As seen in Speedboat Magazine’s
Sept/Oct 2024 Issue.
FUEL Starvation
Dear Bob:
I have an older Fountain with MerCruiser 502 Magnum engines. Last year, I noticed that it felt like I was down on power and could not achieve full RPM compared to the year before. I think the engines have been getting progressively worse over the years, so I felt that it was just a result of them getting tired.
This year, I took the boat out and the engines seem to be run-ning out of fuel at about 3,000 rpm. They idle OK and I can rev them but when under load, the engines feel like they are running out of fuel.
There is a mechanical fuel pump mounted on the raw water pump. I checked with a local auto parts store and they have a similar pump, but the lever appears to be different. Could this pump be causing the fuel starvation problem?
Randy Sherman
Dallas, TX