94 Sylvan, 4.3 Mercruiser. Engine quit out of the blue.

[Eric Lott]

Hi. I'm new to boating so please forgive me if I pull a "newbie" of any kind.

Just bought a 1994 Sylvan 20' Open Bow boat. Engine is 4.3 Mercruiser. I believe it's 190 HP. I can check on that if it makes a difference in my problem.

I've had the boat on the water three times. All three times, it ran flawlessly. Up until tonight.

We had been boating and tubing all day, no problems at all. Pulled up on shore to visit some friends. Got back in, fired it up, again, no problem. Shot out across the lake, everything ran fine. Slowed down to enter a no wake zone and it died. I tried to restart it and nothing. It sounds like it wants to start but it won't.

A couple of things that may or may not help diagnose the problem:

Got into a little bit of sand, but the engine wasn't running. Pushed off the shore before I fired it up.

When I pulled the plug after I got it back on the trailer, not a drop of water came out. The last two times I used it, two or three gallons came out. As much as we tubed and as long as we were out on the water, I expected some water to come out.

Let me know if you need any more information. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Eric

 

[Eric Lott]

Re: 94 Sylvan, 4.3 Mercruiser. Engine quit out of the blue.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Don S]

Re: 94 Sylvan, 4.3 Mercruiser. Engine quit out of the blue.

Remove the fuel filter and dump it in a clear container and look for water seperation.
Install a new filter, never use an old filter after you have poured it out. You will contaminate the clean side of the filter.

 

[Eric Lott]

Re: 94 Sylvan, 4.3 Mercruiser. Engine quit out of the blue.

Thanks guys!

It does seem to be the fuel system. I shot a squirt of starting fluid in the carb and it fired right up. Quit running as soon as the starting fluid burned off.

Does that still sound like a fuel filter? Or is that more likely a fuel pump?

I'm guessing the fuel filter is the place to start. Let me know. Thanks again!

Eric

 

[maxxman04]

Re: 94 Sylvan, 4.3 Mercruiser. Engine quit out of the blue.

could be either. is it a mechanical fuel pump, or electric? filters, water seperators are cheap enough to replace, and should be done when buying a previously owned boat as most of the time, you don't know when it was done last. change these filters out, go from there.