Couple of issues with F40LA (2011 EFI 4 stroke)

[fairdeal]

It turned out that it was nothing more than a clogged water line in the fuel cooler that was allowing the fuel to heat up. It was a simple $0 fix that took less than 5 minutes to blow out. I just wanted to add my experience in the event there is anyone else scouring the internet as I was looking for possible solutions.

Which model was this?

What did your "telltale" stream look like, while the problem was occurring?

just curious

[MSmith1227]

Its a 2011 F40LA. It was peeing great and there was no indication that there was any problems. I'm assuming that the water was just bypassing the fuel cooler.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Its a 2011 F40LA. It was peeing great and there was no indication that there was any problems. I'm assuming that the water was just bypassing the fuel cooler.

Salt water use?

Regularly fresh water flushing?

And thanks for posting that info as well...

[MSmith1227]

I recently purchased the rig in the Houston area. I was told that it had been run in brackish water a few times but never in the bay. As far as the condition, it doesn't appear to have seen much salt. I rebuilt the pump before I ever put it in the water just to be on the safe side. I have flushed regularly since I've had it, but I believe the blockage was in the cooler prior to my purchase because the problems surfaced the first time it saw any heavy usage.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Thanks for the update, good info!

It'd be interesting to take a lazer temp gun to the cooler and see what variation in #'s would be between clogged and un-clogged.

[MSmith1227]

That thought never crossed my mind. I just had one of those "what if" moments and pulled the cooler lines off and tried to blow through them by mouth and couldn't pass any air at all. A shot of compressed air blew out a slug of grayish sandy mud about 3/4' long. It could be a fluke but it was a persistent problem that I could reproduce at will and since blowing the lines out and letting it flush for about an hour, I have not had a single issue. This past weekend, I put about 5 hours of run time on the motor and logged over 50 miles running on the river and I could not make it mess up.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Thanks for the detail, that helps alot.

I was just curious if salt water corroded the insides but it sounds like it was run in VERY MURKY/ muddy water and probably wasn't flushed as much as it could be...

[boscoe99]

The design has a couple of strikes against it.

The electric fuel pump runs all of the time when the motor is running. So, at idle, when nil fuel is being used, the same fuel is worked on by the fuel pump, and then routed through the cooler over and over again. And when at idle there is little water flow through the cooler. The diminished water flow through the cooler results in less cooling and is not as apt to clear out any debris that may be in the water as it would if the motor was being run at considerable power.

When the motor is running at power the fuel is not being looped back through the fuel cooler so much. And, at the same time the cooler is having greater water flow through it. So, at the very time the fuel does not need to be cooled so much the cooler is more effective, while at the time that the fuel needs more cooling there is less water flow to do the job.

People that idle their motors a great bit can have more problems than those that use it at considerable power. And of course a good flushing always helps.

[MSmith1227]

The design has a couple of strikes against it.

The electric fuel pump runs all of the time when the motor is running. So, at idle, when nil fuel is being used, the same fuel is worked on by the fuel pump, and then routed through the cooler over and over again. And when at idle there is little water flow through the cooler. The diminished water flow through the cooler results in less cooling and is not as apt to clear out any debris that may be in the water as it would if the motor was being run at considerable power.

When the motor is running at power the fuel is not being looped back through the fuel cooler so much. And, at the same time the cooler is having greater water flow through it. So, at the very time the fuel does not need to be cooled so much the cooler is more effective, while at the time that the fuel needs more cooling there is less water flow to do the job.

People that idle their motors a great bit can have more problems than those that use it at considerable power. And of course a good flushing always helps.

Where was that post 2 months ago? LOL Could have saved me several dollars and a lot of frustration. Nothing ruins a fishing trip for me quicker than a motor not running like it should.

[rodbolt17]

only thing?
it was NOT doing the same thing.
that's a customer hallucination.
its also what they ALWAYS say.
its doing the same thing.
even when its not.
mechanics translation, its broke again.