I have a 2001 Baja Islander with the fuel injected 5.7 liter Mercruiser in it. Since the boat was new I felt that it had a problem with vapor locking. To minimize the problem I would always allow the engine to idle for a few minutes, and run the blowers for 5-10 minutes after shut down. The problem may occur after the engine had gotten hot and was shut down for 15-20 minutes. Upon starting the motor would run rough then die. You could start it several times and it would do the same thing each time. Finally the engine would not fire. This year the problem is much worse so I decided to take it to my mechanic for a fix. He originally thought it was a weak fuel pump. 30 psi when cold and 9 psi when hot. The $400 fuel pump was a fuel pump/cooler. The pump did not help. He then replaced the fuel control valve. That also failed to correct the problem. I tried removing the gas cap with no luck. After putting clear fuel lines on the engine we could see the fuel in the line actually boiling/bubbling. We then found out (through iboats) that this is a frequent problem with the throttle body so close to the engine. Does anyone know what can be done to alleviate some of the vapor problem?? Does Mercruiser have anything out there to minimize it??
