how could this be???

[Fogcutter]

I have a 2005 DF 200 Suzuki with almost 1000 hrs. A Couple of weeks ago the engine started running on 3 cylinders only (port bank)
Today I got the call from my local Suzuki service center. I will need $1000.00 in parts alone. The parts include a new low pressure and a high pressure fuel pump plus low and high filters.
They say that my fuel is bad and that it cause all of this. And maybe that my injectors are clogged.

So...how could this be???? My fuel is fresh (with staybil included), my low and high pressure filters were changed this season, and my racor filter (10 micron) is new also. Less than 50 hrs...

Is my repair shop "taking me for a ride"?
I just don't see how new fuel plus filters could amount to such a huge fuel related problem. I am suspicious because at the beginning of this season they had adjusted the valve tappet clearance (to keep it in warranty), and I wonder if a mechanic F%@^ it up!

Thanks guys....

 

[Fogcutter]

Re: how could this be???

oh yeah, and there was also a film of oil on the outside of the engine and inside the throttle bodies. I am told by the suzuki teck that my oil was overfilled!
This is BS! I have changed my own oil 10 times now (for the past 1000 hrs) and can guarantee that I know the proper level to fill my oil to.

Does anybody have any idea at all what could be going on with my engine??
Should I be suspicious of my current service center???

 

[rodbolt]

Re: how could this be???

I would be suspicious, the high pressure pump is electric and either runs or not, filters should be done once per year OR every 100 hours. each injector has a fitler in the inlet that can clog and shut off or restrict fuel to that cylinder, injectors can be sent out,I use Flagship marine in FL to clean and test mine.
most likly its not bad fuel so much as its ethanol cleaning your fuel system,dissolving your tank possibly,dissolving your fuel sender float and generally the debris simply overwhelms the filtration system.
yes there is a santa clause and yes ethanol fuel can dissolve some poly tanks,all fiberglass tanks, flots for fuel senders and fuel lines themselves.

 

[Fogcutter]

Re: how could this be???

thanks rodbolt.

right now I am at a loss. I went to the boat repair yard today so that I could see for myself what the fuel looked like. I pumped about a gallon out and to my surprise, it was loaded with water! I poured the gas into a 16 oz clear container after shaking the can. After it settled I noticed that there was about 60% water under the gas! I was shocked...it smelled funny too (not quite like gasoline).

I am starting to think that water got in from my fuel vent...turns out that it was installed wrong this year before I launched. The problem started only a few weeks ago after a trip in very rough seas.

When I talked with the head mechanic, he mentioned that the oil on my engine could be the result of carbon deposits on my piston rings, causing "blow by" . He recomended Ring Free as a regular treatment.

Do you agree??? Also, I have a poly tank in my 1999 Wellcraft. I have 1000 hrs of E-10 use in that tank without a hitch. Could it be that just now, the tank is being disolved by ethanol???

 

[rodbolt]

Re: how could this be???

on the tank issue most likly not.
the water issue has most likly plugged the injector filters with ethanol snot.
send them out for cleaning, carefully pull a rag through all your engine fuel lines after soaking them with combustion chamber cleaner,clean the VST and all other engine filters and try again.
the design of the electric pumps is either they work or not.
they dont care much about what liquid is being pumped at all.

 

[Fogcutter]

Re: how could this be???

So it sounds like they want to make a bunch of money quick by putting on some new parts...WTF!
I will have the injectors cleaned plus everything else in the fuel system.
Is there any way that I can tell if they really put in new fuel pumps? ( or are they just gonna say they did and just clean the old ones)....

 

[rodbolt]

Re: how could this be???

I dont know. sounds like you already dont trust the techs.
sometimes there is a good reason for that mistrust.
but 99% of the time an electric pump either works or it doesnt, if your engine ran at all it means the pumps were running pumping some kind of liquid.

 

[Big Keepers]

Re: how could this be???

Keep in mind that the motive behind some repair shops isn't to rip you off so to speak. Their ideology of sorts is to replace questionable parts rather than try to clean them or repair them which if that doesn't work, pisses the customer off and sends them elsewhere to have the parts replaced after the fact. The filters are shot if you have ethanol/water mixed in your tank. I don't have too much experience with the fuel pumps to know if they can be cleaned out or not. but I'm guessing replacing them is easier and will cost just as much as the labor will to try and clean them out. The injectors can be cleaned and serviced but if you want back in the water quickly that may not be a time sensitive thing. It could take time which could mean storage fees at the yard. I'd ask these questions if I were you.

Welcome to the world of phase separation due to water contamination.

 

[Fogcutter]

Re: how could this be???

Thanks guys, I agree with both of your posts. I don't think that the pumps are gone, but the techs said that there was corrosion, and I have decided to not chance a problem down the road and just have the pumps replaced as they have recomended. It aint cheap, but considering how many thousands of miles I've gone with this motor chasing tuna (without a problem), I must say that I am spoiled by its reliabillity and would like to continue for thousands of miles more.
My fingers are crossed that this repair goes well. I got to meet the master tech the other day and although he was not assigned to my motor, he assured me that he would oversee the repair....fingers still crossed though...

 

[Big Keepers]

Re: how could this be???

I'm sure you'll be fine.