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Water in fuel tank

"1987 Alpha one/ 5.7. I recen

"1987 Alpha one/ 5.7. I recently replaced the old q-jet with remanufactured unit, and it runs much better. However, it was still intermittently crapping out. It would always restart, and run fine for awhile, so I thought I'd look in the fuel tank. I pulled it out and drained the contents into a bucket. There was some amount of debris, and probably between a pint and a quart of water at the bottom. I cleaned the tank, reinstalled it, and took it out for a test. It ran fine for the hour I had it out.

The question is, how much water has to be in a fuel tank before the water-separating fuel filter can no longer do it's job? I have no idea how that thing works, but it seems to me that if the fuel pump is sucking nothing but water off the bottom of the tank, the filter's not going to be able to filter any fuel to the motor. Did I just answer my own question?"
 
"[b]"Did I just answer my

""Did I just answer my own question?"

Ayuh,... You sure did,... They'll hold Maybe a pint...
Did you dump your filter into a bowl,+ Look for the Water,..??"
 
"I did dump the fuel filter, b

"I did dump the fuel filter, but I didn't look to see how much water was in there. The filter's less than 2 months old. I was more concerned with the amount of water in the fuel tank."
 
Get a large bottle of Stabil f

Get a large bottle of Stabil for marine use. Add it to every fillup per directions.
 
"Lies, lies, lies; nothing but

"Lies, lies, lies; nothing but lies! SeaFoam is the best.
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"
 
I'm a big fan of fuel filt

I'm a big fan of fuel filters with drainable water seperators... Several folks make spin on replacements for existing filter/seperator combos. Just make sure you can fit something under the filter when you drain it.
 
"Guys,
I'm trying to find


"Guys,
I'm trying to find the cause of my boat crapping out intermittently. My theory is that the amount of water in the tank was preventing the fuel pump from pumping actual gasoline into the engine, because it's pumping nothing but water. Assuming that the water-separating filter is removing the water, then there is nothing for the engine to burn, correct?

I've removed the water and the tank is now spotlessly clean. I'm hoping this solves the problem. Does this sound feasible?

Thanks"
 
"RE:" Assuming that the w

"RE:" Assuming that the water-separating filter is removing the water, then there is nothing for the engine to burn, correct? "

It does not "remove" the water per se... it traps it in the filter. When the water trap compartment gets filled.... :-( !"
 
The filter media cleans the fu

The filter media cleans the fuel and any moisture is absorbed by the media until it can't hold any more.
 
"Brian

The seperator/filter


"Brian

The seperator/filter will not idefinitly keep seperating water. It "traps" a small amount of water until full, then allows water to thru to the carby
This is exactly what happened to my 1988 5.7L, Merc sep/fil filled with water, water then got into the Rochester and turned the insides of carb into a white corroded furry mess. fuel pump aswell. After that I changed to a different seperator with a drainable glassbowl at base, so i can see water starting to accumulate. Check inside the rochestor for corrosion. Your engine is behaving like mine was with corrosion."
 
"RE: "drainable glassbowl

"RE: "drainable glassbowl at base"
Here in the USA, glass or plastic bowls are not allowed per USCG regs for gas inboard or I/O engines. There are filters made with metal bowls for that purpose."
 
"I'm hoping that the amoun

"I'm hoping that the amount of water (and other crap) in my fuel tank is simply due to 22 years of life, and that since it's been emptied and cleaned, I can "reset the clock" so to speak. The boat has a new carb, and new filters, and I'm hoping this takes care of the problem. If not, I'm sure I'll be posting again. Thanks, everyone, for all your input.
Brian"
 
"[b]"The filter media clea

""The filter media cleans the fuel and any moisture is absorbed by the media until it can't hold any more."

Ayuh,... That's Not quite Right Guy,...
The media in the filter really has Nothing to do with removing Water,...
Only the Crud...
Gravity is what removes the Water...
Fuel is introduced at the Top of the filter in the center...
The water simply falls to the bottom of the filter,..
The fuel is drawn from the Top of the filter, at the outside of the media, which has screened the Crud out...
If the bottom of the filter fills with Water, All the way to the top...
It'll pass through the media,+ continue to the carb...

That's Why the filters have to be mounted Vertically....
And, Also why those little In-line filters are Useless for stopping Water...

Respectfully submitted,...
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"
 
"Bondo:

Thanks for the expl


"Bondo:

Thanks for the explanation. I was reading about the media in one brand of filter and just assumed that the media held the water in place. Considering what you have said gives me better insight to its operation. Thanks again.
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"
 
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