[redgheenoe]

Had the boat out at Lake Kissimme this eweekend. (Slayed the bass by the way!)  It is a 15hp tohatsu 2 stroke.  Ran great for most of the trip.  On the way in one evening, it started to sputter like it wasn't getting fuel.  I have put fuel treatment in tank since I've owned it and it would start on first pull if it did die.  Once I figured it was fuel, if it started to sputter again I would pump the ball and it kept on purring.  Sometimes it wouldn't do it all day.  I read some similar posts here and most pointed to the fuel line having a pin hole leak or the bulb or perhaps the tank itself.  I just unscrewed the cap on the tank and noticed the gasket around the cap where it threads on the tank is broken.  Do you think this could be the culprit?  Could a broken gasket cause the lost pressure in the system? (83 bass in 3 days by the way) just sayin ;D

 

[Brett]

Fuel lines get old, o-rings crack and split.
Might be time to replace.

 

[redgheenoe]

Fuel lines get old, o-rings crack and split.
Might be time to replace.

[
But what about the gasket in question in the cap for the fuel tank.  Before replacing the line and bulb---could it be the gas tank cap?

 

[Brett]

Busted gasket in the cap won't stop fuel flow,
but will allow water to enter fuel system. Replace, asap.
Any air leak, from the pickup tube to the fuel pump,
will cause your engine to stutter. You showed that
this is the most likely source of the problem by using
the squeeze ball to refill the float bowl. Other possibility
would be a failing fuel pump. They do get old and die.

 

[beyondhelp]

My Mercury 25 would do that, replacing the diaphragm in the fuel pump cured it. Check the bulb and fuel lines too.

 

[redgheenoe]

Has anyone removed the fuel filter in the remote tank before. The Tohatsu manual says loosen the filter at the elbow and clean the filter but it doesn't seem easy to :loosen" and I'm afraid I'll bust it. Does the filter normally come out?

 

[Brett]

The in tank filter is just a screen on the pickup tube.
The entire tube assembly unscrews from the tank.

 

[redgheenoe]

Thank you Brett. I'll try that after work today. I ran the motor at idle for 10 minutes yesterday on the hose at home and it starts first pull and idles like a champ. Would there be a reason the fuel pressure loss would be at speed and not idle?