black stuff get thru the two filters? I cannot tell you. Probably Gremlins.

norcalbones · Post by **norcalbones** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 11:14 am

You would think that by now, with this becoming such a common problem with boaters, that they would design a hose material that is more resistant to the effects of Ethanol. just a head scratcher....

NoCAL · Post by **NoCAL** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:18 pm

Mercury does have a new ethanol resistant hose but it only came out in 2007 or 2008. So any boat built before that doesn't have the resistant lines and will have issues with fuel line degredation. I just replaced the lines on my 2004 and sure enough the inner lining was degrading. Not real bad yet but it was going.

NoCAL

LEN B · Post by **LEN B** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:51 pm

http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread?id=682962
http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread?id= ... bulb-first

Bass Pro Shopper · Post by **Bass Pro Shopper** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 4:22 pm

Yup. I had my boat in for service recently, and since I've been reading about all the ethanol problems, I asked the shop to check my fuel lines and change them out if they've gone bad. Sure enough, they were. The mechanic showed me the insides were peeling apart into small, brittle, nearly crystalized, light brown pieces. Luckily, those pieces somehow did not do any damage to the motor. My boat is a 2004, so it didn't have the type of hoses that can better withstand the ethanol. But now I'm wondering, do I send the changeout portion of my service bill to the White House?

Rich461 · Post by **Rich461** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 6:44 pm

norcalbones wrote:You would think that by now, with this becoming such a common problem with boaters, that they would design a hose material that is more resistant to the effects of Ethanol. just a head scratcher....

I am using the Trident A1-15 hose for the replacement. I researched them all and was impressed with these guys.
http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/fuel.htm

civicrr · Post by **civicrr** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 7:14 pm

NoCAL wrote:Mercury does have a new ethanol resistant hose but it only came out in 2007 or 2008.

Even this line was starting to show the effects of ethanol. As the was pointed out in the BBC links, you want to get the newest Mercury line. It is gray with blue writing. It has EPA Compliant written on it. Different liner compared to the previous version.

If you're going to use the Trident brand lines, note that only the new #305 line specifically says it is for ethanol up to E85. When you compare it to the other lines, it is the only one that specifies the use of a fluoroplastic liner.
There has been 'alcohol' in the fuel for a while. It is the ethanol, or the type of alcohol, that is actually the problem.

If looking for black hoses with the USCG type A1-15 rating, Shields brand hoses specifies 'Fuel Feed - Gasoline up to 85% ethanol blended fuels / Diesel /Bio-diesel all blends'