Fuel Injector Maintenance
 

Happy New Year!!

While installing my new Raylar 80mm Intake I had the fuel rails off. Thought maybe I should have the injectors cleaned/tested while off. Asked myself how dirty could they be? I only run Top Tier Exxon fuel, Techron injector cleaner, change filters every season. 06' 496HO runs Great!
I contacted BUP here on the forum. He's an asset to this forum with the amount of free info he posts to help others. I chose BUP as he goes above and beyond vs others that give you a piece of paper showing your results. You get new micro basket filters, orings and videos showing your injectors being cleaned and flow/volume tested. Can't say enough good things about my experience.

I'm sooo lucky I had him check them!!! The basket filters were dirty and full of paint from the Mercury Gen 3 cool fuel box. 2 injectors baskets were nearly plugged with paint/dirt. BUP advised checked those 2 cylinders as they were not getting the fuel as necessary. After a thorough cleaning, new filters, orings etc, they are good as new!

I am going to open up the cool fuel box and remove all internal paint. Also going to replace original rubber fuel line from tank to cool fuel. Everything else is hard line and has been cleaned including the fuel rails.

Just passing along an eye opening experience for me! Other FI owners should really consider this. Especially 496 owners!!

Notice the paint flakes in the pics. This is only a small portion. The videos about made me puke. The basket filters should be white when new.

https://i.imgur.com/3xlObYp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Sbw9qr3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tVuSW1H.jpg

I've been here for a while and over the years there's been a few really good guys who are /were in the know but you don't see them around too much any more .
BUP has definitely taken up the slack and I always try to find any threads that he's posted on . In fact I plan on asking him a few questions at some point myself .
Good to hear that you're pleased and it all turned out well for you . And thank you BUP

I need to pull mine and send to Bup early spring when the shrink wrap comes off. Was going to do itt last spring but put it off.

Padraig

Great heads up on this... thank you! I'm a tick over 600hrs and you have my attention.

I too used BUP for my injector cleaning. It was a very enlightening experience to say the least and I have learned a ton from him!! I would have for sure burned down my fresh engines if I would have left the injectors alone...period. Anybody that "assumes" their injectors are fine is DEAD WRONG. I have 502 MPI GEN V's and 370 hours which is nothing for these engines. The previous owner also maintained the boat as most would normally do (stored indoors, serviced regularly, open checkbook, blah, blah, blah) but this still happened. I was going to take my injectors locally to "the place" everyone in the area recommends and after speaking to BUP I am sure glad I didn't. I can 100% say that I would not have gotten the level of service to my injectors as I did with BUP anywhere else. They would have made a few passes in the cleaning solution and called it a day not to mention I was given a whole bunch of misinformation about the process by the other shop. BUP provided pictures and video proof of the issues they had throughout their servicing. I about $%*& my pants when I saw it all!! They were horrible and he took above and beyond (he can comment on that lol) the time to make them 100% again. Anyways, I would recommend BUP to anyone, his level of service and communication is among the best I have dealt with and he is a wealth of information. I'm not kidding when I say he probably has forgotten more than a lot of us combined will ever know about marine maintenance, repair and parts. He has been lifesaver in more than a few areas throughout my journey and I for one am thankful to have him in my corner. It's a gift to us all that professionals like him take the time they do to help us all out on the forums here. :)

I also used BUP to clean my injectors last year. He absolutely goes above and beyond!!!! I am about to send him the injectors off my street car while I am freshing up the engine over the winter just for a piece of mind.

Atleast they won't be full of f'n Merc overspray ! :party-smiley-004:

I sure hope not!!!! Lol These cost more than merc injectors if you can believe that!!

Happy NEW YEAR TO ALL.

Thanks a million to everyone that has posted this up here. Actually I am kind of shocked that a post was even started about this. But seriously grateful. Really what comes with me is phone number and its always open when one does business with me not matter how big or small. Does not matter. I have said this in the past up here.

I would rather see boaters across the board have less issues because it keeps boaters in boating. As Marine dealers believe it or not, some of us selected dealers have said this many many years ago.

Fuel injector maintenance is basically per say currently part of a tune up and or a fuel maintenance program. I am going on 9 straight years providing this service and without a doubt can honestly say it is needed for the marine side of the coin. Can say this without hesitation.

Thanks for all the good words up here on OSO.

Yes you have the ID's in your drag car and I have actually tested some sets of ID's in marine apps. Actually have talked to one of the owners of ID in person about once per year for the past 5 years. Even sat in a couple of his seminars as well. He is a wealth of info about injectors and fuel related topics.

He is lucky he has GEN 2 cool fuel, no over spray in them. But he did have metal shavings in his micro basket filters. Keep an eye on the fuel pumps.

Would like to send my 575 injectors your way. Please send me contact info.

Thanks Quinlan

After reading this I am due to send my injectors in for a cleaning as well!

I take it these are TBI injectors. Yes I can test and flow test TBI injectors. I had the fuel manifolds CNC made to fit those style of injectors for flow testing correctly.

