Trojan Boat Forum

I have a 1981 F32. My aft port side gas tank is full of gas but when i try to run an engine off it, the engine runs like crap for a minute or few seconds & then stalls. The gas is good because it was almost empty & I just put 45 gal in. It feels like it's sucking air. When I run the fwd tank, it runs fine... When i run the aft tank it stalls... When i run both tanks together it also stalls... Anyone else run into this?

is it possible you have collapsed fuel line?

MTP wrote:is it possible you have collapsed fuel line?

Great question... From what I can see, all looks fine. I have a friend with a 33' Egg Harbor & he said there is a pipe or tube that the fuel gets sucked up through. The pipe is attached to the tank & his fell off so it was just sucking air... I don't know where to go from here...

Your suction line may be clogged with dirt. There is usually a strainer at the end that may be plugged. You would have to remove to know for sure.

Could also be a bad anti-siphon valve also. It's the fitting at the top of the tank that the fuel line attaches to. If you can, remove it temporarily, hook up the fuel line again and run the engine. If the problem persists, it's most likely the pick-up in the tank (providing everything else from the engine to the tank is okay). Don't forget to reinstall the valve if it's okay or get a knew one if it's not...this is a must for safety reasons.

Good answers all. You should pull the suction lines out the tank and clean them and clean the anti-siphon valve and if you put 10 0/0 corn gas in it change your filters and replace your gas lines for it. If you haven't. It sounds a starvation problem so you're the right track.

I had a pick up tube go bad on mine about 5 years ago , Mine where part of the tank ( not OEM tanks ) I made a new tube and fitting up and ran it inside the old tube . The tube was 5/8 id now its 1/2 ID most likely yours are smaller 3/8? and will come out with the fittings . The reason mine are so large is the were changed over for diesel . and My engines flow 70+ gals a hour , thats flow not burn

on my f32 theres not enough room to pull much or anything out of the fuel tank. all of my fuel lines are copper except a short section from the gas filter to the engine that is flexible. should be similiar on yours. something to try first before disassmbling the cockpit floor.
if the engine tries to start might be water in the line now. i had the same described problem. i did this recently. get an inline electric gasoline fuel pump from somewhere friend, marina,mechanic or autozone (mr gasket or airtek for examples of univeral fuel pumps) and temporarily connect it just before the fuel filter /manifold setup in the engine room. mine (A 78 f32)was an easy connection at the water/fuel seperator filter housing. i purchased a brass 1/4npt to hose barb connector. suck out about 5-10 gallons of gas. you may have sucked up some water/trash and this should be more than enough to clear the line from the fuel tank to the engine. if you cannot suck any gas then you know that there is a restriction in the fuel line. if you cannot borrow a fuel pump you should be able to find one for $25-30. i know you may not want to purchase but it might happen again. if you extend the 12v wire to it and and you use some rubber fuel line you will be able to do this easily even outside the actual engine room. but be sure whichever to ventilate the area well.

if you have access to a compressor at your boat blow air through your vent lines and be sure they are also clear............no vent makes no suction

Anti-siphon valve. Take it out, screw it apart and take out the spring, poppet and retainer to clean it.

daddysgirl
any news on this? have you got it fixed if so what was it?

Anti-syphon valve as mentioned.

Be sure you also close all other valves not in use. You'll suck air from another tank if it's empty and the fuel manifold is open.

Don't bypass the anti-syphon valve. I's a simple device which works well but will clog. It's easily cleaned...

I had a problem on my 32' just figured it out on the starboard tank. Anti-sypion was OK. Thought it was water I went to pull the pick up tube and found a cracked fitting between the 90 and a reducer into the tank it was sucking air not gas.

Is there a water filter, or gas filter that could be glogged?

Larry

Anti-syphon valve !

Theres a hatch that will give you access... It looks like a simple coupling..

Take apart and clean em...

You'll be fine..

Patrick