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Old 08-26-2007, 10:48 AM
lhbradley lhbradley is offline
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Priming bulb caution

Don recommends an outboard-style priming bulb. I put one in my fuel system about 4 years ago, because the priming lever on the mechanical fuel pump was partially broken and didn't work too well. The bulb worked well.

Last year I changed to an electric fuel pump, and left the primer bulb in place. On a few occasions during the year, the engine would just quit. Squeezing the priming bulb allowed me to start the engine and all would be well for several weeks. It was suggested to me that there might be an air leak, but I could not find anything.

This year, one day the engine would not start. At all. Squeezing bulb didn't help - in fact, bulb was very had to squeeze. I removed the bulb from the fuel line, and the problem disappeared. I took the bulb apart, and found that one of the balls in the valves was sticking, not allowing fuel through.

Moral of the story:

If you have a fuel starvation problem, bypass the priming bulb as one of your tests.

And perhaps taking the bulb out once a season and cleaning the valves might be a good idea. They use spring-type clips on the bulb, but after taking it apart, you could use hose clamps, since the clips probably won't go back on properly.

Or just replace the bulb every year or two.
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Larry Bradley
C&C Corvette 31 "Lady Di"
Clark's Marina
Gananoque, ON, Canada
in the beautiful Thousand Island
of the St. Lawrence River
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