Suzuki DF175hp issues

[TREVELLY]

His boat is likely fixed and hes out enjoying the weather

Just waiting for that good weather

[TREVELLY]

Maybe he has been stuck out on the edge of the shelf for the past week..

LOL Good onya

[seastrength]

Sorry for delay in feedback guys - boat was in with mechanic for two weeks they did do a run with computer attached to motor and gauges on fuel line and from this they said fuel issue affecting motor.
Mechanic thinks getting water into the fuel could have created a bug in the fuel tank.
Work done on motor include replacing:-
regulator in fuel separator
strainer on high pressure fuel pump
high pressure filter on crank case
bucket filter injector sonic cleaned.
they also replaced a short clear hose from inside the motor that had gunk in it

In addition they run the fuel through a filter and input fuel doctor.

I was then told to take it for a run - I have done a run from Redcliffe to Bribie Island and back - about 30 minutes each way

I have been told to take the boat for one of my typical all day runs offshore before they say it is fixed.

Fuel filter from last service was changed and the clear bowl under filter was staining with red and some small specks which have now disappeared.

I will post back once I have been given good weather and do a big offshore run.

Thanks heaps for interest and input guys

I am going to do a couple of other things to boat to remove some possible issues which include elevating the fuel filler on the gunnel to preent water from flowing past the cap seal and further add some covers to the air breather to prevent anyone puching water into the tank via a syringe as I have had the boat tampered with in the past by filling the subfloor with water and gluing up bungs - just to be sure it is all good - I have a speacial cap not easy to open.

Most likely fuel contamination - I have done everything I could do for good fuel and alwas bought BP Ultimate hoping for clean fuel so . . . . not sure what else to do.
On this run the boat maxxed at 5800 rpm and 60kph
Best I have gotten since buying the boat as I normallly max at 5600 rpm and 57kph
It was clearly screaming out better

Thanks for the update Trev. Sounds like the mechanic has covered all the bases with possible fuel related problems. Do you use the fuel doctor additive routinely? I have for my last three boats and no fuel problems for last 15 years. I know others will say it is only necessary if the motor is not used for sometime, but I believe it is good preventive medicine for the motor. Cheers SS

[Funchy]

Fingers crossed for you Trev

[Dignity]

Thanks for the update Trev. Sounds like the mechanic has covered all the bases with possible fuel related problems. Do you use the fuel doctor additive routinely? I have for my last three boats and no fuel problems for last 15 years. I know others will say it is only necessary if the motor is not used for sometime, but I believe it is good preventive medicine for the motor. Cheers SS

I have to agree, I also use the Fuel doctor funnel as I use clean Jerry Cans to fill the tank as the pumps are too quick, amazing the amount of crap and water it eliminates from the servo.

Edit: the funnel is so good that if you add additives first to the jerry's it will filter them out so I have to add it direct to the tank. Just something to be aware of.

[Noelm]

Never been a fan of miracle snake oils, far better to maintain good filters and clean fuel than to try to "fix" fuel later.

[Dignity]

Never been a fan of miracle snake oils, far better to maintain good filters and clean fuel than to try to "fix" fuel later.

These days the "snake oils" is not a fix but to stop deterioration of the fuel, that is, prevetative. If you have a 200 litre tank and generally use 100 to 120 litres you have older fuel when you top up. So cumulatively you can have old fuel eventually in your system. Adding fresh fuel doesn't refresh the old fuel. I don't know what it is but fuel seems to degrade quicker these days.

[TREVELLY]

I elevated the fuel filler to keep water flow along the gunnel away from seal
I also covered the air breather with stainless steel cover inside larger bronze cover
All sikaflexed in place but open at lower edge to drain
IMG_20201116_180156.jpg

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Ausfish mobile app

[TREVELLY]

Coming Saturday looks good for a proper offshore trip

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Ausfish mobile app

[Dignity]

Coming Saturday looks good for a proper offshore trip

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Ausfish mobile app

I've just been looking at the weather and Friday looks best weather wise but depending on crew it might be Saturday. Probably see you at the ramp.

[Moonlighter]

Several thoughts come to mind Trev - hope they might be helpful

First - Re the breather, I put a “catch can” just inside the transom close to the breather outlet. Basically its a 1 litre mower fuel bottle fitted with brass hose fittings at the top. So the breather line from the tank comes into the top one side, and the line to the hull outlet goes out the top other side. So this prevents water or anything else coming in from the breather and getting sucked back into the fuel tank, and likewise, any raw fuel that gets pushed out if the tank is overfilled or gets hot is trapped in the bottle and cant overflow down the side of the boat. I can easily see any fuel or water that gets into the translucent bottle. Its easily removable so can then be emptied.

I now know several people who have done the same thing due to water getting forced into the breather line in certain sea conditions.

Second, re fuel preservative treatments, I have never EVER been able to find any properly done science/engineering testing that bears out the multitude of claims they all make. The only ones that have been fairly reliably tested are diesel conditioners designed to prevent that fungus that can infect diesel fuel.

Surely, since one of their loudly proclaimed benefits is to preserve octane ratings, it cant be that hard to get a independent lab or university to test something simple like that! Yet ..... apparently not been done, because if it had been, those versions that had done it would surely be trumpeting it...... Therefore IMO they’re snake oil.

Thirdly, IMO the big problem with using high octane fuels is simply that they are not sold in anywhere near the volumes of standard unleaded. So they sit there in the petrol station tanks for who knows how long, which just amplifies the time for them to lose volatiles and get other contaminants and water in there.

Lastly, fuel lines do deteriorate over time, and ethanol based fuels can do bad things to some lines that arent rated to take them. I didnt read all the thread again but hopefully ALL THE FUEL LINES from tank to engine have been replaced with new ones of a suitable high quality and marine rating.

Cheers, and I hope the problem is fixed and stays that way.

[Dignity]

I wouldn't mind a picture of the mower fuel tank setup or a link to something similar as I would like to implement it myself. It sounds like a good idea.

[Moonlighter]

Mower fuel catch can - its similar to one of these:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-1l...ottle_p0123311

I just drilled holes either side of that square top section to allow hoses to enter.

I have the bottle sitting on the rear shelf with outdoor velcro holding it in place against the side of the hull. Hasnt moved.

A couple of the others have used a cheap brand water separating fuel filter with the clear bowl, one of those Easterner ones. Same idea just more expensive but because it has the tap at the bottom is easily emptied from there.

[Dignity]

Guess if you can see the bottles (I'll need 2) you can also see when the tank is full. Anybody installed a fuel whistle, supposed to stop whistling when tank is full.

[blacklab]

pppppppppppppppppp