I did send you a OSO pm thanks

I sent a OSO pm to you. Thanks

You gonna get that wreck running this year?https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...ons/icon10.gif

Why is nothing happening to Mercury over this?? Ive read about the paint issue in other posts on other forums and it seems like quite a few are affected. Between all of our boats, we have 5 Mercury Racing, 5 Mercruiser, and 3 Mercury Verado. How do we know if ours are affected with the internal paint issue?

Well if they can get away with all of the Bravo based drive failures I constantly read about this is just a drop in the bucket in comparison....lol

I pulled my fuel rails off today. No dirt or junk but there was gas in there for a while without running. Whats the best fuel injector cleaner to run thru the system that does a good job?

Ehh, banging outdrives with 600hp on large waves with 10,000 + lb boats at 70+ MPH is a bit more understanding than paint coming off inside of a fuel pump and screwing up an engine. Yeah, Bravo failures are frustrating (have gone through many XR's in our Formula) but have also gotten many trouble free hours out of our runabouts with smaller engines/ slower speeds paired to Bravos.

To add info here - I do not know what fuel injectors your moded 496 has - but the stock 496 fuel injectors have micro basket filters that are very deep set internally of the injector. The amount of crap that collects in there one would not believe until seen first hand. With that said running cleaning thru the entire fuel system can be a double edge sword. Yes it can clean and dissolve certain things and yes over a certain amount of cleaning runs can clean very well using a heavy duty fuel cleaner - but here is the negative side doing this form of cleaning when running heavy duty cleaners thru the complete fuel system. It can dislodge contaminants that do not dissolve then fill the micro basket filters causing fuel flow restrictions of the injectors. This can run an engine hugely lean. It is best to uninstall fuel system components and clean each very thoroughly then reinstall.

Reeeaaal Close- We have added some Goodies- Gonna be interesting :riding::cool:

My Merc guy brought this issue up to me last year. I can't remember exactly how it went but the recall/TSB was along the lines of Merc paid for new injectors and other parts and then the customer was on the hook for labor. Would have been around $1K for me had my engine had been in the affected serial number range. Fortunately it was not. BUP should have the exact details.

The engines are former 496 MAG HO rebuilt as Raylar 600 with 75 hours on them currently. They were rebuilt with the big NAPA 4348 fuel water separators, Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump and Aeromotive regulators and the injectors were new, stock AC Delco (i think) running at 43 PSI. I pulled 2 injectors off and the baskets were clean but the boat sat for 8-10 months and the gas smelled bad (marine 90 octane). Port Started but stbd didnt start. I pulled 2 injectors out and they were clean but had some varnish on the rim and the rail had a light varnish. So, I bought a pressurized fuel injector cleaning bottle and ran Star Brite enzyme thru 50/50 then I ran Lucas heavy duty fuel injector cleaner thru 50/50. The engine ran a little rough and after about a minute I could tell when the fresh gas and cleaner made it.... The engine smoothed right out! Long story short I never had a boat or vehicle with BAD (really bad) gas. Its a real pain in the butt gettin fresh gas to the fuel rail and injectors. All good now but it took 2 days - luckily the weather has been 67 degrees.

What else should I run thru them? i drained the gas but didnt put new gas in yet. Anything else to run thru the system to make sure its perfect?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a0c4602716.jpg
I have to give BUP a huge thank you and recommend his fuel injector service. My port engine always was lazy when cold and my revs were far off from stbd going up the rpm range. 600SCIs decided to send injectors in for service. Bup sent video of the injectors straight out of the boat and the video was eye opening. 2 Port engine injectors were lagging so far behind it was remarkable I didnt lean the engine out. Bup rebuilt and matched all the injectors, sent video for proof. I ran everything this weekend and now no cold run issue and my rpm are nearly identical match thru rpm range. The engines just idle like they never have and respond so much better. I have 260 hrs on the boat and engines. I am not one for any services to clean this or test this and that but Bup has the knowledge and abilities that made me a firm believer. If you have hours or some running issues look into the F.I. system and talk with Bup about service.

That's an awesome pic VoodooRob! Easily a screen saver or a page out of a catalog for Merc Racing :cool:

Thanks again everyone and VRob for the post. Actually I like that VRob especially since your business is motorcycles and custom Motorcycle exhaust.

Without a doubt can say 100 percent boaters need to stay on top of their complete fuel systems from bottom of the gas tank to the injectors. Fuel samples and cutting open fuel filters is basically the testing to determine what is needed plus when one should have their injectors tested, flow tested and cleaned.

Many reasons I say this. Water in the fuel is a huge killer and really hurts the injectors internally. . Keep in mind marine apps have had from the OEM's water fuel seperator filters installed over 40 years and running. There is a reason why they are installed. They know water / condensation that form in the fuel systems is an issue from day one.

If you have GEN 3 cool fuel systems or the Volvo Carter cool fuel system on any engine - one has no choice in the matter. Your injectors need to be cleaned and flow tested. The internal paint is the killer - then the cheap aluminum fuel rails / lines will or can internally corrode from the inside out. Even forming pin holes over the long term.

