I have a 25 4 2003 Mercury, that sat for around 8 months. It ran perfect before, and cranked up and seemed to run fine last weekend. However, after taking off and getting on plane, it died like it ran out of gas after less than a minute on full throttle. I pumped the primer bulb, and it started right back up again. We then trolled for an hour with no problems, but when getting on plane again- it died after a few seconds. Classic example of a clogged fuel filter it seemed.
The one strange thing is when I pump the primer bulb, new last year, it didn't want to expand back out right away, which I took as it was having trouble drawing fuel through my spin on fuel/water separator. I replaced this filter when I got home, and when I dumped the gas out of the old one, it wasn't perfectly clear, but it didn't look that bad, and I saw no evidence of water or sludge. I filled the new filter with gas, put it on, and tired to prime the carb again. The primer bulb again didn't want to fill back out right away, and now the motor wouldn't run. A small spray of ether cranks it immediately.
I took out the drain screw on the bottom of the carb, and only a little gas came out. I removed the fuel line from the fuel pump so it was going directly to the primer bulb, and when pumping I would get a little squirt of gas- but mostly air. Several pumps later, it was still doing the same thing, no stream of gas and the bulb takes a minute to get full again.
The gas tank is plastic, and built in. I think there must be some junk somewhere restricting the flow to a trickle, enough to idle but not run. My questions:
1. If the primer bulb squeezes right, but doesn't fill back out right away- doesn't that mean it can't draw fuel in?
2. If I blow air through the spin on filter, should I go from the inlet side, or backwards from the outlet side, to try to blow out possible crud?
3. If I blow air from the inlet side of the filter back towards the gas tank, it should bubble in the gas tank and have no restrictions, right?
The one strange thing is when I pump the primer bulb, new last year, it didn't want to expand back out right away, which I took as it was having trouble drawing fuel through my spin on fuel/water separator. I replaced this filter when I got home, and when I dumped the gas out of the old one, it wasn't perfectly clear, but it didn't look that bad, and I saw no evidence of water or sludge. I filled the new filter with gas, put it on, and tired to prime the carb again. The primer bulb again didn't want to fill back out right away, and now the motor wouldn't run. A small spray of ether cranks it immediately.
I took out the drain screw on the bottom of the carb, and only a little gas came out. I removed the fuel line from the fuel pump so it was going directly to the primer bulb, and when pumping I would get a little squirt of gas- but mostly air. Several pumps later, it was still doing the same thing, no stream of gas and the bulb takes a minute to get full again.
The gas tank is plastic, and built in. I think there must be some junk somewhere restricting the flow to a trickle, enough to idle but not run. My questions:
1. If the primer bulb squeezes right, but doesn't fill back out right away- doesn't that mean it can't draw fuel in?
2. If I blow air through the spin on filter, should I go from the inlet side, or backwards from the outlet side, to try to blow out possible crud?
3. If I blow air from the inlet side of the filter back towards the gas tank, it should bubble in the gas tank and have no restrictions, right?