Seafoam and premix stalled

[meddo]

On my '75 I6 I poured a can of Seafoam into what was about 2 gallons of fuel that was in my tank. About 30 seconds into warming her up it stalled and will not fire unless I squirt some premix into the carbs. The fuel that was in my tank was already mixed pretty rich at about 40/1 and I am wondering if by adding a whole can of seafoam to it I have "watered it down" to the point that it is unusable. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Mike

 

[andy6374]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I doubt it. When was the last time you cleaned your carbs?

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I cleaned the carbs, rebuilt the fuelpump and replaced the fuel lines about a week ago. I guess it would be easy enough to test for bad gas, I just need to pick up a second tank.

 

[andy6374]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

True that!<br /><br />But I would still think that 2 gallons of a 40:1 premix plus a can of seafoam would be fine. I could just be bad fuel in general, not the mixture.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Probable to much seafoam, I don't know because I don't use it but even Mercury power tune will kill a engine if to much is used

 

[timmathis]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Try another gallon or two of pre mix and see what it does. Tim

 

[gss036]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Definately not the mixture of gas,oil and Seafoam. I would think that you have cleaned out some loose crud and it is now stuck in your carb or fuel filter is clogged from the crud. Reclean your carbs.

 

[B.M.W II]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

It sounds like you may have loosen up some crud or the filter is stoped up. You can mix one 16oz can of sea foam to 1gal of pre-mix and it should run, you might have to push the throttle up just a little. But it should run. Good luck, Joe

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I pulled the bowl covers, checked the float needles and blew some air from that front plug and all seems ok. My fuel is a real white murky color. I'd test it again now that its back together but I managed to drain the battery trying to start it the last two days. I'll be back at it tomorrow. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Mike

 

[blwood11]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I ran my 68' 50hp on the 1gal to whole can sea-foam mix 4 times at 15 min. ran fine, smoked a lot! made a new engine of it afterward. It would make since to me that maybe it loosened up something that stopped up your carb?

 

[gss036]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I don't think I would be running "a real white murky color"ed gas. Sounds like something else has contaminated your fuel. What does it smell like? Check your fuel filter.

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I'm pretty convinced that something with the mixture isnt right. When I backtrack a bit..<br />1. Engine is running.<br />2. I add two gallons of premix + seafoam.<br />3. Engine stalls out after 15 secs (long enough to burn what good fuel was in the bowls?)<br />4. Engine is not running. <br /><br />I'm going to empty the tank today and try new fuel. Looks like I will have to tear it down again to get that "bad" gas out of the bowls. Good practice I guess.

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I emptied the tank and bought some new fuel. I found that If I pumped the bulb about 50 times I could get it to start. The bulb never gets hard though, is this good or bad? The bulb is brand new. I filled my squirt bottle with the "bad" gas and used it to help start her, the gas is fine. <br /><br />I am thinking that maybe the tank\valve is the culprit.<br /><br />Thanks for all the input so far,<br />Mike

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Did you install the bulb in the correct direction (arrow pointing toward the engine??) Orient the bulb vertically. Some of them don't like to work on their side.

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Yes, the bulb is installed correctly. I pumped it about 900 times to empty the fuel tank though, maybe I broke it. Anyone know approximately how many squeezes are in primer bulb before it expires?

 

[andy6374]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

What brand of primer bulb are you using?<br />Sierra, Tempo, Atewood are all crap.<br /><br />Need to get O.E.M. Doesnt' matter if it's merc or not. Merc, OMC (BRP), Yammy make good ones.<br /><br />If the floats in your carbs are set to high you could pump until the tank was empty. Can you see gas leaking from the carbs?

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

I have the Mercury brand bulb. If I pump the bulb like crazy gas leaks out of the top carb when the engine is turning over and fails to start. It doesnt leak when running. Gas will also leak out of the brass plug with the hole in it if I pump the bulb alot. Is that the brass plug on the side of the bowl covers that everyone says to remove?

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Ok, she's running good again today. Just a few quick pumps of the bulb and it starts right up. I put a can of deepcreep through the carbs and let her run for 15 minutes or so. It is starting to run really nice. What I thought was odd with the deepcreep is that when I sprayed it in the middle or bottom carb the engine would gain rpms but sprayed in the top carb It would bog down and almost stall. Normal? I also noticed that gas drips pretty quickly from the middle carb when idling.

 

[meddo]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

After a search of the board, It seems the leaking of the carb would be caused by the float level needing adjustment. I replaced the float on the middle carb when I cleaned them so that would make sense. Any thoughts about the motor gaining rpms when spraying deep creep into the bottom two carbs? I guess I am just worried that they are running too lean.

 

[roger3645]

Re: Seafoam and premix stalled

Yes if you spray the deepcreep into the bottom 2 carbs and the rpms increase then those two carbs are being starved of fuel. The motor should bogg down like it does when you spray into #1 carb. Your still having a problem getting fuel to the two lower carbs. Try setting your idle screws at 1 1/2 turns out from a lighlt seated position. Then spray again.