Spotsnatcher
New member
I would like to get some opinions on an issue I am dealing with. I have a 2001 Mercury (Yamaha Powerhead) that will not run at full throttle. It started last year when the boat would idle, but not get on plane. I took it to the local shop. They said that ethanol had damaged the fuel lines and clogged the fuel filter. After supposed repairs, I took it out, and it did not have full power. I took it back to the shop, and they told me the injectors needed to be cleaned. They sent them off to be cleaned and reinstalled them. The next trip to the lake, the boat ran worse than ever. I took it back and they told me that the VST was "rusted out", and needed to be replaced. To the tune of $1,900.00. After doing some research, a friend and I pulled the VST. The filter on the bottom of the fuel pump was more than half blocked with debris. The tank also had some corrosion from the water that had gotten in it. I cleaned the fuel pump filter, cleaned the corrosion from the tank with carb cleaner, replaced all fuel lines, and installed a fuel water separator. I took it to the lake this past weekend, and it would run fine to about 3/4 throttle. Twice, it even ran at full throttle, and stayed there until I stopped. As soon as I tried to run it again, it would not run at FOT. Normally, I would think the injectors needed cleaning, but the boat had only been run one time since they were cleaned. Could this be an issue with the fuel pump n the VST? Would replacing the fuel pump with a new one possibly fix the issue? And if so, are the Sierra Marine fuel pumps any good, or should I go with the OEM pump? Thanks in advance.