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I am having problems getting my Atomic 4 to keep running after it starts. It is a Moyer rebuild from about ten years ago, got very little use until I bought the boat last fall. I had a lot of issues for a while that I attribute to the long layup but since this spring the engine has run well.
In late June I changed the fuel filter, new Racor style 10 micron, just like the one that it replaced.
I didn't use the boat in July, back to the boat a couple of days ago. The engine started on ether and immediately quit. I traced through the fuel lines, starting by blowing back through the line upstream of the filter to prove there was no blockage at the tank. Then I ran a wire through the petcock so I know that there is at least some opening there. I jumped the facet to the coil and confirmed that gas is coming out the downstream side of the facet - but it is more like a dribble than a stream.
At this point the engine would start easily without ether, run for a few seconds and die.
I tried keeping the engine alive with ether. If I kept spraying ether into the intake, it would run indefinitely.
With the facet hot-wired, I could run it for a few seconds, the engine would then start easily, run for a few seconds and die. The longer I let the facet run between starts, the longer the engine would run before dying.
At this point I removed the carburetor - no easy task as the engine compartment is horribly cramped. I removed the plugs in the bottom and soaked the whole carb in clean fresh gas for a couple of hours. Then I hosed it down with carb cleaner and left it to dry overnight. I didn't dig all the way into the carb as I don't trust my own mechanical ability to get it back together.
I cleaned the air filter in gas and carb cleaner.
In the morning I reassembled things and tried starting the engine. Same drill - it started easily without ether, ran for a few seconds and died.
I am up the Albemarle Sound in Edenton and am having trouble finding an A4 mechanic in the area, so I would like to keep pursuing this repair if anyone can give me guidance as to what to do next. I am thinking of bypassing the fuel filter and see if that gives better output from the facet. I have read that there is an internal filter in the facet and maybe that is clogged - I hope not, because getting to the nut on the bottom or even removing the facet from the engine appears to be impossible with the engine in place. It looks like a situation where the local installer shoehorned the assembled engine with all its accessories into place without thinking about future maintenance.
One more thing, the local sources of gas are sketchy. The nearest source that I would really trust is the distributor in Elizabeth City, about thirty miles from here. But if bad fuel could be the issue, I could drive over there and bring ten gallons back.
So after this longwinded post, first, how much volume should come out of the facet? And if the dribble I see is too little, what next?
thanks all.
In late June I changed the fuel filter, new Racor style 10 micron, just like the one that it replaced.
I didn't use the boat in July, back to the boat a couple of days ago. The engine started on ether and immediately quit. I traced through the fuel lines, starting by blowing back through the line upstream of the filter to prove there was no blockage at the tank. Then I ran a wire through the petcock so I know that there is at least some opening there. I jumped the facet to the coil and confirmed that gas is coming out the downstream side of the facet - but it is more like a dribble than a stream.
At this point the engine would start easily without ether, run for a few seconds and die.
I tried keeping the engine alive with ether. If I kept spraying ether into the intake, it would run indefinitely.
With the facet hot-wired, I could run it for a few seconds, the engine would then start easily, run for a few seconds and die. The longer I let the facet run between starts, the longer the engine would run before dying.
At this point I removed the carburetor - no easy task as the engine compartment is horribly cramped. I removed the plugs in the bottom and soaked the whole carb in clean fresh gas for a couple of hours. Then I hosed it down with carb cleaner and left it to dry overnight. I didn't dig all the way into the carb as I don't trust my own mechanical ability to get it back together.
I cleaned the air filter in gas and carb cleaner.
In the morning I reassembled things and tried starting the engine. Same drill - it started easily without ether, ran for a few seconds and died.
I am up the Albemarle Sound in Edenton and am having trouble finding an A4 mechanic in the area, so I would like to keep pursuing this repair if anyone can give me guidance as to what to do next. I am thinking of bypassing the fuel filter and see if that gives better output from the facet. I have read that there is an internal filter in the facet and maybe that is clogged - I hope not, because getting to the nut on the bottom or even removing the facet from the engine appears to be impossible with the engine in place. It looks like a situation where the local installer shoehorned the assembled engine with all its accessories into place without thinking about future maintenance.
One more thing, the local sources of gas are sketchy. The nearest source that I would really trust is the distributor in Elizabeth City, about thirty miles from here. But if bad fuel could be the issue, I could drive over there and bring ten gallons back.
So after this longwinded post, first, how much volume should come out of the facet? And if the dribble I see is too little, what next?
thanks all.
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