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2009 Mercrusier 3.0 2 barrel TKS carb Gen 2 flooding at idle (intermittent)

rcer22

New member
Hey folks
I was following another topic with a similar problem and it has stopped and I assume not been resolved.
My problem is an intermittent one. I have flooding above the throttle plates at idle. I have done the carb over and checked the float level. I even changed the float itself thinking that it might have been heavy. I put the carb back on and it ran great for about a week. Now the problem has returned. I see no fuel in the yellow tube coming from the fuel pump. Is it possible that running the high octane non ethanol fuel could be causing the problem? I know the engine can run on 87 octane but it contains ethanol and the high grade stuff supposedly does not. It is sitting at the marina right now waiting to be looked at. I think they're going to want to just rebuild the carb and figure that will solve the problem. However I think there is something else going on and I'm going to get stuck out on the water. I don't have a lot of faith in the mechanics there because one them told me I don't have an adjustable mixture screw. I had to show the guy that I did one and where it was. The alternative is to take the boat out of the water and bring it somewhere else. Royal pain doing it by myself. I also am quite sure when I do get the boat somewhere else the problem wont happen. It only seems to happen when there is no one to show it to. Like on a Sunday afternoon when all the worker are gone. Then the next day it's like it never happened. I'm out of ideas as to what's causing the flooding. I haven't looked at anything electrical because I just cant see this problem as being anything other than a fuel related problem. (High fuel pump pressure) maybe although my car experience has taught me that when a fuel pump fails it delivers little or no fuel at all. Any thoughts are welcome.
 
rcer22
Buy yourself an inexpensive fuel pressure/vacuum tester, and find out what you fuel pressure is. 5-7psi should do it.
Bert
 
That's good advice. Only I need one that can be installed and left there because the problem is not always present. I could out there today and every day for the next week and not have a problem. I going to have to visit a good marine supply and see if I can pick up a small gauge that is designed for permanent installation, get the fittings I need and install them.
Thank you for your input.
 
Depending on what state you live in hi test just as likely to have ethanol as regular. Federal law states that the pumps must be labeled with ethanol content.

Is this a new problem? History of boat ???? are you the original owner?
Possible defective fuel float valve... which on the TKS carb is sold as a matched set, needle and seat.
A very thin coating of grease on the top carb gasket will make it reusable.
 
This is a new problem. Started about a month ago. Coming and going. I am the original owner. I bought it new in May of 2009. First 2 years (while under warranty) had absolutely no trouble. Boat ran like a clock. 3rd summer boat would not idle after putting it in the water. Rebuilt carb ran like a clock all summer. 4th, 5th and 6th summer would not idle. Had to rebuild carb. Runs great after rebuild. This summer (6th summer 2014) about a month ago this started. I thought the needle and seat were letting fuel through so I changed them both. Problem went away for about a week then came back. Took carb off and apart. Found the center screw on the venturi cluster loose enough to leak. I thought that vacuum was pulling fuel into the barrels. I figured that was the problem for sure. Rebuilt carb completely and put it back on the engine. It ran great for about a week and problem is back. I'm sure fuel is not coming from the center screw nor do I see any fuel in the yellow tube that comes from the fuel pump. All that's left is the pump pressure and I have to set up some kind of gauge that I can drive the boat with it in place and wait for the problem to happen again. It may be something else causing the problem. This is a good one.
Thanks for your reply.
 
You should always make sure that the three screws on the venturi cluster are correct as follows:
two outer screws... metal washers.
Center one fiber washer. Due to the materials used by MERC for this washer, it is rarely reusable.
If you removed the venture cluster, you should replace that gasket as well. Make sure all old gasket material is removed... tedious at best :)
 
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