Just bought a 32 foot O'Day and ran the fuel tank dry. I have a Yanmar 2GM20F. Well, just like the manual says, I loosened the bleeding screw on the secondary pump and started the hand lever on the fuel lift pump, but nothing is coming out of the bleeding screw. Is my fuel lift pump not working or am I just missing something? Help!:cry:
Bleeding Engine?!
- Thread starter TonyO
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I had the same engine a few boats back
and I was also unable to get the little hand pump to clear the lines. Someone suggested that I crank the engine with the compression released (lever on top of engine). It pump the air and fuel through much faster. Be ready to catch the mess as it sputters a bit before you get a clear stream of fuel. It worked for me.
and I was also unable to get the little hand pump to clear the lines. Someone suggested that I crank the engine with the compression released (lever on top of engine). It pump the air and fuel through much faster. Be ready to catch the mess as it sputters a bit before you get a clear stream of fuel. It worked for me.
Bleeding the Yanmar
It is almost impossible, for me at least, to bleed a Yanmar with the manual lift pump. Use the lift pump to first bleed the system, up to the high pressure pump. If you ran it dry, this will take some doing. You have to get all the air out of the lines and filters from the tank forward. When you get all the fuel, with no bubbles at the high pressure pump, then spin the engine over. Open the compression release, and be sure to shut off the raw water intake. If you fail to shut off the raw water, good chance of flooding the engine with water. Crack the nuts where the fuel lines attach to the injectors. You do not need to loosen them much more than one turn, two at the most. Spin the engine over in fifteen or twenty second cycles. This assures you of not overheating the starter. If you have two bodies available, you can watch for the bubbles to stop at the injectors. Any air at all in these lines, and the Yanmars just won't start, and there is more air in there than you would think. My personal preferance is an electric fuel pump mounted at the tank. This bleeds the system up to the high pressure pump in a matter of seconds. Still use the no compression engine spin to bleed the high pressure side. As a final thought, be sure to tighten the nuts at the fuel line/injector junction back down tight, and after it starts, be sure to check for any fuel leakage.
It is almost impossible, for me at least, to bleed a Yanmar with the manual lift pump. Use the lift pump to first bleed the system, up to the high pressure pump. If you ran it dry, this will take some doing. You have to get all the air out of the lines and filters from the tank forward. When you get all the fuel, with no bubbles at the high pressure pump, then spin the engine over. Open the compression release, and be sure to shut off the raw water intake. If you fail to shut off the raw water, good chance of flooding the engine with water. Crack the nuts where the fuel lines attach to the injectors. You do not need to loosen them much more than one turn, two at the most. Spin the engine over in fifteen or twenty second cycles. This assures you of not overheating the starter. If you have two bodies available, you can watch for the bubbles to stop at the injectors. Any air at all in these lines, and the Yanmars just won't start, and there is more air in there than you would think. My personal preferance is an electric fuel pump mounted at the tank. This bleeds the system up to the high pressure pump in a matter of seconds. Still use the no compression engine spin to bleed the high pressure side. As a final thought, be sure to tighten the nuts at the fuel line/injector junction back down tight, and after it starts, be sure to check for any fuel leakage.
Bleeding Yanmar... More Suggestions
I found that the lever on the fuel pump required a more forceful pressure than I had given it on my prior 3GM. There is a secondary stop after the initial stroke where the real fuel delivery occurs. Don't force it but do try some additional pressure. Secondly, I use a remote starter button from an auto parts store to use the starter to bleed the system. Do close the thru-hull first tho. I didn't find it took much cranking to clear it. Later model Yanmars are (sorta) self-bleeding; don't know if yours is or not and honestly can't remember the twenty years back to my O'Day to say for sure. Good luck.
I found that the lever on the fuel pump required a more forceful pressure than I had given it on my prior 3GM. There is a secondary stop after the initial stroke where the real fuel delivery occurs. Don't force it but do try some additional pressure. Secondly, I use a remote starter button from an auto parts store to use the starter to bleed the system. Do close the thru-hull first tho. I didn't find it took much cranking to clear it. Later model Yanmars are (sorta) self-bleeding; don't know if yours is or not and honestly can't remember the twenty years back to my O'Day to say for sure. Good luck.
Yes, it helps to crank the engine.
Suggest you also replace your fuel filters as they may very well have sucked up water and dirt from the bottom of the tank. Learn your burn rate which for that engine is approximately 1/2 gallon per hour. Find out the size of your tank and by keeping a log of the hours motored you will always know how much fuel you have left. Take into consideration that your fuel pickup will start sucking air before the tank is completely empty so it si wise to always use a couple of gallons for reserve.
Suggest you also replace your fuel filters as they may very well have sucked up water and dirt from the bottom of the tank. Learn your burn rate which for that engine is approximately 1/2 gallon per hour. Find out the size of your tank and by keeping a log of the hours motored you will always know how much fuel you have left. Take into consideration that your fuel pickup will start sucking air before the tank is completely empty so it si wise to always use a couple of gallons for reserve.
Yanmar manual lever on the lift pump… The pump is driven off the camshaft.. if the cam is in a place where the lift pump is compressed on its discharge stroke, the lever will not move fuel.. Do the compression release and slowly turn the engine by hand about a half turn .. try the lever…. If the lever moves better, turn the engine a little more and try again.. You can get a pretty good long stroke of the lever when the cam is off the pump drive lever. Once you’ve found this spot, mark the pulley on the front with a sharpie, remembering that the cam turns half as much as the crankshaft, so next time you may have to rotate the crank one rev at the mark to get the lift pump lever working. Good luck!
Yanmar bleeding alternative.
Thankfully I repowered with a Yanmar 3YM, my bleeding days are over! But the old 2QM20 would not bleed with the lift pump. I carried a small outboard tank, the one with the squeeze bulb, with the end cut off. Slip that on the input of the Racor, two or three squeezes and it would usually start without bleeding. I think once I did have to open the first bleed screw, the one on the filter.
Thankfully I repowered with a Yanmar 3YM, my bleeding days are over! But the old 2QM20 would not bleed with the lift pump. I carried a small outboard tank, the one with the squeeze bulb, with the end cut off. Slip that on the input of the Racor, two or three squeezes and it would usually start without bleeding. I think once I did have to open the first bleed screw, the one on the filter.
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