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Hello,
I'm pretty new to outboard motors, and am having fuel pressure issues with my 79 Merc Thunderbolt 500. I had it out and it started to lose power and wanted to stall out. I checked the ball on the fuel tank and it had no pressure. It will run fine if I periodically prime the ball, but it eventually loses pressure and dies. I assumed it was probably the fuel pump. After further inspection and tinkering I dont think it has a fuel pump? I've traced the fuel lines out and it just seems to run from the tank to the carbs. I'm not sure if I'm missing something or this model doesnt have a pump and just operates under some vacuum pressure. I'm also having issues finding any info on my model number. This motor has coils for each cyclinder, I've seen several like mine that are distributed that have a fuel pump visible (not sure if that helps with identifying this particular motor). Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.
I'm pretty new to outboard motors, and am having fuel pressure issues with my 79 Merc Thunderbolt 500. I had it out and it started to lose power and wanted to stall out. I checked the ball on the fuel tank and it had no pressure. It will run fine if I periodically prime the ball, but it eventually loses pressure and dies. I assumed it was probably the fuel pump. After further inspection and tinkering I dont think it has a fuel pump? I've traced the fuel lines out and it just seems to run from the tank to the carbs. I'm not sure if I'm missing something or this model doesnt have a pump and just operates under some vacuum pressure. I'm also having issues finding any info on my model number. This motor has coils for each cyclinder, I've seen several like mine that are distributed that have a fuel pump visible (not sure if that helps with identifying this particular motor). Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.