fireboatpilot

Needle valve on the carb float sticking closed or the float sticking? I still like the idea of something in the tank. What was the issue you had with that?

tinman565

Sir...listen...its gotta be from the w/s back. Here's the theory: first, cant be anything in the carb...because that wouldnt change what is showing on the pressure gauge...and you said it ran fine all day after you installed the electric pump. Second, the electric pump that you are thinking cant keep up..HELD UP ALL DAY...as you stated earlier. Thirdly...let go of the lobe idea. You said it has pressure sometimes..and sometimes it doesnt. If the lobe was wiped out, it wouldnt have any at all...ever..lol. Please disconnect the hose coming from the tank to the water seperator. Put a 5 gallon jug of gas into your bilge (somewhere safe) and put the hose into it. Fire the motor on the muffs...and record your fuel pressure. If you get good pressure, you figured out most of your problem. If its still zero....sell the phucking boat.

hondahp4

do you think it would run if the needle valve/float was sticking? it does start up and run for about 1 min until (i'm guessing) the float bowl drains. it seems like its getting some fuel, just very little and not enough.

i will definitely try the fuel tank suggestion i got earlier, but i warrantied the fuel pump today, so ill get the new one on wednesday. i'll try it then when i get the new one.

tinman565

If everything in the carb was seized up....YOUD STILL SHOW PRESSURE ON YOUR GAUGE !!!
It's only running till the bowl is empty cause YOU DONT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUEL GETTING TO THE BOWLS.
If your gauge reads zero...you are not getting fuel to it...let alone to the carb.
I know your frustrated sir...but think rationally. If you cant pump gas into your truck...but your squeezing the trigger...something from the handle BACK is not right. Your truck ran when you drove it up to the pump right ? Itll run some more when you figure out how to get gas in the tank. If it aint coming outta the handle...then something is wrong from there back.
You stated earlier that the boat ran fine all day with the electric pump...and you worked on/checked the water seperator system. So that would tell me that those things are fine. Your not getting fuel TO THEM.

hondahp4

i agree with you on everything, BUT why would the electric pump make 5psi by itself, and the new mechanical make 0psi? are electrics usually a bit stronger than mechanicals?

hondahp4

ya know, another thing just crossed my mind......dont the pickups in the tank usually have some sort of screen or filter on the end of them? with the new ethanol fuels, i've heard of those collapsing or deteriorating enough to hinder fuel flow.....confirmation?

i still have the new pump, so i'll stick that back on and give the 5gal tank a try. if good, ill see if i can get into the sending unit hole and see anything on the end of the pickup

hondahp4

ok, tinman (....tail between my legs.....).....you were right!!! queue the "i told you so!!!"....go ahead, say it, i deserve it.

i put the fuel line from the tank in a gas can and vroom 7psi.

now my issue is, what is causing that pickup to not flow correctly? i did however have another pickup in the tank. im not sure if it is a return or a second pickup. the 242 could be ordered with twin smallblocks, so i'm guessing it might be a pickup for the other engine. it was capped off, so i switched my barb fitting to the other fitting and vroom, still 7psi. does anyone know what is on the bottom of these pickups? is it a stone type filter or a screen or something along those lines?

the problem may have been found, but as far as i'm concerned its not fixed. if i run it on this other pickup, i could run into the same problem in a few miles down the lake. are there any 242 experts out there that can tell me if that second fitting is a return or a pickup? can i use it the way i did? btw i was previously using the starboard side fitting, but now am using the port.

tinman565

No "told ya so's" from me sir...as I've had my share of problems too. I'm glad you got it going. I dont know about your tanks setup without seeing it. You may be right about the extra one being for another motor. Your almost there !!!!

kvogt

pull the pickup out of the tank. It probably has a crack in it up at the top where it goes into the fitting. If you pull it out, it would be easy to do leak check on it.

hondahp4

Thanks again for your suggestions and help! I'll see if I can snap a picture of it today when i get home from work.

i know there's an elbow that unscrews off the fitting, but i'm not sure if the pickup will come out with it. it looks like the pickup is welded into the tank, and the elbow just screws onto it. I'll see what i can find when i get home tonight..

kvogt - i'll bet you're right that there's a crack in it. i know i can easily blow back into the tank through the old pickup, so its free flowing, but probably drawing air into the pickup once the fuel level goes down. come to think of it, when i left the dock the last time i had a full tank of gas. once i ran a few miles and burned some gas, thats when it started to die. and it gradually got worse as i high-tailed for the dock. ill be willing to bet that as the fuel level dropped below that crack, that it started drawing air, and thats what causing my intermittent pressure issues