Keep in mind the more hours one has on their engine(s) - the odds are that the electric fuel pumps are wearing inside some of the components - that wear goes into the injectors regardless. Anyways I will post some more plus some of the issues with certain injectors

In marine class it seems that the viewpoint of when to have injectors looked at and tested is every 7 years in a perfect world. Keep in mind fuel injectors are a electrical and mechanical basically solenoid device for a jist of info. You have test the electrical side of the injectors as well. There is failures on that side of it.

Never hook a 12 V battery directly to any injector - if so that injector(s) life has just been shorten

I have Arizona Speed & Marine injection seating above my 572 BBC's....I'm second owner, first owner (Flagship Marine in Punta Gorda Fla.) short story, in 1994 Flagship's owner built & restored this 1982 35' Cigarette
It was fully gutted and customized to it's present condition........In 1995 the owner got sick, it was placed away in storage until I bought it in 2016 some 21 yrs after his restoration...........everything is 21 yrs old with less
than 10 hrs on every component (engines, drives, fuel injection etc; etc;)..........When I bought it in 2016 we pumped the old fuel (yes fuel was left sitting for 21 years) flushed the tank and filled with av fuel.
The fuel injectors were cleaned not professionally, but sprayed with aerosol cleaner & apparently it wasn't contaminated by the old fuel.. The av fuel fuel passes through a "Separ 2000" water separator & fuel filter" remember,
these are all circa 1990's equipment, but with very little use still work extremely well today................Boat is not in the water yet this year, but last year ran very well with no issues....My question is; for future concerns what
maintenance should I be addressing?...........It's never broken down and I would like to keep that trend going, but probably needs a full going over just for posterity.

it is best to run all engines with a quality 2 stroke motor oil and quality fuel stabilizer for storage / lay up of over 4 weeks if the boat is not being used.

This helps fuel pumps - fuel lines - carbs if applicable - fuel rails - fuel injectors if applicable - fuel filter mounting pads - fuel fittings and so forth. Also the oil / gas mix does not seem to evaporate as much as straight fuel only. This in return also helps against having fuel issues.

See the 2 stroke oil adds lubricity and lubes against condensation forming that can cause corrosion --- when mixed in the fuel. Keep in mind acts like a fogging oil effect . 40 to 1 or 50 to works well.

Also add some to your gas tank for lay up --- 2 stroke motor oil and stabil. 80 or 90 or 100 to 1 mix on the 2 stroke motor oil.

Hey BUP are you addressing my issues with maintenance to my ASM?......If you are, I'm more concerned with how to maintain the mechanisms in the fuel injector system as a whole.

all gas side marine apps. outboards - inboards - jet skis -

What kills me here is when winterizing / lay up EVERYONE makes sure that PINK antifreeze goes in the cooling side of the engine - but do nothing to the fuel side to combat corrosion - and HOW many at boat lay up take fuel samples from gas tank - filters and if applicable the basket in the gen 3 cool fuel for water presents ?

If any water is present in any portion of the fuel system including the injectors -- the water freezes and 2 is very corrosive to the fuel side of everything. It forms an acid with E 10 fuels as the water and alcohol fall out of the fuel when mixed.

I use av fuel better longevity I guess........and did you ever here of the Separ water separator & fuel filter systems ?

Could use so help understanding BUP
Just an old guy, not a business owner or by any means an expert like your self, but never seen or heard of a water sep filter split open from the winter. In my theory it would take a lot of water to expand enough to do that. Don't see an inch in the bottom (which would be a lot of water to me) even doing it, it would expand up. If it was E10 the water would be absorbed in the fuel, E0 (AV gas and what I use) would not absorb the water. Do agree if it did freeze in the filter and there was paper, it would tear it, my thought.

Side note and off topic: but I don't understand why folks spends mega bucks building a motor and install Fram filters

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...8470e40163.jpg
Here a stock OEM Mercruiser set up using spin on Water Sep fuel filter - The OEM mount what do think caused this ? And you should have seen the injectors - The engine would not start - new customer 6 weeks ago. 2000 Big block with gen 2 cool fuel all stock fuel set up.

Important to check out the mount as well even changing filters all the time. Take a look - all freshwater used local boater. A fuel pump and fuel injector killer 4 sure

correct - met to write completely filled with water. Have you ever seen the very small version of the volvo filter especially when mallory marine made them. Not much capacity for even fuel. BUT WILL ADD had seen rust thru a crack that leaked at the filter bottom. way more than once . At least a couple of handful times. Keep in mind water seperating fuel filters have been on marine apps for like 40 years so the OEMs know water has always been an issue regardless of fuel / gas brand

A buddy wrote this back in 2004 - before any of his stories started we would talk about it but mostly this was his deal. FWIW as many things have changed since then. And the worst fuel filter currently is the OEM by far. Not the racing version but the black production side fuel filter offering.

Bill wrote for many mags back in the day. Very smart guy about marine outboards and a master with the Johnson Evinrude products. He is retired currently but still is a marine consultant.

IMO for stock fuel filter mounts Racor and for I/O and inboards you have to use the approved metal canister ( the bottom metal base --- do use the the plastic bottom base canister for outboards.

FWIW link below.

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...erBoatsMag.pdf