Pearson 303 & Yanmar 2GM20F

[jrezab]

I have engine fuel problems with my 1986 Pearson 303 equipped with a Yanmar 2GM20F diesel engine. The engine starves for fuel and stops after running 1 1/2 hours at 2200 rpms. After I bleed the air out of the engines secondary fuel filter and the high pressure pump the engine starts with no problems. This has hppened 3 times within the last 3 months. I can run the engine for 30 minutes while tied up in the slip and no engine problems. All the filters have been replaced including new engine fuel lift pump and all new fuel holes lines & injectors cleaned 2 years ago.. Has anyone experienced similar problems and what was your solution?

Furstrated
Windy City

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

After I bleed the air out of the engines secondary fuel filter and the high pressure pump the engine starts with no problems.

Nothing is ever exactly as it appears, but in this case, you're almost guaranteed that your air leak is somewhere upstream of your secondary filter.

Check your primary filter to give a better indication of where the leak is. Air in the primary - upstream leak. No air in the primary - downstream leak.

 

[lshingledecker]

I have engine fuel problems with my 1986 Pearson 303 equipped with a Yanmar 2GM20F diesel engine. The engine starves for fuel and stops after running 1 1/2 hours at 2200 rpms. After I bleed the air out of the engines secondary fuel filter and the high pressure pump the engine starts with no problems. This has hppened 3 times within the last 3 months. I can run the engine for 30 minutes while tied up in the slip and no engine problems. All the filters have been replaced including new engine fuel lift pump and all new fuel holes lines & injectors cleaned 2 years ago.. Has anyone experienced similar problems and what was your solution?

Furstrated
Windy City

Windy City - did you ever get your problem sorted? Mine sounds very similar.

 

[AndreNJ11]

I have engine fuel problems with my 1986 Pearson 303 equipped with a Yanmar 2GM20F diesel engine. The engine starves for fuel and stops after running 1 1/2 hours at 2200 rpms. After I bleed the air out of the engines secondary fuel filter and the high pressure pump the engine starts with no problems. This has hppened 3 times within the last 3 months. I can run the engine for 30 minutes while tied up in the slip and no engine problems. All the filters have been replaced including new engine fuel lift pump and all new fuel holes lines & injectors cleaned 2 years ago.. Has anyone experienced similar problems and what was your solution?

Furstrated
Windy City

Another thought, when the engine runs for quite a while, and then is fuel starved - is to check the tank vent for mud wasps or spiders completely blocking the vent. The tank and fuel lines slowly increases a vacuum as fuel is used which starves the engine of diesel, and/or because of the vacuum introduces air into the fuel lines which might not otherwise appear under operation without the negative vacuum pressure. (primary fuel filter not tightened down enough and gasket leaking air in... as an example).

Good luck with it.

 

[MitchM]

1) fuel lines that are 20 years old old might give you big problems. i'd check for a pinhole air leak in some line allowing air to very very slowly get sucked in to the filter system. when enough air gets in, the engine can't burn air so it shuts down. i saw this problem on an old 1980 vintage Faryman 12 hp . i replaced ALL the old fuel lines - tank to primary Racor, Racor to secondary. 2) i'd also check any filter gaskets and if it's old quit using that gasket, replace it. reusing gaskets that may have tiny cracks allowing air seepage into the filter could be the problem. 3) I also put in a manual squeeze bulb system to speed up the filter bleeding. I think the new fuel lines fixed the problem, i never had it again.

 

[J Rezab]

I found my air leak on my Pearson 303. It was in the fuel pick up tube in the fuel tank. My fuel tank pick-up tube is plastic and fastened to the brass elbow that is screwed into the fuel tank. The plastic tube was leaking air at the top where it was sealed on the brass elbow. I purchased a new fuel pick-up tube from my local boat yards. The new tube solved the problem. No more air leaks and my engine continues to run.

Windy City